Best questions for student survey about transportation

Here are some of the best questions for a student survey about transportation, plus tips to make them effective. You can build a conversational survey in seconds using Specific—just generate one instantly and start gathering richer insights.

The best open-ended questions for student surveys about transportation

Open-ended questions let students share their unique stories and draw out honest, detailed feedback you can’t capture with simple yes/no options. They’re perfect when you want to dig into lived experiences, discover pain points, or hear improvement ideas in students' own words. You’ll surface details that structured questions alone miss—especially when exploring student transportation habits, satisfaction, and barriers.

1. How do you normally get to and from campus, and why do you choose this mode of transportation?

2. Can you describe any challenges you face during your daily commute to college?

3. What would make your journey to campus safer or more convenient?

4. How satisfied are you with your current transportation options, and what could be improved?

5. Has your commute ever impacted your class attendance or participation? Please explain.

6. Have you noticed any seasonal or weather-related issues that affect your transportation?

7. If you could change one thing about campus or public transportation, what would it be?

8. How do transportation costs influence your choice of commuting mode?

9. What concerns—if any—do you have about environmental impact and transportation?

10. For international students: What challenges have you faced using transportation here?

Open-ended questions like these uncover diverse perspectives, such as how students in urban areas are more likely to walk or cycle (66.7% in Galway vs. 34.8% in Dublin sub-areas) and what barriers—like long commute times—might limit engagement. [1][3]

The best single-select multiple-choice questions

Single-select multiple-choice questions are your go-to when you need data you can quantify or want to lower the barrier for participation. These are great for quickly assessing patterns (like most-used transport modes), and can kick-start further conversation—sometimes, it’s simply easier for students to pick an option first before digging into the “why” with follow-ups.

Question: What is your primary mode of transportation to campus?

• Walking

• Bicycle

• Bus

• Train

• Driving (car/motorbike)

• Ride-sharing

• Other

Question: How satisfied are you with the public transit options available for getting to campus?

• Very satisfied

• Satisfied

• Neutral

• Dissatisfied

• Very dissatisfied

Question: What is your main reason for choosing your current transportation mode?

• Convenience

• Cost

• Time

• Environmental concerns

• Physical activity

• Other

When to follow up with "why?" Use a follow-up “why?” when someone’s answer holds a hidden story. For example, if most students indicate “Bus” as their main mode, ask why that option stands out—maybe it’s cost, convenience, or simply a lack of alternatives. Sometimes, a student may choose “Dissatisfied” with public transit. A simple follow-up: “Could you share what would make public transit a better experience for you?” brings up key pain points—like long wait times or missed connections—directly. Responses show that only 50% of students express satisfaction with public transit wait times. [2]

When and why to add the "Other" choice? Always include “Other” for multi-choice—students might have unique routines (like skateboarding, carpooling, or using an e-bike) that don’t fit predefined boxes. Following up with “Can you tell us more about your choice?” often uncovers trends you hadn’t anticipated, giving you real-world feedback to improve future options.

NPS questions to measure satisfaction and advocacy

Net Promoter Score (NPS) is widely used to gauge loyalty and word-of-mouth for services—including transportation. For students, NPS can identify the likelihood that they’d recommend their current transportation mode or campus transit services to friends. This single question, when paired with a follow-up, provides both a clear metric and actionable feedback. Given that only around 73% of university students are satisfied with transit services, but satisfaction is much lower for specific pain points like wait times, NPS helps you quickly benchmark overall sentiment while surfacing individual concerns. [2]

To set up an NPS-style question tailored to transportation, try this:

• On a scale from 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend your campus transportation options to a fellow student?

Afterwards, you can follow up based on their score—ask promoters what’s working, or detractors about improvements. You can generate an NPS survey for students about transportation here with just a click.

The power of follow-up questions

Structured questions get you started, but it’s the follow-ups that turn flat data into deep insight. Automated follow-up questions help you clarify vague answers, explore motivations, and surface hidden themes—all in a natural, chat-like flow.

Specific is built for this. The AI asks smart follow-ups instantly based on every student’s previous reply, probing as an expert researcher would in a live interview. This is a game-changer compared to email or static forms, where clarifying a confusing answer can drag out the process for days. Real-time follow-ups encourage students to reflect and clarify—the conversation feels natural, not forced.

• Student: “I’m not happy with the buses.”

• AI follow-up: “Could you tell me more about what makes bus service unsatisfying for you?”

How many follow-ups to ask? Two or three smart, context-aware follow-ups are usually plenty. Too many can drag; too few, and key details are lost. With Specific, you can always set how many follow-ups are allowed—or let respondents skip to the next question if there’s nothing more to add.

This makes it a conversational survey—surveys become genuine conversations where students feel heard and understood, not interrogated by a robot.

Easy analysis: AI makes it simple to work with all the follow-up replies, even messy or open-ended ones. Our AI survey response analysis tool rounds up key findings, summarizes main points, and lets you chat with data for actionable themes. If you want a detailed explanation of the process, check this guide to analyzing transportation survey responses with AI.

Automated, AI-powered follow-up questions are still new to many survey creators. We encourage you—try generating a conversational survey with auto-followups and experience how much richer your feedback can be.

How to create better questions with prompts

Prompting ChatGPT or another GPT-based AI to write student transportation survey questions? Start simple—then add detail for better results. For instance, to get quality open-ended ideas, use:

Suggest 10 open-ended questions for student survey about transportation.

You’ll get even better questions when you give context—like your region, goals, or target concerns:

I’m designing a conversational survey for university students in a city where public transit is the main mode but many students complain about long commute times and unreliable service. Suggest 10 open-ended survey questions that gather both challenges and suggestions for improvement.

To structure your survey even further, ask AI to sort the questions into logical groups:

Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.

Then, once you know your categories—maybe “commute challenges” or “active transport options”—have AI dig deeper:

Generate 10 questions for categories commute challenges and transportation satisfaction.

This layered prompting will help you generate not just a list, but a well-rounded conversational survey that’s relevant and actionable.

What is a conversational survey and why use one?

A conversational survey is more than a static form—it’s an interactive interview where the AI asks tailored questions and reacts in real time. Instead of ticking boxes, students type (or speak) as if chatting with a real researcher. The result: higher engagement, deeper feedback, happier respondents, and better data.

Why use AI for student surveys? AI-powered survey generators, like the one in Specific, let you deliver question flows and analysis you’d otherwise need a professional research team for. The AI survey builder can whip up a survey from a plain-language prompt, edit questions conversationally, and suggest changes until it “feels right.” It’s a genuine shortcut—especially when compared to frustrating, click-heavy form builders.

If you want a step-by-step tutorial, check out our article on how to create a student transportation survey. With AI, you save time, get smarter surveys, and improve the entire feedback loop—while students are more likely to respond and engage deeply.

Specific also offers best-in-class user experience in conversational surveys, making gathering feedback smooth and engaging for both survey creators and the students who respond. Each AI survey example is conversational by design, and lets you analyze responses just like chatting with a smart research assistant.

See this transportation survey example now

Create a conversational transportation survey for students in seconds. Gather deeper insights with AI-powered follow-ups and instant analysis—see how it feels to finally get answers that matter, in students’ real voices. Try it yourself and experience the difference.