Chime Insight & Engagement (CIE) has announced it has been selected to manage the official National Rail Passenger Survey (NRPS), a critical tool in helping to understand the experiences of rail passengers across Great Britain.

First launched in 1999, the NRPS is used by both the government and the independent transport user watchdog, Transport Focus, as well as rail operators, to understand whether Britain’s rail passengers receive the experience they expect and deserve. Key objectives of the survey include:

• To consistently measure passengers’ satisfaction with their rail journeys and compare the performance of franchised train operating companies (TOCs)
• To measure passengers’ satisfaction across Great Britain overall

Run twice annually and including the opinions of over 60,000 passengers, the results of the survey are used as an official statistic and covered widely in the mainstream media.

“One million passengers have now been interviewed through the National Rail Passenger Survey, and both the government and the industry increasingly use the research to monitor and improve the service that train companies deliver to their passengers,” commented Anthony Smith, Chief Executive of Transport Focus.

“The survey is now shorter and can be completed online, recognising our lives are busier and more of our time is spent in the digital world. We believe this will make the survey even easier for passengers to complete, ensuring it remains fully representative. We are therefore delighted to be working with Chime as the survey evolves to this next stage of its development.”

“It is fantastic to be part of this national project to help improve passenger experiences across Britain,” commented Crispin Beale, Group CEO, Chime Insight & Engagement Group. “Projects such as this highlight the importance of market research in gaining consumer opinion on day-to-day practices and improving services for the long-term.

“One of our key areas of focus taking over this contract will be to uphold and improve response rates to ensure we attain the most accurate perception of customer experiences, especially given the recent levels of dissatisfaction amongst some rail users.”

The first wave of the survey managed by CIE commenced on 30th January 2017 and will run for 10 weeks, with interviewers positioned at train stations across Great Britain. CIE will be focusing on maintaining and improving response rates to ensure the high quality of data collected.