Customer satisfaction
The customer is at the center of our actions
High product quality is one of the most important prerequisites for implementing our Strong Rail strategy. The greatest levers for improving product quality include high levels of punctuality, the use of modern vehicles, reliable and comprehensive customer and transport information, the quality and reliability of the services offered and appropriate transport and transport times. That is why we continually invest in our fleet and infrastructure, and optimize cooperation with our suppliers and sector partners. We are also intensively exploiting the opportunities offered by digitalization.
Improving punctuality is particularly important as it is the key factor influencing customer satisfaction and therefore makes a positive contribution to meeting our customer needs, even in the context of increasing mobility needs.
Only if trains and buses operate sustainably with a high degree of punctuality will passengers use rail transport for their private and work-related journeys in the long term, thereby guaranteeing the success of society’s shift in the mode of transport. Punctuality is also the key factor in the stability of production systems. In the long-distance and freight transport sectors especially, delays lead to impaired vehicle and personnel cycles, which in turn have a negative effect on maintenance delivery. This ties up the capacity and resources that are urgently needed for the desired growth in traffic in both passenger and freight transport. From an economic point of view, a high level of punctuality also minimizes the risk of penalty payments in contracted local passenger transport as well as compensation via passenger rights in long-distance passenger transport.
Development in the year under review
Customer satisfaction / SI | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
DB Long-Distance | 74.8 | 77.8 | 80.2 |
DB Regional (rail) | 70.1 | 71.6 | 69.0 |
DB Regional (bus) | 74 | 75 | 71 |
DB Cargo | 67 | 70 | 68 |
DB Netze Stations (passengers/visitors) | 71 | 73 | 72 |
DB Arriva (bus and rail, United Kingdom) | 73 | 77 | 80 |
DB Schenker | 70 | 68 | 74 |
One of DB Group’s top goals is to achieve a consistently high level of customer satisfaction. In passenger transport, in addition to the development of operational key indicators such as punctuality and capacity utilization, ticket purchase, offering, space availability, comfort and providing information, play an important role.
Regular evaluation of customer satisfaction is hugely important. The results of the entire travel experience are discussed in regular performance dialogs and efficient management of customer satisfaction is ensured. The data is gathered in each case by independent market research institutes. The aim is to conduct a direct survey after the end of the trip in order to better assess the relationships between buying decisions and repeat use. The identified drivers of satisfaction are ranked against each other. Details on development in the individual business units can be found in the chapter Development of business units.
Outlook - Strong Rail top targets
Anticipated development | 2022 | 2023 |
Customer satisfaction DB Long-Distance (SI) | 74.8 | ~ 77 |
Customer satisfaction DB Regional (rail) (SI) | 70.1 | ~ 70 |
Customer satisfaction DB Cargo (SI) | 67 | ~ 61 |
Following the significant deterioration in customer satisfaction due to operational quality in 2022, a consistent level is expected for 2023. The background to this is the continuing challenges in relation to operating quality. At DB Cargo, we expect the customer satisfaction score to be significantly lower at the next measurement in March 2023 due to the significant drop in punctuality in 2022.