The limits of analyzing service quality data in public transport

In recent years, management and academics have increasingly focused on quality management in public transport. In particular, many public transport operators regularly monitor their service quality over time and use these data to assess quality performance (e.g., for performance-based quality contracts) and to determine managerial decisions (e.g., budget allocations for service improvements). However, despite the widespread applications of service quality data in practice, it is unclear whether cross-sectional analyses and cross-temporal comparisons of service quality data provide valid insights for quality management purposes. In this study, we investigate the usability of cross-sectional analyses and cross-temporal comparisons of service quality data by conducting an empirical study that tracked a panel’s perceptions of the service quality of public transport and its choice over the course of three consecutive years. The results demonstrate that cross-sectional analyses provide valid insights for quality management. However, cross-temporal comparisons should be interpreted carefully because the results of these comparisons are surprisingly unreliable. In fact, we find that service quality data do not provide reliable results over time and therefore conclude that cross-temporal comparisons of service quality data must be interpreted with caution for quality management in public transport.     

Asymmetric response model for evaluating airline service quality: An empirical study in cross-strait direct flights

In this paper we propose a framework to investigate service quality asymmetrically. An asymmetric response model within structural equation framework is developed to study the relationship between service quality and the passenger’s behavioral intention in the cross-strait direct flight (Taiwan–Shanghai). The results reveal that service quality in the loss region has more impact on behavioral intention than service quality in the gain region. Hence, attention should be paid to the service quality of important attributes in the loss region and strategies should ensure service quality of those important attributes that meet passenger’s expectations.     

基于服务质量差距模型的南宁出租车服务营销策略研究

文章采用城市出租车服务质量差距模型,结合南宁市出租车的服务现状,从乘客期望和实际感知的服务差距角度探讨影响城市出租车服务质量的因素,并从营销的角度提出改进策略.     

Service quality––developing a service quality index in the provision of commercial bus contracts

The measurement of service quality continues to be a challenging research theme and one of great practical importance to service providers and regulatory agencies. The key challenges begin with the identification of the set of potentially important dimensions of service quality perceived by passengers, current and potential. We then have to establish a way of measuring each attribute and identifying their relative importance in the overall calculation of satisfaction associated with existing service levels. Once a set of relevant attributes has been identified, this information can be integrated into programs such as monitoring and benchmarking, and even in contract specification. This paper, building on earlier research by the authors, investigates ways of quantifying service quality and comparing the levels within and between bus operators. The importance of establishing suitable market segments and the need to scale the service quality index for each operator to make meaningful comparisons is highlighted.     

Passengers’ Perceived Service Quality of City Buses in Taipei: Scale Development and Measurement

Abstract

To understand fully passengers’ perceptions and expectations of the bus service quality in Taipei, business managers and governmental agencies must seek a proper scale that can reflect passengers’ opinions accurately. This study develops and tests a service quality scale designed for a city bus transit system in Taipei. Churchill’s paradigm and a focus group interview were combined into a multistage scale development procedure. Based on the procedure, Taipei city buses were selected as the example, for which a service quality scale was developed. The final scale contains four dimensions and 20 items. These four dimensions are ‘interaction with passengers’, ‘tangible service equipment’, ‘convenience of service’ and ‘operating management support’. Finally, the results of scale development and the managerial applications of the service quality scale for the city transit system are discussed.     

Importance of user perception in evaluating level of service for bus transit for a developing country like India: a review

Assessment of service quality in bus transit planning has received due attention in recent years from the viewpoint of optimal service allocation. The concept of level of service (LOS) has emerged as an effective tool to measure quality of services. Service-quality assessment provides operators with knowledge on users' satisfaction with existing services and their expected LOSs. The importance of user perception towards assessment of LOS has been acknowledged by researchers. While LOS standards for public transportation have been established by the Transportation Research Board in the USA, researchers have questioned the applicability of these standards in the context of different geographic regions. Since the service delivery environment differs between developed and developing nations, the user perception of service quality varies between these economic regions. Substantial research has been carried out in the context of both developed and developing nations, to identify the bus transit service parameters that affect users' perceived service quality; however, little research exists that establishes LOS thresholds for bus transit, based on user perception. This paper reviews the concept of LOS, describes the importance of user perception in assessment of service quality and identifies the need to establish LOS thresholds for bus transit from user perception for developing countries.     

Transit service quality analysis using cluster analysis and decision trees: a step forward to personalized marketing in public transportation

A transit service quality study based on cluster analysis was performed to extract detailed customer profiles sharing similar appraisals concerning the service. This approach made it possible to detect specific requirements and needs regarding the quality of service and to personalize the marketing strategy. Data from various customer satisfaction surveys conducted by the Transport Consortium of Granada (Spain) were analyzed to distinguish these groups; a decision tree methodology was used to identify the most important service quality attributes influencing passengers’ overall evaluations. Cluster analysis identified four groups of passengers. Comparisons using decision trees among the overall sample of all users and the different groups of passengers identified by cluster analysis led to the discovery of differences in the key attributes encompassed by perceived quality.     

Methodology to determine service delivery levels for public transportation

When designing transit services, the Level-of-Service concept has been widely used by transport planners and service providers to assess the service quality of an existing transit system. In addition to the service quality assessment, service providers also need to estimate the service levels that will satisfy a maximum number of users and potential users, across all socio-economic groups, so as to maximize patronage. This paper demonstrates a method using the concept of ‘user satisfaction levels’ and their ‘zone of tolerance’, along with total utility and marginal utility for service providers, to provide a range of service delivery levels for individual transit service attributes in the city of Kolkata. This range of service levels provides a guideline for service providers within which they can consider making an improvement in service level. However, the final decision on service improvement is an outcome of both financial and infrastructural feasibility.     

Assessing Service Quality,Switching Costs and Customer Loyalty in Home‐Delivery Services in Taiwan

Abstract

This study empirically investigated service quality, switching costs and customer loyalty from home‐delivery services' customers' perceptive. With regard to service quality attributes, findings indicated that customers were most satisfied with ‘range of delivery’, followed by ‘seldom loses parcels’, ‘invoice accuracy’, ‘prompt and reliable collection’ and ‘delivery by due time’. They were least satisfied with competitiveness of price. A structural equation modelling (SEM) approach was employed to analyse the impact of service quality and switching costs on customer loyalty from customers' perspective. Results revealed that service quality positively influenced switching costs and customer loyalty, and switching costs had a positive effect on customer loyalty. Investigation of the moderating effect of switching costs on the relationship between service quality and customer loyalty indicated that it was significantly important. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings for firms providing home‐delivery services are discussed.     

公交服务质量评价研究

本文对评价公交服务质量的一些指标进行简单的探讨,选取了最有代表性的安全性、方便性、经济型、迅速性、准时性、舒适性6个方面12项指标进行研究。由于很难得到部分指标的确切数据,因此无法使用这些部分指标。本文中,采用经验概率作为其可靠性指标,简单直观的反映公交的服务能力。最后,简单介绍效能模型ADC并运用系统效能模型对西安二环2号线公交服务进行评价并给出相应的建议。     

Index numbers for monitoring transit service quality

The measurement of transit service quality is very important for guaranteeing a transport supply characterized by satisfactory service levels for the passengers. Even more important is the monitoring of the levels of service quality over time, which can be very useful to determine if the goals established by the transport planners are being met or exceeded. The status and evolution of transit service quality can be monitored through periodic and regular updating of the opinions expressed by the passengers about the service during the well-known Customer Satisfaction Surveys, allowing the effect of policies to be evaluated and specific interventions to be introduced. In this work, just the issue of monitoring service quality based on users’ opinions is approached, and the index numbers usually applied in the economic and industrial field are proposed for this purpose. Index numbers permit to study the fluctuations or variations of a variable or more variables over time, providing a powerful measurement for making comparisons and predictions of the analyzed concept. The index numbers were calculated on the basis of data collected from Customer Satisfaction Surveys addressed to the passengers of the metropolitan public service of Granada (Spain). The analyzed time period has been established from 2007 to 2013. Interesting results derive from the calculation of the index numbers. Since both perceptions and importance rates are considered in this methodology, the results can inform, not only on the satisfaction tendencies but also on the trend on customers’ priorities, which is actually the expected quality. Therefore, policies could more efficiently be designed to adjust the service to the users’ real needs.     

Relationships among service quality,corporate image,customer satisfaction,and behavioral intention for the elderly in high speed rail services

Since the Taiwan High Speed Rail operations, Taiwan's transportation market entered into a new era. Because of its competitive service of speed, convenience, environmental concerns and comfort, the High Speed Rail has not only made significant changes but has played a significant role in Taiwan's transportation. However, Taiwan now is an aging society. Due to the physical constraints among the elderly, demands to redesign the traffic system and maintain transportation safety are essential considerations. In the current market, Taiwan's transportation construction is facing fewer barriers; however, it must still improve, especially considering the health of the elderly. Thus, this study investigates elderly passengers' demands and further examined the relationships among service quality, corporate image, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intention. According to empirical analytical results based on structural equation modeling (N = 341), satisfaction directly affected travel behaviors, while service quality and corporate image played indirect roles. In addition, service quality plays a significant role on the effect of satisfaction. This study provides empirical evidence to indicate the quality of the accessible environment affects not only the effectiveness and efficiency of service quality, but also, the corporate image. The results provide valuable references for critically managing the elderly's usage of the high speed rail transportation service. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The asymmetric effects of service quality on passengers' choice of carriers for international air travel

The asymmetric effects of service quality on international travelers' airline choice behavior were investigated in this paper. The linear structural equation modeling system was first applied to quantify passengers' perceptions of service quality provided by airlines, which were then used as the input variables of the asymmetric response model developed to capture international travelers' airline decision. Their asymmetric responses to various service quality of airlines were assumed to be either gains or losses with respect to their reference points. The results showed that the asymmetric response model performs better than the traditional logit models that capture only symmetrical effects.     

Characterizing,measuring, and managing transit service quality

Recent studies to evaluate the quality of transit service are generating a good amount of renewed interest in an old idea, the passenger's perspective; this new interest stems from recognizing that transit service quality should be characterised, measured, and managed by parameters capturing both passenger and transit operator perspectives. However, although the selected parameters are user‐oriented in their input, the output may not be as user‐oriented as considered, and the number or the percentage of passengers is often neglected. As a result, the findings are often misleading because the perspectives of transit operators dominate. Therefore, academics and practitioners must rethink their strategies of quality analysis of public transportation by stressing more on the role of passengers. These challenges are addressed in this paper with a practical, simple, and holistic framework, for Transit Quality (TRANSQUAL). This framework provides for the involvement of all stakeholders in the characterisation, measurement, and management of the stages of quality monitoring, which is jointly analyzed at different planning levels. In the characterization stage, the framework supports the selection of parameters to be monitored. The measurement stage sets and measures four quality areas in terms of percentage of passengers who expect a predefined level of service, for whom the service is designed, who receive the planned service, and who perceive the service as delivered. The management stage computes the differences between these percentages, points out criticalities, and recommends corrective actions. These stages are investigated in‐depth, integrated, and discussed in a real‐life case study. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Improving transportation service quality based on information fusion

How to improve transportation service quality and thus attract more passengers to use public transportation systems is an important concern for city governments around the world. In this study, we propose a novel information fusion model that addresses the dependent relationships among the various criteria for a method of non-additive weighted gap analysis aimed at evaluating and improving the service quality of transport systems. The hybrid model remedies prior shortcomings and should be more applicable to real-world situations. The proposed model is applied to a real case study of Taipei city bus companies to demonstrate its usefulness. The resulting analysis and the managerial applications for improving the bus service quality are also discussed with regards to the current policies of Taipei city.     

Measuring the influence of bus service quality on the perception of users

Encouraging the use of public transport is a key policy goal in many countries. Therefore, public transport should offer the level of quality that accommodates the demands of current users, and importantly, the desires of potential users. This study investigates the influence of the perceived quality of bus service on the perception of both current and potential users. The study draws upon data from 512 questionnaires distributed across Belfast City in the UK. The study utilises a binary logistic regression model to quantify the relationships between the perceived quality of 29 bus indicators (independent) and the perceptions of users towards the overall bus service (dependent). Eleven significant indicators are reported to have significant influence on the perception of users. These indicators are utilised to propose scenarios for optimising the quality of bus service with the perceptions of current and potential users.     

Evaluating web site service quality in public transport: Evidence from Taiwan High Speed Rail

More and more public transport system passengers plan their trips by using website services. The passengers’ perceived service quality of a website plays a crucial role in recognizing the satisfaction of a transportation service chain. This study aims to investigate the passengers’ perception of electronic service quality (e-SQ) delivery through the Taiwan High Speed Rail’s (THSR) website, by adopting the Rasch measurement model to measure a subjective latent construct: perceived e-SQ. The Rasch model can compare person parameters with item parameters, which are then subjected to a logarithmic transformation along a logit scale to clearly identify which e-SQ measurement items are appreciated by certain passengers. Analytical results show substantial differences between the perceived e-SQ of various personal characteristics such as age, income, and trip types. Empirical results also demonstrate that passengers are most satisfied with the website’s accuracy of information and introduction to the THSR stations’ surrounding area, but are not satisfied with instructions when a transaction fails as well as the carriage layout of the THSR. Our analytical results also identify which service items lead to the perceived e-SQ difference between business trip and leisure trip passengers. The relationship between the two main attribute dimensions – quality of transportation information provided and quality of website services – are also further examined. The empirical results can help a transportation system service operator to better understand how passengers perceive e-SQ and to suggest what should be improved.     

Level of public transport service evaluation: A fuzzy set approach

The success of any enterprise, in a market-oriented economy, depends upon it's quality. This paper describes the results of a survey of commuters on the quality of services and their relative weights, and of the attributes that determine the service level of bus transport undertakings. The model uses the theory of fuzzy sets to process the information obtained. A composite index, called level-of-public transport-service (LOPTS), is defined and used to measure the service qualities. This approach is presented with guidelines for rating the quality of services, fuzzy-set representations of the linguistic grades, definition of LOPTS and its use in a public transport quality data base. An example is presents how the approach can be employed to analyse data bases generated from a quality survey. This approach is compared with the numerical rating approach with single number representation.     

Emissions of demand responsive services as an alternative to conventional transit systems

The environmental performance of public transport plays a key role in improving air quality in urban areas. An important way of improving existing transit services is to use innovative propulsive systems; however, this needs considerable financial resources that are not always available. Here we assess how the organizational form of the transit system may impact the environment relying on a new methodology that permits comparisons in terms of distance traveled between a traditional fixed-route and a demand responsive transit service. We apply an emission model to find the least polluting transit system under a broad range of scenarios with different road networks, service quality levels and demand densities. Results indicate that demand responsive transit services minimize emissions for high quality service level and low demand density scenarios. Furthermore, the possibility of employing smaller vans with lower emission factors guarantees additional substantial benefits in terms of atmospheric pollution for demand responsive transit services, thereby giving them a competitive advantage in virtually every case.     

How to Capture the Passengers’ Point of View on a Transit Service through Rating and Choice Options

Abstract

In this paper, a methodology for capturing the transit passenger’s point of view by using both rating and choice options is proposed. For this purpose, some discrete choice logit models are introduced; the models allow the probability of choice of some alternative transit services to be calculated, and the importance of each service aspect to be determined. The models are calibrated by using data collected by a survey in which a stated preferences experiment was proposed to a sample of passengers, and some judgements were expressed by them about their transit services, in terms of perceptions and expectations. The introduced methodology provides a relevant contribution from a practical viewpoint because it allows the identification of the most important aspects on overall service quality; it is useful to the transit operators for measuring service quality and for investing on the various service aspects in order to effectively improve transit services.