An exploration and importance-performance analysis of bus rapid transit systems’ service quality attributes: Evidence from an emerging economy

Authors

Muhammad Abid Saleem
Hanan Afzal
Farooq Ahmad
Hina Ismail
Ninh Nguyen

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

2023

Subject Area

mode - bus rapid transit, place - asia, place - urban, planning - methods, planning - service improvement, planning - service quality, planning - surveys

Keywords

Importance-performance analysis, Service quality, Bus rapid transit (BRT), Public transport system, Explicit and derived satisfaction, Customer satisfaction

Abstract

Bus rapid transit (BRT) systems have emerged as efficient, convenient, and cost-effective solutions to meet customer transport needs. Since their advent in developing countries, a plethora of research has examined the service quality attributes of such systems that contribute to customers' overall satisfaction. Yet, there have been some methodological gaps that have limited understanding of what maximizes customer satisfaction with the service quality of the BRT system. This current study intends to fill such gaps and examines drivers of explicit and derived customer satisfaction with BRT systems in the emerging economy of Pakistan. In-depth interviews were first conducted to identify key service quality dimensions for BRT customers from four major Pakistani cities. A structured survey was then used to collect data from a total of 481 respondents (useable responses) using the Qualtrics platform. Data were analyzed via gap analysis, importance-performance grid, and regression analyses in SPSS to identify service quality elements that derive BRT customer satisfaction. These three data analysis techniques produced varying findings regarding service quality dimensions needing improvement to increase satisfaction. This study provides critical insights to improve the customers' BRT experience and some theoretical contributions for future researchers.

Rights

Permission to publish the abstract has been given by Elsevier, copyright remains with them.

Comments

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http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/0967070X

Recommended Citation

Saleem, M. A., Afzal, H., Ahmad, F., Ismail, H., & Nguyen, N. (2023). An exploration and importance-performance analysis of bus rapid transit systems’ service quality attributes: Evidence from an emerging economy. Transport Policy, 141, 1-13.