Measuring the city bus service quality based on users’ perceptions: City bus service in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Main Article Content

Sonita SUM
Sajjakaj Jomnonkwao
Thanapong Champahom
Roodheer Beeharry
Vatanavongs Ratanavaraha

Abstract

The public transportation service quality continues to be one of the challenges for authorities and transportation stakeholders around the world. In this study, the researchers confront this challenge by identifying key attributes that affect the users’ perceptions on bus service quality in Phnom Penh City. Questionnaire surveys were collected from bus users to measure their perceptions of the bus service quality. After that, data were analyzed using Factor analysis. Twenty-four quality attributes were analyzed utilizing exploratory factor analysis (EFA). This has led to the conclusion that five main factors affecting the perceptions of users regarding the quality of bus services. They are Bus Stop Facilities, Bus Services, Driver Attitude, Bus Capacity, as well as Vehicle Condition. To check whether factor structure is acceptable, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was applied. In this context, the high factor loading of CFA means those attributes had forceful beneficial effectiveness on city bus service quality. The results of this study will help the authorities and involved stakeholders gain a depth of understanding of the underlying problems of city bus service and consequently will enhance the city bus service quality.

Article Details

How to Cite
SUM, S., Jomnonkwao, S., Champahom, T., Beeharry, R., & Ratanavaraha, V. (2020). Measuring the city bus service quality based on users’ perceptions: City bus service in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Engineering and Applied Science Research, 47(1), 47–55. Retrieved from https://ph01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/easr/article/view/202981
Section
ORIGINAL RESEARCH

References

World population review. Phnom Penh Population [Internet]. 2018 [cited 2019]. Available from: https://worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities/phnom-penh-population/.

Unescap. Country report on sustainable urban transport (Cambodia) [Internet]. 2016 [cited 2019]. Available from: https://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/Country%20Report_Cambodia_SUTI.pdf .

Steg L, Gifford R. Sustainable transportation and quality of life. J Transport Geogr. 2005;13(1):59-69.

Badami MG, Haider M. An analysis of public bus transit performance in Indian cities. Transport Res Pol Pract. 2007;41(10):961-81.

Shamsuddin S, Hassan NRA, Bilyamin SFI. Walkable environment in increasing the liveability of a city. Procedia Soc Behav Sci. 2012;50:167-78.

Bunting P. Making public transport work. London: McGill-Queen's Press-MQUP; 2004.

Nwachukwu AA. Assessment of passenger satisfaction with intra-city public bus transport services in Abuja, Nigeria. J Public Trans. 2014;17(1):5.

Nocera S. The key role of quality assessment in public transport policy. Traffic Eng Contr. 2011;52(9):394-8.

Figini M. Dare valore alle esigenze dei clienti e dei dipendenti dell'azienda (Giving value to customer and agency employee needs by means of customer satisfaction and groups of agency improvement). Milano: Franco Angeli; 2003.

Rietveld P. Six reasons why supply‐oriented indicators systematically overestimate service quality in public transport. Transport Rev. 2005;25(3):319-28.

Parkan C. Measuring the operational performance of a public transit company. Int J Oper Prod Manag. 2002;22(6):693-720.

Noor HM, Foo J. Determinants of customer satisfaction of service quality: city bus service in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. Procedia Soc Behav Sci. 2014;153:595-605.

Ettema D, Gärling T, Eriksson L, Friman M, Olsson LE, Fujii S. Satisfaction with travel and subjective well-being: development and test of a measurement tool. Transport Res F Traffic Psychol Behav. 2011;14(3):167-75.

Hayes BE. Measuring customer satisfaction: Survey design, use, and statistical analysis methods. Wisconsin: ASQ Quality Press; 1998.

Iseki H, Taylor BD. Not all transfers are created equal: Towards a framework relating transfer connectivity to travel behaviour. Transport Rev. 2009;29(6):777-800.

Cervero R. Built environments and mode choice: toward a normative framework. Transport Res Transport Environ. 2002;7(4):265-84.

Hu KC, Jen W. Passengers’ perceived service quality of city buses in Taipei: scale development and measurement. Transport Rev. 2006;26(5):645-62.

Deb S, Ahmed MA. Determining the service quality of the city bus service based on users’ perceptions and expectations. Travel Behav Soc. 2018;12:1-10.

Ratanavaraha V, Jomnonkwao S, Khampirat B, Watthanaklang D, Iamtrakul P. The complex relationship between school policy, service quality, satisfaction, and loyalty for educational tour bus services: a multilevel modeling approach. Transport Pol. 2016;45:116-26.

Verbich D, El-Geneidy A. The pursuit of satisfaction: Variation in satisfaction with bus transit service among riders with encumbrances and riders with disabilities using a large-scale survey from London, UK. Transport Pol. 2016;47:64-71.

Hu X, Zhao L, Wang W. Impact of perceptions of bus service performance on mode choice preference. Adv Mech Eng. 2015;7(3):1-11.

Mouwen A. Drivers of customer satisfaction with public transport services. Transport Res Pol Pract. 2015;78:1-20.

Shaaban K, Khalil RF. Investigating the customer satisfaction of the bus service in Qatar. Procedia Soc Behav Sci. 2013;104:865-74.

Veliou E, Kepaptsoglou K, Karlaftis MG. Night-time operations in transit systems: evaluating the Athens Metro owl services. J Public Trans. 2010;13(3):79-100.

Abreha DA. Analysing public transport performance using efficiency measures and spatial analysis: the case of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia [Thesis]. Netherlands: International Institute for Geo-information Science and Earth Observation; 2007.

Lau JC, Chiu CC. Accessibility of low-income workers in Hong Kong. Cities. 2003;20(3):197-204.

Champahom T, Hantanong N, Jomnonkwao S, Beeharry R, Karoonsoontawong A, Ratanavaraha V. Modeling user perception of bus service quality: case study of Mauritius. Songklanakarin J Sci Tech. In press 2018.

Kline R. Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. 3rd ed. New York: Guilford Press; 2011.

Lee CK, Yoon YS, Lee SK. Investigating the relationships among perceived value, satisfaction, and recommendations: the case of the Korean DMZ. Tourism Manag. 2007;28(1):204-14.

Hair JF, Anderson RE, Babin BJ, Black WC. Multivariate data analysis: a global perspective (vol. 7). New Jersey: Pearson Upper Saddle River; 2010.

Seiler MJ. Performing financial studies: a methodological cookbook. New Jersey: Prentice Hall; 2004.

Jomnonkwao S, Ratanavaraha V. Measurement modelling of the perceived service quality of a sightseeing bus service: an application of hierarchical confirmatory factor analysis. Transport Pol. 2016;45:240-52.

Maskey R, Fei J, Nguyen HO. Use of exploratory factor analysis in maritime research. Asian J Shipp Logist. 2018;34(2):91-111.

Hinton PR, McMurray I, Brownlow C. SPSS explained. USA: Routledge; 2004.

Hair JF, Black WC, Babin BJ Anderson RE.. Multivariate data analysis: a global perspective. USA: Pearson Education; 2010.

Hooper D, Coughlan J, Mullen M. Structural equation modelling: guidelines for determining model fit. Electron J Bus Res Meth. 2008;6(1):53-60.

Schreiber JB, Nora A, Stage FK, Barlow EA, King J. Reporting structural equation modeling and confirmatory factor analysis results: a review. J Educ Res. 2006;99(6):323-38.

Filipović S, Tica S, Živanović P, Milovanović B. Comparative analysis of the basic features of the expected and perceived quality of mass passenger public transport service in Belgrade. Transport. 2009;24(4):265-73.

De Oña J, de Oña R, Eboli L, Mazzulla G. Perceived service quality in bus transit service: a structural equation approach. Transport Pol. 2013;29:219-26.

Cafiso S, Graziano AD, Pappalardo G. Using the Delphi method to evaluate opinions of public transport managers on bus safety. Saf Sci. 2013;57:254-63.

Eboli L, Mazzulla G. Service quality attributes affecting customer satisfaction for bus transit. J Public Trans. 2007;10(3):21-34.

Tyrinopoulos Y, Antoniou C. Public transit user satisfaction: Variability and policy implications. Transport Pol. 2008;15(4):260-72.

Güner S. Measuring the quality of public transportation systems and ranking the bus transit routes using multi-criteria decision making techniques. Case Stud Transport Pol. 2018;6(2):214-24.

Goh K, Currie G, Sarvi M, Logan D. Factors affecting the probability of bus drivers being at-fault in bus-involved accidents. Accid Anal Prev. 2014;66:20-6.

Hensher DA, Stopher P, Bullock P. Service quality-developing a service quality index in the provision of commercial bus contracts. Transport Res Pol Pract. 2003;37(6):499-517.