Road User Voice – June 2015 – Research update
22 June 2015
In May we organised an event to share knowledge on the factors which are most strongly linked to road user satisfaction and look at how to turn research into real-life improvements. It was attended by 30 representatives from Highways England, the Department for Transport and Transport Focus. The event demonstrated how the three organisations are working together to improve road users’ experience on England’s major roads.
Douglas Dalziel from Transport Focus discusses how driver psychology plays an important role in road users’ experience
Participants from the different organisations explored how research could be used to improve the customer experience in different scenarios, such as roadworks and road closures. Feedback from the event indicated that this type of session was a very useful way to learn about the research evidence and consider how best to apply it to real situations.
Transport Focus’s work to determine the best way to measure road user satisfaction continues. The independent review of current and potential approaches, led by the University of West of England, is due to be published soon. This report proposes an approach for replacing the National Road User Satisfaction Survey (NRUSS), currently run by Highways England but which Transport Focus will be responsible for in future. The report authors spoke to a wide range of stakeholders who are keen to see that the new survey will provide them with information at a more detailed level.
The report sets out the necessary pilots that will be required during 2015 to develop the final survey. As part of the preparations, Transport Focus is meeting the Driver & Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA) to discuss the best approach to sampling drivers.
We intend to run the existing NRUSS and the new Transport Focus Road User Satisfaction Survey in parallel for a period to calibrate the new survey. Once that process is complete NRUSS will no longer continue.
