[Singapore, 16 September 2015 (Wednesday)] – The Institute of Service Excellence at the Singapore Management University (ISES) (卓越服务研究院) today released the 2015 second quarter (Q2) Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore (CSISG) results for Air Transport, Land Transport, Logistics, Public Education, and Private Education sectors.

Within the Air Transport sector, the three constituent sub-sectors performed similarly to the previous year. Changi Airport scored 75.1-points, a dip of 0.3-points (-0.4%), while Airlines scored 73.2-points (-0.1-points/-0.1%) and Budget Airlines scored 68.3-points (score unchanged from 2014).

The Land Transport sector fared better. The Taxi Services and Public Buses sub-sectors recorded significantly improved scores from the previous year. Taxi Services scored 65.9-points, an annual improvement of 2.7-points (+4.3%) while Public Buses scored 60.9-points, an increase of 2.4-points (+4.1%). The MRT sub-sector also saw higher scores across both operators, scoring an overall 62.0-points, a 2.2-point (+3.7%) increase over 2014; it is important to note the survey period concluded prior to the 7 July disruption of the MRT network, which may otherwise have negatively impacted commuter satisfaction since.

There were slight year-on-year movements for the two Logistics sub-sectors. Courier Services scored 70.2-points, a 1.0-point (-1.4%) fall, while the Postal Services sub-sector inched up 0.3-points (+0.4%) to 71.5-points.

Additional analysis into the Land Transport sector, specifically the improved scores for the MRT and Public Buses sub-sectors, revealed that the more commuters believe that the operator is working in their best interest, and the more commuters are happy with the adequacy of government intervention in land transport, the more likely these same commuters will have high(er) satisfaction with the transport operator.

Academic Director of ISES and Assistant Professor of Marketing (Practice) Marcus Lee (李德发) said, “This observation suggests that customer satisfaction with our public transport operators is more multi-faceted and improving satisfaction will take more than reliable trains and frequent buses.

“Operators will need to have in place a collaborative and integrated strategy to improve the commuting experience, one that has the commuting public vested in the improvements and supported by government agencies,” remarked Dr Lee.

The overall CSISG score for the Public Education sector improved year-on-year, on the back of a record 75.6-points from the Universities sub-sector (+2.1-points/+2.8%). The Polytechnics sub-sector and ITE sub-sector dipped 1.3-points (-1.8%) and 0.3-points (-0.4%) to score 69.8-points and 74.0-points, respectively.

On the other hand, the Private Education sector, which comprises of Private Education Institutions (PEIs), recorded a 1.7-point (-2.5%) year-on-year decline to 64.1-points.

Segmenting the PEI student respondents, it was revealed that those enrolled in part-time programmes were relatively less satisfied than full-time students. Segment analysis also indicated the poorer year-on-year CSISG showing from PEIs can be attributed to vocational programmes, as opposed to non-vocational courses that actually made a small improvement.

“Private Education Institutions offering part-time or vocational programmes may use this observation to examine if it applies to their own student population, and if so, look into areas that can help improve the student experience,” commented Dr Lee.

Further Private Education sector analysis showed that the top three drivers of students’ perceptions of quality were teaching quality, the PEI’s support services, and the student’s perceived suitability to the enrolled programme.

The CSISG 2015 Q2 survey was conducted between April and June 2015. The fieldwork garnered a total of 13,292 unique responses about customer experiences in the Air Transport, Land Transport, Logistics, Public Education, and Private Education sectors.

Please refer to Annex A for a background on the CSISG and the 2015 study, and Annex B for the detailed scores.  

For media queries, please contact:

Mr Tim Zhuang

Senior Manager, Marketing and Research

Institute of Service Excellence at SMU (ISES)

DID: (65) 6808 5258

Mobile: (65) 9748 9389

Email: timzhuang [at] smu.edu.sg

Mr Teo Chang Ching

Assistant Director, Corporate Communications

Office of Corporate Communications and Marketing

DID: (65) 6828 0451

Mobile: (65) 9431 8353

Email: ccteo [at] smu.edu.sg