Bus passengers asked to grade their ride

On April 22, MTA New York City Transit began handing out Bus Rider Report Cards throughout Queens.
The Report Cards, first distributed at Queensboro Plaza and Queensbridge during the morning commute, ask customers to rate 18 aspects of their riding experience, from “Seat availability,” to “Smooth handling of bus,” to “Reliability of wheelchair lifts.” Additionally, riders are asked to select a grade, A through F, for the overall performance of a given route.
“Your ride is our responsibility,” MTA Executive Director and CEO Elliot G. Sander wrote in a letter to his customers announcing the new survey.
“Your trip should be on time, clean, and comfortable, and announcements should be clear and informative.”
Sander and his staff will have an idea of just how clean and comfortable their buses are along routes in Jamaica, Flushing, Ozone Park and the Rockaways where, through May 7, surveyors will distribute Report Cards onboard buses and on the streets during morning rush hour.
“Ideally we’d like to see everybody respond,” said MTA spokesman Charles Seaton, who acknowledged that a 100 percent response rate is all but impossible with polling.
However, the MTA does hope for a sizable response in Queens following periods in which over 77,000 Bus Rider Report Cards were distributed in Staten Island and Brooklyn.
“Historically we have been satisfied,” Seaton said of the NYC Transit Report Cards program, which was initiated last year to help improve city subways. The Bus Report Cards are making their debut in 2008.
“We try to look at the priorities and then respond to the priorities,” Seaton explained of the process of taking customer feedback into careful consideration.
Bus Rider Report Cards, available in English, Chinese and Spanish, are issued in a self-mailer format but MTA bus patrons are also welcome to fill out and submit a survey online at www.mta.info/nyct. Queens bus customers have until June 6 to submit their responses.