CHANGE FOR THE 21ST CENTURY - MEETING THE CUSTOMERS' EXPECTATIONS

This is the printed version of the Arnold Stone Lecture, delivered on 8 December 1992. Perhaps the renaissance of public transport in the UK is inhibited most by a lack of confidence, which should be addressed through marketing initiatives and technical innovation. Although bus deregulation has reduced public confidence at a time when public transport is needed to fight congestion, it has improved the bus industry in some respects. Research has shown that the key to restoring customer confidence is service reliability. Drivers' attitudes to customers are almost as important, but cost has relatively low priority. 'Quality' is very important in public transport, but has been much misunderstood. It implies a thorough understanding of customers' expectations, then meeting them absolutely consistently. Investment in new equipment or innovative systems will be ineffective if there is no motivation to use them effectively. Reliability can be improved with the help of: (1) radio and vehicle location systems; (2) guided bus technology and other forms of bus priority system; (3) appropriate traffic management; and (4) service improvement. New users must be attracted back by making public transport as accessible as possible to inexperienced users. Local authorities and bus operators should jointly improve infrastructure, traffic management and bus services.