“There’s nothing better than getting on the platform and seeing someone you can ask…”

05 February 2016

“You always need somebody. There’s nothing better than getting on the platform and seeing someone you can ask rather than using your mobile to text or look online.”

“The station staff kept us fully informed. Delays are acceptable as long as the passenger is informed of what is happening and in this case that is what happened.”

These are just two of the comments we heard when we asked passengers what they thought about staff. They are among the findings of new research we have just published: Passenger attitudes towards rail staff.

We found that the presence and assistance provided by customer-facing staff is seen to be an essential part of the service passengers expect to receive in the following:

• ticket retailing
• revenue protection
• accessibility
• information provision, especially during disruption
• assistance, especially during disruption
• personal security.

The video below is a short summary of the research.

Passenger attitudes to rail staff from Transport Focus on Vimeo.