A survey by the Observatory of Urban Services (OSUR) shows that 64% of citizens are satisfied with municipal services, 3 points higher than last year. Water supply continues to be the best valued public service in Spain and even improves its perception, going from 61% to 69% of satisfied citizens, while dissatisfied citizens are down 8 points compared to the previous edition, going from 21% to 13 %.
The results of this second edition of the Barometer are the result of an annual survey that seeks to reflect the opinion of the municipal public services of the citizens of the 30 most populated towns in the country: Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Zaragoza, Malaga, Alcalá de Henares, Alicante, Badalona, Bilbao, Cartagena, Córdoba, A Coruña, Elche, Gijón, Granada, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Jerez de la Frontera, Móstoles, Murcia, Oviedo, Palma de Mallorca, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Pamplona, Sabadell, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Terrassa, Valladolid, Vigo and Vitoria.
In this edition, all services increase in valuation compared to last year. After supplying water, the services best valued by citizens are the garbage and waste collection, with 65% acceptance; public transport and mobility, with 64% (going from second to third place compared to last year); the care of parks and gardens, public spaces and sports equipment, with 59% satisfaction (this being the service that experienced the most notable improvement); and, finally, the street cleaning services, which receive a satisfaction level of just 48% and remain as the worst rated.
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As shown in the graph, Basques (80% satisfaction) and Navarrese (78%) continue to be the most satisfied citizens with their municipal public services, ranking well above the Spanish average (64%). The Autonomous Communities most dissatisfied with their services are Andalusia, which does not manage to get approved (49%), the Canary Islands (51%) and the Balearic Islands (56%).
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As significant variations with respect to 2017, the Balearic Islands precisely ceases to be in the last position it occupied in 2017 and has improved the opinion of its citizens by 13 points, to 56%. On the opposite side, the Canary Islands fell to the penultimate position of the ranking after decreasing the number of satisfied by 10% compared to the first edition of the Barometer.
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Ramiro Aurín, general director of OSUR, maintains that: “The data from this second edition of the Barometer reflect a slight improvement in the perception of public services at a general level by the Spanish, which indicates that the municipalities, in general, are doing well. The water supply, garbage collection and public transport are the best valued services and the satisfaction index is increasing in all of them. However, street cleaning is still the pending subject, since not half of the citizens give them a pass”.
Best and worst rated aspects
With respect to water supply, the service best valued by Spaniards, has almost 7 out of 10 satisfied citizens, only 13% are dissatisfied. This year the most valued aspects of the service are maintained compared to the previous edition: with 69% acceptance, the general quality of the service (good meter operation, pressure, continuity of service…); It is followed by the quality of the water supplied, with 59% and the sewerage service, with 53% satisfaction.
The garbage and waste collection This year it has been ranked second in the highest rated services, with 65% of satisfied citizens. The most valued continues to be the frequency of collection, with 76% acceptance, followed by the provision and equipment for the provision of the service and the selective collection container service, both with 67% satisfaction.
At public transport and mobility, that obtains an average satisfaction of 64% and an improvement in its perception of 5 points compared to last year, the most valued aspects are the condition and cleanliness of the vehicles, with 75% satisfaction; access to neighborhoods and frequency of metro and tram schedules, both with 65%.
The conservation of public spaces and street cleaning They are once again the worst valued services in this second Barometer, although it should be noted that this year their satisfaction rates have increased, with an increase of 10% more in satisfaction in the care of parks and gardens and 4% in street cleaning.
In the case of conservation of public spaces (parks, gardens and sports facilities) citizens appreciate the quality of the facilities and the care of green areas with 58% satisfaction. However, 38% feel dissatisfied with the low presence of maintenance personnel in parks and public spaces.
Finally, in relation to street cleaningIt should be noted that, although it rises four points compared to last year, Spaniards still find most of their cities dirty, without getting approved (48% satisfied). The presence of pet excrement continues to be the aspect that bothers citizens the most with 67% dissatisfaction, followed by cleaning sidewalks, with 45% negative opinions and 40% of the infrequency with which they are carried out cleaning the streets.
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