So Coast Mountain Bus Company, our subsidiary providing bus service in Metro Vancouver, is also a member of the prestigious International Bus Benchmarking Group (IBBG), a forum for medium and large bus organizations to share experiences and learn from each other.

Every year, IBBG asks its members to present an identical survey to its customers, so they can compare the results and see how the different agencies can improve.

If you’d like to participate, click here to go to CMBC’s website, and a popup will ask you to take the survey on bus service! The survey will be open from April 12 to May 9, and I’m told we will share the results of the CMBC survey once it is finished, although they can’t share the results from the other companies.

Here’s a bit of the survey’s opening message for some insight:

Coast Mountain Bus Company, which delivers all of the regular bus service in Metro Vancouver, would like to hear your thoughts about the service they provide.

Are the buses usually on time? Is it easy to find the best route for your journey, is it easy to buy a ticket for your journey? Are the buses clean, comfortable and well-driven?

Your opinions are important whether you use the buses frequently, occasionally, or even if you hardly ever use the bus service.

Eleven world cities are conducting this survey at the same time, so that they can find out what their passengers think of the service they provide. These cities will compare the results of the surveys, so that they can learn from each other and work towards giving you an even better service.

The results of website studies conducted in this manner represent the opinions of people who care enough about local bus service to take the survey.

If you’re curious, the IBBG consists of transit companies from Barcelona, Brussels, Dublin, Lisbon, London (UK), Madrid, New York City, Montreal, Paris, Milan and Sydney. It’s managed by the Railway and Transport Strategy Centre, a highly-regarded transport research centre at Imperial College London.