

Chris Fox, CP24.com





A new express train to Pearson International Airport is hitting its targets for ridership, timeliness and customer satisfaction, according to a report presented to the Metrolinx board of directors on Thursday morning.

The report found that the Union to Pearson Express averaged about 3,250 riders a day during its first two weeks of service, which puts the train on target to meet its goal of 5,000 riders a day by the end of the year.

The report also revealed the results of an internal customer service, in which 78 per cent of respondents said they were “very satisfied” with the service and another 87 per cent said they were “very likely” to recommend it to others.

The survey, however, did uncover some problems for Metrolinx, mainly that only 58 per cent of customers said that it was easy for them to find their UP Express station and only 72 per cent said that it was good value for the money.

“A lot of people we surveyed, and we survey people every day, did say they had a lot of difficulty finding the station. We know we can improve our signage at all four of our stations and we are working with our partners to do that,” Metrolinx spokesperson Ann Marie Aikins noted in an interview with CP24 on Thursday.

In addition to the ridership numbers and the results of the customer survey, the report presented to the Metrolinx board on Thursday also revealed that the train has been operating on time in 98.9 per cent of all trips.

The UP Express is supposed to take 25 minutes to travel between Pearson and Union Station.

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