The Omnibuses 2010 Survey

We were truly flabbergasted by the response to the Omnibuses 2010 survey, so thank you to all who contributed. Aside from the multiple choices, there were nearly 250 written comments, suggestions or observations to consider. Of these, 80 per cent were positive, with the remainder neutral or less so. Analysis of these will necessarily take longer than I anticipated. To start things off, here are the easy bits:

1. How do you rate the Omnibuses?

92 per cent of respondents felt the OB was either “excellent” or “very good”. Indeed, almost half of you rated it “excellent”. When compared to 2009, the percentage of people who felt we were “excellent” increased by 10 per cent. No one felt Omnibuses was “poor” or “OK”.

2. How do you compare Omnibuses with other blogs?

A third of respondents felt Omnibuses was their favourite. Just over a third rated Omnibuses as better than other transport blogs. When compared to 2009, there was a four per cent increase in those who rated Omnibuses as their favourite. One person in 2010 stated that they preferred another transport blog.

3. What best describes you?

When comparing 2010 with 2009, more people who read Omnibuses work in the bus industry. Proportionately fewer people were enthusiasts. Enthusiast nevertheless make up the highest overall proportion when you added them to those who worked in the bus industry who declared they were also enthusiasts (some 80 per cent in total). Those who work in the industry (whether enthusiasts or not) made up some 45 per cent, an increase over 2009 of about 12 per cent.

4. How often do you read Omnibuses?

72 per cent of respondents read Omnibuses every day. The remainder visit at least two or three times a week. One respondent stated that they visited weekly. No one stated that they read Omnibuses at less frequent intervals. This mirrors 2009 almost exactly.

5. How often should we post?

Perhaps unsurprisingly, virtually everyone felt we should post daily. This compares with last year’s survey.

6. Do you feel that Omnibuses posts are too long or short?

This was a new question for 2010. Everyone felt the length was about right except two respondents who felt that they were too short, one who said they were too long and two who didn’t know.

7. Do you write a blog?

The vast majority of those responding don’t write a blog. 15 respondents stated they did, seven of whom compiled their own transport-related blogs. Of these seven, four felt Omnibuses was better than other transport blogs; two declared Omnibuses to be their favourite; and one felt that Omnibuses was about the same as other transport blogs.

Now for the difficult bit: compiling and summarising the text comments you have written (to be continued).