Assessing Customers Satisfaction of Urban Public Transport Service Delivery in Selected Cities of SNNPRS, Ethiopia

Abstract

The study is aimed at measuring the level of customers’ satisfaction in urban public transport service in three cities of Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s Regional State (SNNPRS) of Ethiopia, namely; Hawassa, Hosana and Sodo. The SERQUAL model which comprises five dimensions of service quality such as; tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy has been used to measure the level of customers’ satisfaction. The study was conducted based on cross-sectional survey design. A convenient sampling method was also applied to select the sample population. Accordingly, relevant data for the study were collected from 300 urban public transport users. The findings of the study revealed that, the level of transport need for popular mobility is 61% whereas the overall percentage of customers’ satisfaction is 37%. Again, the finding showed that, Bajaj or rickshaw motors is the most preferred and widely used mode of urban public transport by 70%. Generally, the urban public transport service is neither reliable nor tangible or responsive to the customers in all the study areas. This paper is based on an original research which opens eyes for policy makers to increase quality of urban public transport service to its customers. Hence, it helps to identify areas of gaps which need interventions to improve transport quality in urban areas. Keywords: Transport service, urban public transport, Transport Service, Customers’ satisfaction. DOI : 10.7176/JAAS/53-01 Publication date :March 31 st 2019