In Chicago, the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) is willing to spend $500,000 to survey their riders to see how the public feels about the bus and train services.
In past years, the CTA, Metra and Pace have regularly conducted their own ridership assessments. But those surveys didn't provide a big enough picture of the region as a whole, the RTA says.
The survey "enables us to receive honest and helpful feedback from our customers to help us improve all facets of our operation," CTA President Forrest Claypool said.
Rich Wronski, reporter for the Tribune says that "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."
There are those who question the decision to conduct the surveys. State Sen. Susan Garrett, D-Lake Forest, said ""(It) seems like an odd way to spend a lot of money when they are raising fares." Garrett said. "I don't understand how these transit agencies spend the money they have."
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