Customers have high satisfaction with Wisconsin DOT

March 14, 2013

State agency is outperforming other departments of transportation

Wisconsin residents value the state’s multimodal transportation system and have a high level of satisfaction with the job being done by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT), according to a statewide customer satisfaction survey.

"We've made it a priority to provide accountability and transparency in how well the department is performing through our MAPSS Performance Improvement Program and other efforts," said WisDOT Secretary Mark Gottlieb. "There's no better way to measure our success in meeting expectations than to get direct feedback from customers. We're pleased to find customer satisfaction is at a high level."

Surveys were completed by 1,860 individuals from around the state. The results show 70 percent of respondents satisfied or very satisfied with the department and only five percent dissatisfied. Even higher levels of satisfaction were reported for WisDOT's Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) at 75 percent and Division of State Patrol (DSP) at 72 percent satisfied or very satisfied. The overall performance rating of 70 percent is significantly higher than the 55 percent average for other departments of transportation in the north central United States.

Overall Customer Satisfaction by Percent of Respondents

Customers gave especially high marks to DMV mail service, availability of DMV information on the Internet, DSP response to crashes and vehicle breakdowns, highway operations and maintenance and clearly signing construction work zones.

Respondents also voiced strong support for making infrastructure investments in the state's multi-modal transportation system, with 45 percent of those responding indicating the level of funding for transportation should increase over the next five years. In addition:

• 95 percent believe repairing and maintaining existing highways is important
• 86 percent want added turning/passing lanes
• 82 percent believe reducing traffic congestion is important
• 78 percent want the state to make it easier to move freight
• 77 percent believe it's important to expand transit for seniors and/or disabled individuals
• 75 percent think the state should add lanes to increase capacity

While the survey indicated WisDOT is moving in the right direction, customers identified some opportunities for improvement. Customer priorities include increasing the use of the state’s 511 traveler information system, improving DMV phone and customer service centers, enforcing traffic laws and helping to prevent traffic crashes, keeping highways smooth and free of potholes, removing snow and ice from highways and ensuring striping on highways is visible at night and during wet weather.

"We'll be reviewing the survey results in more detail and use the information to identify ways to improve our performance and further build on these encouraging results," said Secretary Gottlieb.

The survey was conducted as part of the department’s MAPSS Performance Improvement Program. MAPSS provides transparent reporting of performance measures for the department’s core goals of mobility, accountability, preservation, safety and service. More information on MAPSS is on the web. The complete survey and research report is available on the WisDOT web site.

For more information, contact:
Peg Schmitt, WisDOT Communications director
(608) 266-3581, peg.schmitt@dot.wi.gov