Volvo Buses has conducted a survey of 6,000 passengers from across Europe, asking what makes a bus trip a positive experience.
Bus and coach passengers from the UK, Italy, Spain, Germany, France and Sweden were polled, with 47 percent stating they wanted information about the bus’s safety before their trip, and 66 percent said they used the vehicle’s seat belts. Comfortable seats, plenty of legroom and a fast Wi-Fi link were listed as the most desirable factors for a positive bus journey.
Amongst the bugbears of bus travel, 79 percent said noisy fellow passengers were the biggest annoyance, while the knees of the passenger sat behind digging into your seat came a close second, at 71 percent. Strong-smelling food was listed as another annoyance by 50 percent of passengers, although only 25 percent of those polled in Italy thought the same.
“Together with our customers we work constantly to make bus travel as appealing and competitive as possible. In this perspective, passenger viewpoints are immensely important. Through our surveys we see that most of the passenger viewpoints are pretty similar in all the countries, but there are also some things that set them apart,” said Niklas Orre, VP Strategy and Product Management at Volvo Buses.
“All told, we can say that comfort, safety and pleasant fellow passengers are significant factors for anyone travelling far by bus. So yes to wi-fi and comfortable seats, but no to sharp knees and bare feet” said Niklas Orre.
