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Transport

In a world on the move, BDRC Continental helps travel and transport businesses to stay ahead.  You will find our interviewers at airports, train stations, on trains at ports and on board ferries. We use the latest technology to interview travellers, including android tablets using our bespoke questionnaire software to interview leisure and business passengers to ensure their voice is heard.

For the last eight years BDRC Continental has run the National Passenger Survey on behalf of Passenger Focus. The survey is recognised throughout the industry and provides key performance indicators to assist train operating companies to evolve and enhance their services.

We are active members of ITT and the Tourism Society. 

For more information please contact one of the team.

What our clients say:

"Working with BDRC each year since 2004, we now have an excellent understanding of what our funding is doing for the people that live near to and who visit our projects.  A professional and friendly team who deliver to a very high standard!"
Gail Fawcett, Heritage Lottery Fund

Industry Insights

Marketing Week - Pre-flight experience hits height of luxury

UK Bus Passenger Satisfaction Survey

Welsh Bus Passenger Survey 2010 

Spring 2011 NPS Summary Report

Passenger Focus

Holiday Report 2011:

Holiday Report 2011 UK Airports

Holiday Report 2011 Tourism Trends

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Which airport came out on top when we measured passengers' satisfaction with 22 UK airports for the 2011 Airport report? London City Airport achieved the highest Net Promoter Score of all airports measured. If you want to find out why, download a copy of the report.

For over 20 years, BDRC Continental has worked at airports in both the UK and abroad.

Our qualitative and quantitative research looks at:

Airport advertising:  Recall and message take out of specific campaigns running at UK and overseas airports

Improving the customer airport experience:   Rating of retail outlets, automated check in machines, Wi-Fi and other services provided at the airport. 

Business traveller experiences: The use of airline loyalty schemes. What communications, mobile, Wi-Fi, blackberry, etc. are used and could be improved? Press, TV and online consumption?

Customer loyalty schemes:  Which loyalty schemes appeal and reasons.  How much do they increase loyalty?

Airline campaign evaluation:  Recall and shifts in attitudes arising from advertising and marketing campaigns and their impact on purchasing

Onboard literature:  Readership surveys of in-flight magazines

Customer traffic counts and exit interviews. 

BDRC Continental has conducted all four waves of Passenger Focus's Bus Passenger Survey. The first two waves covered a number of counties and ruban areas in England plus all six PTE areas. The third survey covered all local authorityareas in Wales, whilst the fourth covered all services run by the Go Ahead Group. So far over 60,000 bus passengers have been interviewed. The research provides answers to the following:

  • What do bus passengers think of the service provided by their local operators? 

  • How satisfied are passengers with facilities at bus stops, the frequency and punctuality of bus services?

  • What are their views on the environment in the bus and the attitude and behaviour of the bus driver?

  • Do inner city passengers have different expectation than rural customers?

 

In addition to this work, we have undertaken projects for individual bus operators, helping them to identify service improvements which meet the needs of their local customers.

Over the years, our interviewers have worked at ports and onboard ferries, carrying out surveys looking at:

Marketing campaign evaluation:  Who has seen your ads?  What are the key messages customers are taking from your communications?  What is the estimated ROI arising from campaign activity?

The purchase decision making process.  How the use of word of mouth  websites , travel agents, brochures stimulate bookings.

Brand recognition and evaluation.  What drives the selection of a cruise line or choice of ferry company?  What gives your brand stand out in the market?  Why are customers more loyal to one line over another. What are agents saying about your cruise line?

Customer satisfaction:  Surveys that investigate the customer experience and uncover  the key drivers of satisfaction.

Route and destination research:  Appeal of new routes and potential passenger estimates.   

Website evaluation research:  What drives customers to your site? How do they rate the navigation and look of the site? What improvements would they like made? What information were they looking for? 

Mystery shopping:  What are your agents or sales teams saying about your service.  How accurate is the information provided to enquirers?  Is the service customers receive efficient and friendly? Our trained team of mystery shoppers can investigate these issues

 

Nearly a third of the population finds the UK more appealing as a holiday destination than they used to. A big contributor to the UK's increasing appeal is people becoming fed up with the hassle of air travel. However few mentioned improved roads and motor travel as a reason for the UK's appeal. (source BDRC 2010 holiday transport survey).

Qualitative and quantitative research that looks at:

New service initiatives:  the appeal of new service initiatives such as car pick up, new booking procedures, customer loyalty plans.

Website and Online advertising:  who is looking at your website and online advertising.  What drives customers to your site?

Online activities:  use of price comparison sites, blogs and competitor websites.  What drives potential customers to your website and reasons for making a booking or not.
 
Customer satisfaction:  Customers ratings of car hire companies, likelihood to use your service again and recommendations to others.  What are the key drivers of satisfaction?
 
Mystery shopping:  Evaluating the accuracy of sales information, competence and friendliness of staff, the overall efficiency of the booking service.
 
Advertising campaigns:  awareness of online advertising, posters at airports, inflight magazines and other travel related press.

Rail passenger perceptions of punctuality have improved over time from 73% being satisfied with their trip in Autumn 2000 to 83% being satisfied in Autumn 2009. However, the latest results for the Spring 2011 NPS survey show a fall of 2% in satisfaction with punctuality to 80% compared to both Autumn and Spring 2010.

This data comes from the National Passenger Survey which measures passenger satisfaction with a  wide variety of station and train attributes for each Train Operating Company.  BDRC Continental has run this survey since Spring 2003, canvassing the views of over 50,000 rail passengers each year. We were reappointed in July 2011 to run the survey for another three years.

Qualitative and quantitative research that looks at:

 

Customer satisfaction:  Surveys that look at the key drivers of satisfaction for different types of train passengers (commuters, business and leisure passengers) measuring their satisfaction with the journey experience.

Mystery shopping:   How efficient are sales teams, automated ticket purchasing process, the provision of travel information, onboard services?

Ticket pricing:  How do rail passengers regard value for money and what are the factors that make a rail journey good as opposed to poor value for money?

Local route priorities:  What are the key issues required to improve rail services on a particular route?  Is it punctuality or is there a pressing local need for better car parking, improved ticket purchase options, greater frequency of trains, more early or late trains?