Metro has welcomed results of a national bus passenger survey which has shown high levels of satisfaction with the stops and information that Metro provides.

Chairman Cllr James Lewis said "Passengers responding to the survey by Passenger Focus gave Metro the highest score for providing electronic information, and route maps, and for how safe they felt at stops.

"Our shelters, timetable information and stops' cleanliness and freedom from graffiti were also rated highly."

"Metro manages over 14,000 stops and 5,000 shelters across West Yorkshire and recognises that people expect to wait in a clean, secure and safe environment in which they can find the information they need to make their journey," he continued. "Almost 1,000 of our shelters now have yournextbus real time displays counting down the minutes until their bus will arrive and we have invested in new computerised systems that enable us to update quickly the hundreds of information displays affected when services change."

Satisfaction

West Yorkshire also came joint second in overall satisfaction for all passengers in the survey which also covered Brighton, Cambridgeshire, Cornwall, Cumbria, Manchester, Hampshire, Medway, Merseyside, Plymouth, Shropshire, South Yorkshire, Stoke and Swindon. Passenger Focus asked passengers to rate their last journey in terms of satisfaction with the bus stop, waiting for the bus, on the bus and with the bus driver.

"I would like to pass on my congratulations to our partners the bus operators who have also scored highly in categories such as the ease of getting on and off the bus, the ability to get a seat and there being room for all passengers to sit or stand," continued Cllr Lewis. "I'm pleased to see that the passengers surveyed appreciated the work of Metro and of the bus companies so highly.

But Cllr Lewis warned the positive results from the survey were not a reason for complacency.

Decline

"In West Yorkshire we have seen a 10% decline in bus patronage from over 200 million journeys to 180 million journeys per year over the last 10 years," he said. "It is important that we build upon these results and find a way of working together that will improve services, attract more passengers and address their concerns about cost and value for money, which in turn will help reduce congestion on our roads."

Passenger Focus says its research shows that the majority of England's bus passengers (85%) are satisfied with their bus journey. However the independent consumer organisation reports that it found wide disparities, with passengers' ratings of satisfaction and value for money, varying dramatically between different operators and services within the same area.