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1. Situation Assessment Worksheet

Assess Your System’s Visibility and Visual Image

Download fillable PDF file of this worksheet

Ask yourself:

Are its name and logo recognizable?
Can you easily find information that tells you how to ride?
Is that information easy to understand?
Are bus stops clearly identified?
Are bus shelters clean and the trash emptied?
Is passenger information posted at the bus stops or shelters?
At the shelters?
At the bus stops?
On a website?
In the phonebook (yellow and white pages)?
If you call that number, are you able to reach a person?
  • What does your system look like to the public?
  • Can you find a customer-service telephone number easily —

Marketing might get someone on the bus for the first time, but only a good passenger experience will keep that person coming back.

Assess Your System’s Passenger Experience

Ask your riders:

Do they find the service meets their needs?
Is passenger information readily available?
Are service changes communicated clearly?
Are bus stops clearly marked?
Is service on time?
Are the fare structure and payment options easy to understand?
Is interaction with the bus operator pleasant?
Is the ride comfortable?
Is transferring difficult?
  • Ride the bus and visit with other riders:
  • How is the ride?
  • What changes would improve the service?
     
     
  • Recruit first-time riders to try the system and give you feedback
  • Ask riders to complete an onboard survey

Ask system employees — bus operators and customer service representatives — how they think passengers perceive the system.

 

Assess Your Image in the Community

Ask non-rider groups — community leaders, employers, stakeholders and gatekeepers (individuals or organizations that can provide access to potential user groups) — their views of the system:

Fixed Route
Demand Response
Deviated fixed route
Paratransit
General Public
Specific groups
Workers traveling to their jobs
Middle, high school, college students
Clients of social service organizations
Seniors
Persons with disabilities
Low-income riders
Increased mobility for transit-dependent individuals
Economical transportation
Environmental benefits
Do employers depend on your service for their employees?
Is your service a viable option for visitors?
Are there other groups that could benefit from using your service?
  • What kind of service does the system offer?
  • Who is the service for?
  • What groups use the service?
  • How does your service benefit the community; does it enhance quality of life?

Ask system employees — bus drivers, customer service personnel — their views of the system:

 
 
 
 
 
 
  • Who are the system’s principal riders?
  • What groups represent potential riders?
  • What value does the service bring to the community?

 

 

 

 

 

US Department FTA

A program of the Federal Transit Administration administered by the Neponset Valley TMA