Story: RTA asks transit users: How’s the ride? Agency says $500,000 survey is worth the cost

In recent weeks, thousands of CTA and Metra riders on selected buses and trains have received brochure-like surveys and emails asking how satisfied they are with their public transportation….

 Both the CTA and Metra surveys are extensive — six pages each — and pose a multitude of questions. Although many queries are the same, the CTA version asks respondents to answer 40 questions, while the Metra survey tops out at 82.

The questions begin with the basics, asking how often customers travel and which bus routes or train lines they take. They then venture into more specific areas, querying riders on why they use public transit, and how they get to their Metra stations, for example.

The meat of the survey is a multi-part section asking customers to rank, on a scale of one to 10, such factors as cleanliness, safety, and conductor courtesy…

 The (RTA)  in August awarded Vermont-based Resource Systems Group Inc. a $435,000 contract to conduct the survey. …Earlier this year, the RTA used a federal grant to pay Resource Systems $83,000 to develop the survey methodology.

I’m sorry, this is crazy. I’m all for getting customer feedback and responsive management, but there are so many turn-key Web applications that do this kind of thing that it’s preposterous to spend half a million bucks to find out what patrons will gladly tell you for free if you make it easy for them to tell you.