The objective of this research is to systematize knowledge on transportation customer research. It is to compile and disseminate practice, including but not limited to these elements:

• Questions, formats and alternative methods for obtaining customer ratings of satisfaction and importance of transportation services and products. 
  • Are there standard questions or metrics that agencies could consider that would facilitate benchmarking across agencies for those who are interested?
• Approaches to designing and directing customer research projects to obtain valid and reliable results.
• Approaches to applying customer research to such decisions as prioritizing investments, allocating budgets, or redesigning services and products.

Steps in the project will include:

Step 1.  Review recent research (e.g., NCHRP report 487: Using Customer Needs to Drive Transportation Decisions) that identify best practices and case study examples.

Step 2.  Survey transportation organizations to create a beginning profile of practice relative to professional market research standards.  Identify agencies’ lead staff practitioners, methods employed, and types of application in planning, measurement, and decision-making.

Step 3.  Convene a small experienced peer team to recommend ongoing mechanisms for continuing research and dissemination of customer research knowledge. 

Step 4.  Summarize the previous steps in a guidance document that can be distributed to state departments of transportation, MPOs, and other transportation agencies.

The final report has been sent to AASHTO and can be found at: https://www.statewideplanning.org/_resources/239_NCHRP-8-36-74.pdf