Management approach and targets
High product quality is one of the most important prerequisites for implementing our Strong Rail strategy. Among the biggest levers for increasing product quality is the high quality and reliability of the services offered. This includes a high level of punctuality, use of modern vehicles, reliable and comprehensive customer and transport information as well as appropriate transport times. That is why we continually invest in our fleet and infrastructure, and optimize cooperation with our suppliers and sector partners. Opportunities offered by digitalization are being exploited.
Improving punctuality is particularly important, as it is the key factor influencing customer satisfaction and thus makes a positive contribution to meeting our customers’ expectations, even in the context of increasing and reliable mobility requirements. Only if our services are rendered sustainably with a high degree of punctuality will passengers use our services in the long term and thus contribute to a sustainable transport transition. Increasing unpunctuality makes it harder for our customers to plan and carry out business and private trips. If customer satisfaction decreases due to a lack of operational quality, this can lead to a decline in passenger numbers. Punctuality is also the key factor in the stability of production systems. Particularly in long-distance and freight transport, unpunctuality leads to disrupted vehicle and personnel circulation, which in turn has a negative impact on maintenance processes. From an economic point of view, a high level of punctuality also minimizes the risk of contractual penalties in local transport and compensation via passenger rights in long-distance transport.
The importance of punctuality is taken into account by the fact that it is one of the determining factors for the amount of variable remuneration received by executives.
Improving punctuality requires continual internal management. This is done on the basis of lost units (number of delays) and additional key figures that take into account network capacity and availability, among other things. To measure punctuality, we compare the target arrival time to the actual arrival time for every train/bus journey. A stop is considered punctual if the scheduled arrival time is exceeded by less than six minutes for passenger services or by less than 16 minutes for freight services. Bus stops are only included in the punctuality measurement if real-time data is available. Final stops of buses are not included in the measurement. We use a punctuality rate to summarize the arrival of trains/buses on schedule or up to the defined maximum delay. The punctuality values are recorded daily and published internally together with cases of delays of 90 seconds or more (lost units) and other key performance indicators. The actual development is compared with the target values to analyze negative and positive deviations.
As part of performance dialogs, Management Board and Supervisory Board meetings and management reports to the Management Board and Supervisory Board, the development of key performance indicators is presented to give management impetus, identify focused decision-making needs and derive countermeasures. In addition, the progress of the agreed measures and the effectiveness of the measures are continually demonstrated based on further performance progress.
In addition to internal reporting, we also communicate topics relating to punctuality and product quality among other factors for the purpose of transparency and presentation of transport policy positions as part of our stakeholder dialog.
By setting medium and long-term punctuality targets as part of the Strong Rail strategy and the S3 restructuring program, DB Group has made a commitment to the further development of product quality. The top measures to ensure target achievement and their financing are defined annually in the mid-term and long-term planning and approved by the Management Board.
In addition to the various facets of product quality, the continual optimization of the price-performance ratio and product innovations, especially in the digitalization are significant levers for increasing customer satisfaction. We offer our customers a comprehensive range for their information needs. We aim to offer our products at an appropriate price-performance ratio to meet the expectations of our customers. This focuses on measures that increase the quality of our services, efficiency of our processes and profitability.
To assess the success of our measures from our customers’ perspective, we use direct indicators such as revenues, the number of passengers and satisfaction during the travel experience. The results of regular customer surveys are used to measure success and identify potential for improvement.