| |
| |
 |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
SINGAPORE : Customer satisfaction with public transport and education sectors in Singapore continue to slide.
Singapore's tertiary institutions and public transportation are seeing fewer happy consumers, based on the latest Customer Satisfaction Index.
Approval ratings for the two sectors continue to decline for the third straight year.
The index is published by the Singapore Management University's Institute of Service Excellence. Its latest report looked at the transportation & logistics and education sectors.
Growing concerns over Singapore's public transport system are reflected in the Customer Satisfaction Index.
Both the MRT system and public buses received poorer ratings from locals and foreigners, compared with last year.
The MRT system scored 64.1 points, a decline of 2.9 points from last year. Satisfaction with public buses dropped 1.8 points to 61.1.
Caroline Lim, director of the Singapore Management University's Institute of Service Excellence, said: "There was a significant decline in year-on-year performance.
"The decline can be attributed to perceived value. Commuters are expecting more "bang for the buck" for paying for public buses and MRT services."
Commuters interviewed, however, had mixed views.
"When we ride the bus and there're a lot of people, we can't get on and have to wait for another bus. And it's very crowded," said a commuter.
"For the MRT, the lines are not complicated. Trains come fast, so I find it very easy to get around," another said.
"It can be improved in terms of how fast (the trains) come, in terms of how often they come, in terms of frequency," a third added.
Overall, the Transportation & Logistics sector was able to maintain its overall score at 68.7 points for a third year running.
This was due to sterling performances by Changi Airport and Courier & Postal Services sub-sectors, which boosted the poor showing of public transportation.
Meanwhile, the Education sector fared poorer than last year, falling to an all-time low of 65.5 points, due mainly to a decline in satisfaction with universities.
Students gave lower ratings to all three drivers of satisfaction - expectations, perceived quality and value.
Among the four universities, the Singapore Management University (SMU) and UniSIM both registered the biggest drop of 4.9 points.
The National University of Singapore, however, posted a positive performance, improving by two points. Nanyang Technology University saw a slight dip in satisfaction of 0.2 point, while polytechnics as a whole declined by 0.2 point.
Responding to queries from MediaCorp, SMU said it is opening more avenues for feedback and dialogue with students.
The Institute of Service Excellence wants to use the results to work with companies to follow up on complaints and improve customer satisfaction.
Close to 12,000 questionnaires were completed between April and July this year for the study, covering the transport & logistics and education sectors.
- CNA/al
|
