A survey by NRPS has revealed Scotrail’s satisfaction rate to be the highest ever at 90% up from 83% last year and well above the UK average which is still only 83%. Detailed satisfaction rates were:
Speed 92%
Punctuality 85%
Reliability 82%
While this is an improvement on the situation in 2016, it’s important to remember that things were far less problematic then than opposition politicians made them out to be. See:
Reporting Scotland uses out-of-date figures to distort the truth about Scotrail performance.
Talking-up Scotland 
Hi Prof – Humza must go!! – SNP baaaad!! – 90% satisfaction can’t be bad can it? How will they spin 90% satisfaction as some kind of ‘failure’ by the SNP and Scottish Govt? – I don’t pretend to know how the mainstream media will do it – but I’m confident they’ll have a right good go at running this as another ‘SNP bad’ story. (Probably by ‘hiding’ the actual figures under a load of nonsensical and diversionary quotes from the various Con/Lab/Lib Dem rent-a-quote mob).
Am still scanning the BBC website daily and trying to apply my analytical reading skills (developed by reading your blog and various others). An interesting positive headline and article in the Business Scotland section re. the power supply developments on Fair Isle. Headlined ‘Progress for island’s bid for 24 hour power’ – the article mentions that various bodies and agencies includiing Scottish Govt agencies are involved. (Doesn’t give a list but mentoions HIE by name). Frames the story positively explaining that the project will be operated by a community owned and run Fair Isle Electricity Company. The project will replace current diesel generator and wind power system – which doesn’t currently usually operate between 11pm and 7am. The new wind turbine/solar array/battery storage system will cost islanders less money and will replace polluting diesel wth sustainable energy. Quotes included from both HIE and a director of the community company – both raising the positive effects for helping to make island life more economically viable and, therefore, potentially encouraging in new residents – and that 24 hour power will encourage commercial enterprise opportunities also.
Surely these good things cannot be happening under that dreadful ‘SNP baad’ Scottish Govt? – Thanks, Ludo
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Thanks Ludo. Fairnuff
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Hi Ludo, yes you do get some upbeat positive stories from that broadcaster, it isn’t an unknown phenomenon, but how many negative or toxic or merely misinformative stories did you have to wade through to find it?? If you are going to put yourself through it, maybe you could count them up for us? 🙂 Every day. I think most online stories are fairly neutral (though I have heard the comments never are) (that is hearsay), but I don’t bother trying to read them.
I don’t know the article you are referring to, but further analysis might reveal that they used the phrase ‘Scottish government’? While, when they report on some slur of said Scottish government, it usually turns into ‘the SNP government’. Subtle, but I have found it to be mostly the case. Worth keeping an eye out to see if I’m wrong.
To tell the truth, I’ve never liked newspapers, I dislike the reporting format, and stopped buying them decades ago – so online versions hold no attraction for me. Discovering these wonderfully analytical (independence) blogs is like a dream come true for me, a far preferable way to get news (and views) – I would even read unionist ones if they did any remotely similar informed and rational style of blog (I really do have an open mind), but they don’t, usually I’m confused or outraged by the end of the first paragraph & give up – what I really really hope is that these independence blogs keep going after we get independence! They really are of a quality you don’t get elsewhere. The standard expected of any independence supporter seems to be far in excess of that expected for those opposed to (the only sensible option) it, weird. But it does mean we have a decent Scottish government and some really good, fully informative blogs out there (here? The Internet, is that here? Or there? ,,, oh-oh, some more philosophical introspection coming on,,,)
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Marx called it repressive tolerance. It convinces folk they’re not being lied to. In Soviet Russia everyone knew they were being lied to all the time so it didn’t work. Western ‘democracies’ have propaganda that does work. It’s why people voted against their own interests fro Theresa and Donald?
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Oh aye, and that’s grand about the trains being fine.
I might be becoming a bit blazé about good news these days! But I believe it was the Scottish government, that’s the SNP Scottish government I’m talking about – you know, the Scottish government that is run by the SNP, who even as a minority administration, manage to run our Scottish government, that’s the SNP one, just fine (no apologies to anti-SNP supporters – they ARE running the Scottish government fine – if you want some other party in charge, start holding them to the same account and standards the SNP are held to & they will be worth considering for such a position)… Right, where was I? … Oh, yeah, the SNP Scottish government (:-)) told scotrail to buck up or they were getting their franchise cut short – so it seems to be working! I do hope they are expected to achieve a bigger satisfaction rating than 90% though.
I had a bit of a rant earlier today when someone brought up the uk government’s (they are Tories)(hmm, maybe I should just say ‘the conservative government’?) pathetic plan of banning all new manufacture of petrol and diesel cars by 2040… Well apart from issues that that isn’t cleaning the air right now (as their plan was meant to do), AND did you notice that the courts had to force them to do anything at all?!, it is typical Tory strategy (oh yes, we hark back to the thatcher years) – just ban something, or shut something down, without ensuring the infrastructure is in place so it causes the least disruption (to lives, jobs, business etc). They’ll leave it up to private business to sort it out no doubt, and they always have our best interests at heart (aye right).
Can you imagine a future where you are stranded somewhere on the moors up north because no one thought to put in an electric charging point? We need planning! Leaving it up to councils is no good! [in the bleak, not-so-far flung, future ,,, and you are on a zero hours contract, and have no workers rights, so you can’t afford to call out the mobile recharging service, which is a private company paying their employees below minimum wage for a 60-hour week so they can make extra gross profit to pay dividends out to their shareholders in London, who promptly deposit it in tax havens abroad,,, oh wait, no one is earning enough to actually pay for the expensive private services, so, in fact, the dividends are so low, negative even, everyone in London stops investing, so the company goes bust, meaning that even if you did have the money, there is no one to call to the rescue. So, with the entire uk economy being a bust – nothing to invest in, no one with money to buy anything – we have to run everything on the black market, then there is no point in paying taxes, because the government isn’t running anything, just get some guy down the street to fix you up an old diesel motor from the scrappies (doing a roaring trade), and fill up at the nearest farm (roaring trade, cash only, in red diesel), and you can get about up the road to deliver the farmers vegetables to the next village, roaring trade selling them on (cash only) etc] [and air pollution remains the same] ,,,
[or the sunny near-future, where you have voted for independence, you earn at least the living wage, you are guaranteed a fair number of hours work every week & your rights are protected, you run out of electricity on the desolate moors, but you can afford a mobile phone, and the emergency electric charging company is subsidised so you can get them to come out. Also, research and development is fully funded by Scottish and EU organisations, so it is advanced enough to recharge the car in 20 minutes, while the rescue service person is getting paid good wages & good conditions so is generous enough to share their flask of tea & give you a wee heat in the cab of the rescue truck. Also, you are all earning enough to be paying all your taxes, to the Scottish government, to make sure these services are always there and improving all the time,,, next time you are out there there will be a charging point, and the private electric charging company has still made enough to keep their 50 foot yacht in kip marina. Everyone’s happy! ,,,, yes, yes, I’ve taken that story too far.] [all characters are entirely fictional, and the air pollution has been cut by 80%].
Envisioning consequences can be important too. I should point out that I haven’t actually read up about the uk government’s plan for electric vehicles, so the aforementioned rant may be unfounded, but I still hope I’ve made a small point about the interrelated nature of governmental policies.
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Steady, steady…
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Yay! Save the bumblebees! Positive action from the Scottish gov’t:
https://news.gov.scot/news/boost-for-bees-and-butterflies
Some pretty photos on there too.
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Surely a reason behind poor previous satisfaction ratings was the Engineering works on the Glasgow Edinburgh line. Caused major disruption at the time and downplayed by our media.
Definitely didn’t hear any comparison of satisfaction ratings North and South of border.
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Hi Prof – Hi Contrary and Clydebuilt.
Contrary – I very much enjoyed your Two Future’s riff on the deisel engine v Electric charged vehicles – it made me chuckle!
Clydebuilt – Absolutely spot on re. the engineering works causing disruption. Buried in the Beeb article it quotes the Scotrail MD Alex Hynes who reports that the 90% score “..equals our best ever result.” – and this being achieved “..when we (Scotrail Aliance) are delivering one of the biggest upgrades to our network since victorian times…” – Naturally – with it being the Scottish mainstream media the poor reader/listener/viewer has to do all the work themselves to ‘dig out’ that relevant context from the conent provided. Sometimes the ‘content’ is fairly comprehensive when you pull it appart – but the content has been ‘packaged’ in such a way that any positive stuff for Scotland (the SNP Scottish Govt, in particular) has to be trawled for with some high degree of determination! They really are ‘expert’ at that trick.
Cheers all, Ludo
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Hi Ludo …. “Expert at that trick”, I’d label it as professional, it’s their job,
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