In-Depth Surveys of Specific Population Groups

Over the past few years, SRBI has conducted two studies of handicapped and disabled customers of Access-a-Ride, the paratransit program run by NYC Transit. The first focused on customers who had been reported as "no-shows" for paratransit vendors' services. The objective was to determine under what circumstances these no-shows were occurring and the reasons for them. Results pointed to a break-down in communications between the customer and vendors' telephone reservation systems.

In another study for New York City's MTA and New York City Transit, SRBI and subcontractor Multisystems, Inc., of Cambridge, Massachusetts, conducted a regional cross-jurisdictional demand study for linked paratransit services. This assessment was brought about by ADA mandates that contiguous jurisdictions coordinate their paratransit services. Over 1500 paratransit customers from New York City, Nassau and Westchester Counties (NY), and Hudson and Bergen Counties (NJ) were interviewed and tested on a number of service concepts. Survey results were fed into a demand model to predict the level and nature of the demand and forecast to the year 2002.

For the two TransitChek MetroCard studies conducted for TransitCenter, SRBI used sample drawn from the TransitChek customer database. These customer contacts were generally the Human Resources or Financial Manager of the firm. Specific screening criteria were used to identify the chief decision maker before proceeding with the interview. The objective of the first study was to explore customer perceptions of the marketability, operation and administration of the new TransitChek MetroCard and its potential effects on the existing transit subsidy program. Both qualitative and quantitative research techniques were utilized in this evaluation. A second post-implementation study assessed customer satisfaction with TransitChek MetroCard, investigated integration behavior and forecasted overall demand.