Use of Market Research Panels in Transit (2013)

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62 The Washington State Transportation Commission (WSTC) is a Governor-appointed body with a variety of responsibilities related to state transportation fiscal and policy matters, including setting rates and polices for toll roads/bridges and ferries. Washington State Ferries (WSF) serves eight counties within Washington State and the Province of British Columbia in Canada. The system has 10 routes and 20 terminals that are served by 22 vessels, with annual ridership of almost 23 million passengers. In 2006, the Washington state legislature passed a law requir- ing the WSTC to conduct surveys of ferry riders every two years to help inform level of service, operational, pricing, planning, and investment decisions. Following is the relevant excerpt from the Revised Code of Washington (RCW): RCW 47.60.286 Ferry user data survey. (1) The commission shall, with the involvement of the department, conduct a survey to gather data on ferry users to help inform level of service, operational, pricing, planning, and investment decisions. The survey must include, but is not limited to: (a) Recreational use; (b) Walk-on customer use; (c) Vehicle customer use; (d) Freight and goods movement demand; and (e) Reactions to potential operational strategies and pricing policies described under RCW 47.60.327 and 47.60.290. (2) The commission shall develop the survey after providing an opportunity for ferry advisory committees to offer input. (3) The survey must be updated at least every two years and main- tained to support the development and implementation of adaptive management of ferry services. During the 2011-2012 legislative session, a new section was added to the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) 47.64.355 relating to performance measures for the ferries, specifically passenger satisfaction measures to be collected through the ferry riders’ opinion group (FROG) survey panel. It states in part: The committee may also develop performance measures in addition to the following: (2) Service effectiveness measures including but not limited to passenger satisfaction of interactions with ferry employees, cleanliness and comfort of vessels and terminals, and satisfac- tory response to requests for assistance. Passenger satisfaction must be measured by an evaluation that is created by a contracted market research company and conducted by the Washington state transportation commission as a part of the ferry riders’ opinion group survey. The Washington state transportation commission shall, to the extent possible, integrate the passenger satisfaction evaluation into the ferry user data survey described in RCW 47.60.286. APPENDIX D Revised Code of Washington Related to Ferry User Surveys

Abbreviations used without definitions in TRB publications: A4A Airlines for America AAAE American Association of Airport Executives AASHO American Association of State Highway Officials AASHTO American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials ACI–NA Airports Council International–North America ACRP Airport Cooperative Research Program ADA Americans with Disabilities Act APTA American Public Transportation Association ASCE American Society of Civil Engineers ASME American Society of Mechanical Engineers ASTM American Society for Testing and Materials ATA American Trucking Associations CTAA Community Transportation Association of America CTBSSP Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program DHS Department of Homeland Security DOE Department of Energy EPA Environmental Protection Agency FAA Federal Aviation Administration FHWA Federal Highway Administration FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration FRA Federal Railroad Administration FTA Federal Transit Administration HMCRP Hazardous Materials Cooperative Research Program IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers ISTEA Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 ITE Institute of Transportation Engineers MAP-21 Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (2012) NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASAO National Association of State Aviation Officials NCFRP National Cooperative Freight Research Program NCHRP National Cooperative Highway Research Program NHTSA National Highway Traffic Safety Administration NTSB National Transportation Safety Board PHMSA Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration RITA Research and Innovative Technology Administration SAE Society of Automotive Engineers SAFETEA-LU Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (2005) TCRP Transit Cooperative Research Program TEA-21 Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (1998) TRB Transportation Research Board TSA Transportation Security Administration U.S.DOT United States Department of Transportation