III. Methodology

Summary

Between April 25, and August 14^th 2000, Straphangers Campaign volunteers and staff visited 15 of the system’s busiest subway stations and surveyed predominantly rush-hour riders on their opinions of the passenger environments in each station.

We received a total of 3,879 usable responses from riders completing a survey postcard and returning it to the Straphangers Campaign by mail. In the survey, passengers were asked to rate from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest) the quality of each of five station environment measures. These measures included: cleanliness; crowding; security; ease of movement; and presence/quality of in-station passenger information. (See survey post card at end of this section.)

Survey results were averaged by measure for each station, giving a score between 1 and 5. Then each station’s by-indicator scores were averaged to give an overall station environment score, also between 1 and 5. The sample size is large enough to allow comparisons among stations. At the .05 confidence level, comparisons between individual indicator results are significant within +/- 0.3 points; overall station environment scores are significant within +/- 0.1 points.

Detailed Methodology

The Straphangers Campaign designed and implemented this poll to measure rider perceptions of specific aspects of the passenger environment in many New York City Transit subway stations. The survey is similar to components of station quality surveys commissioned annually by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority since 1983,⁴ although no attempt was made to duplicate the methodology used by the authority.

Our goal was to create a measure by which riders’ opinions of the subway station passenger environment could be quantified–both by specific environmental indicator and in the aggregate. Our sample size and methodology was further refined to permit statistically significant comparisons of results among stations (see below).

Subway riders were surveyed on the following aspects of the station environment were survey:

• cleanliness;

• platform crowding;

• security;

• ease of movement; and

• information (signs and announcements)

We selected these five indicators of the station environment to measure for two reasons. First, the indicators are nearly identical to a subset of those examined in the MTA rider opinion study. Second, they are consistent with those measures of the station environment cited as ‘important to riders’ in a series of focus groups of commuters, transit experts and activists conducted by the Straphangers Campaign.⁵

We eliminated several of the most-used subway stations from our poll because these were undergoing major renovation, such as the Times Square, Grand Central, and Main Street Flushing stations. We did include Union Square/14^th Street, making the determination that the current renovation was largely complete.

We also wanted to measure at least one subway station in each of the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. For these reasons, our sample is comprised of the system’s 12 most-used stations not under major renovation, as well as the most-used stations not being renovated in each of three other boroughs (see list below).

Between April 25^th and August 14^th, 2000, Straphangers Campaign volunteers and staff distributed 39,500 mail-in postcards to commuters in each of the stations included in the survey. Postcards were distributed predominantly during the morning rush hour.

Respondents were asked to rate the quality of each station environment indicator on a scale from 1 to 5 (worst to best) and mail the completed form to the Straphangers Campaign. A total of 3,879 usable post cards were returned, for a response rate of nearly 10%. (A small number of these postcards were handed to our surveyors, rather than mailed.)

The table below lists those stations surveyed and the number of completed survey responses received for each station:

 

Survey results were averaged by measure for each station, giving a score between 1 and 5. Then each station’s by-indicator scores were averaged to give an overall station environment score, also between 1 and 5.

The sample size is large enough to allow comparisons among stations. At the .05 confidence level, comparisons between individual indicator results are significant within +/- 0.3 points; overall station environment scores are significant within +/- 0.1 points.

To encourage riders to respond, the post card said that returns would be entered in a contest to win free MetroCards. MTA New York City Transit has used similar fare incentives to encourage responses to past "origin and destination" surveys. We posted contest rules on our web site. In August, we awarded ten $17 seven-day unlimited-ride passes in a random drawing of post cards.

The poll postcard is reprinted below.

 

findings | recommendations | methodology | station profiles | tables

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