Wyoming residents continue to express satisfaction with WYDOT’s work

More residents than ever indicated they feel satisfied with the way the Wyoming Department of Transportation takes care of the state’s transportation system.

WYDOT’s 2016 customer satisfaction survey results showed the agency received an all-time-high mark of 84 percent satisfaction for its stewardship of the transportation system, which is a significant increase from the 2014 survey result of 80 percent.

The results are part of a comprehensive survey the Wyoming Survey and Analysis Center (WYSAC) at the University of Wyoming conducted for WYDOT between Nov. 10 and 30. WYDOT has contracted with WYSAC to conduct the customer satisfaction surveys every two years since 2002 to help the department assess how well it’s fulfilling its mission of providing a safe, high-quality, efficient transportation system for Wyoming residents.

“We do a survey every two years because it’s important to find out what our customers think of us,” said Janet Farrar, WYDOT’s Strategic Performance Improvement Program manager. “It’s vital that we check in to see how we’re doing, so we can make needed changes.”

WYDOT’s overall satisfaction rate and other rankings have been on the rise since 2012.

“The high marks WYDOT continues to see is the result of the hard work and commitment of the department’s employees,” said WYDOT Director Bill Panos. “Understanding how we are doing as a government agency is critically important. Partnering with the University of Wyoming gives us a great way to target improvements and better serve our customers.”

WYSAC interviewed 952 adult Wyoming residents, including 700 on cellphones, representing every county in the state. WYSAC contacted them using randomly generated telephone numbers. The results have a margin of error of 3 percentage points with 95 percent confidence that the opinions of the state’s population as a whole fall within that range.

WYDOT also scored high in overall satisfaction regarding delays in travel. Eighty-seven percent of respondents agreed the state’s highways and interstates usually permit travel between destinations with only minimal delays. That number is trending upward from 2014’s figure of 85 percent.
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Regarding air travel, 70 percent of respondents said they’re satisfied with commercial air service, an increase from 61 percent in 2014.

Motorists also continued to praise the cleanliness of Wyoming’s rest areas. Ninety-three percent said they’re satisfied with the cleanliness, an increase from 2014’s 92 percent. Eighty-two percent of travelers said they’ve used Wyoming’s rest areas, an increase from 81 percent.
 
When conducting business at Driver Services, 79 percent said they’re satisfied with the promptness of the staff, a slight increase from 2014’s figure of 78 percent. Eighty-seven percent also said they’re satisfied with the overall courtesy of the Driver Services staff.

The Wyoming Highway Patrol also had significant increases in several categories. Seventy-nine percent of residents agreed WHP personnel respond to situations in an appropriate manner, an increase from 73 percent in 2014. Eighty-three percent also agreed WHP meets their expectations, an increase from 78 percent in 2014.

When Wyoming citizens had contact with WHP, they had higher satisfaction. Eighty-four percent said WHP meets expectations, 83 percent said WHP responded in an appropriate manner and 85 percent said WHP personnel treat people with respect.

Other survey findings indicate:

• 84 percent said they agree Wyoming’s construction zones are properly identified and easy to navigate;
• 81 percent agreed WYDOT does a good job of keeping litter and debris cleaned up along state highways and interstates; and
• 83 percent said they are satisfied with how WYDOT communicates with the public.

Visit the Customer and Employee Survey Results web page to learn more.