San Diego – The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) announced that results from its 2024 Customer Satisfaction Survey show MTS continues to exceed public transportation industry benchmarks in several key areas of service, including on-time performance, customer satisfaction, community value and safety.
The survey, conducted in November 2024 by ETC Institute, a professional market research firm that specializes in customer satisfaction surveys, gathered feedback from more than 3,700 riders across the MTS bus and Trolley networks. Results revealed that 83% of bus riders and 82% of Trolley riders are satisfied with the service MTS provides—well above national averages for transit agencies (58%).
“Over the past few years MTS has focused on making improvements to the customer experience for riders, addressing safety, security, cleanliness, service reliability and more,” said Sharon Cooney, MTS Chief Executive Officer. “These results demonstrate that our efforts are working and that’s a testament to a committed team at MTS. Overall we are pleased with the results. It shows that we are responding to what riders are telling us. We will use the data from this survey to continue to get better.”
Survey Highlights
- High Community Value: 87% of bus riders and 85% of Trolley riders believe MTS provides value to the community.
- Recommended Service: When asked if riders would recommend MTS services to others, 58% of bus riders and 62% of Trolley riders are highly likely to do so. MTS’ “Net Promoter Score” (+44 for bus, +50 for Trolley) is approximately +65 and +71 points, respectively, higher than the national average (-21).
- Reliable Operations: 79% of Trolley riders and 66% of bus riders agree that their vehicle usually runs on time, compared to 48% nationwide.
- Important Economic Connector: 61% of Trolley riders and 73% of bus riders use MTS services to get to work or school.
- Safety on Board: 71% of bus riders and 63% of Trolley riders feel safe while on board, scoring higher than the national average (42% for bus and Trolley).
- Positive Trends: In addition to safety trends, riders were five times more likely to say their satisfaction has improved over the past year (31% bus, 33% Trolley) than decreased (5% bus, 6% Trolley).
While the survey results are overwhelmingly positive, MTS will use this rider feedback to identify areas for improvement. The most impactful areas, based on rider priorities, include safety while waiting for transit, cleanliness of vehicles and stations, and maintaining timely service.
“Each year, the ETC Institute surveys thousands of transit riders nationwide to establish performance benchmarks for public transit agencies, and MTS stands out as one of the best,” said Chris Tatham, ETC Institute Chief Executive Officer. “In fact, in every category we measured, MTS scored higher than the national average, an achievement that is truly remarkable. MTS’s results are among the best I’ve seen in recent years.”
Through the first eight months of Fiscal Year 2025, ridership is up approximately eight percent (8%), and on pace to surpass 80 million trips.
The full survey report is available on the MTS website.
About MTS
The Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) operates 92 bus routes and four Trolley lines in 10 cities and unincorporated areas of San Diego. MTS is a leader in advancing initiatives to create a greener, cleaner and better-connected transit system in San Diego. Each weekday more than 238,000 passenger trips are taken throughout the MTS system taking people to work, school, health appointments and other essential trips. In FY 2024, MTS served more than 75 million riders. For service schedule updates, news, alerts and more information on how you can use public transportation, go to www.sdmts.com.
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