Elderly Users’ Satisfaction with Public Transport in Thailand Using Different Importance Performance Analysis Approaches

Methawadee Chaisomboon,Sajjakaj Jomnonkwao,Vatanavongs Ratanavaraha

doi:10.3390/su12219066

Methawadee Chaisomboon, Sajjakaj Jomnonkwao + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su12219066

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Journal: Sustainability	Publication Date: Oct 31, 2020
Citations: 12	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Suranaree University of Technology

Abstract

Due to the rapid increase in population and the change in age structure toward the elderly, the phenomenon of societal ageing is being witnessed in many countries. The elderly travel less than the adult population due to decreasing mobility with an increasing age. In this study, we aimed to analyze the expectations and satisfaction of public transport users in Thailand using traditional importance performance analysis (IPA), gap analysis, and IPA integrated with competitor performance. We aimed to explain the differences in the analysis results produced by the three methods. The data were obtained from surveying 2250 elderly and 450 non-elderly adults. This study presents guidelines for improving the public transport service quality in Thailand to meet user needs. The results of this research showed that each approach provides its own distinctive aspects and theoretical differences, which lead to different interpretations. The results from the three approaches showed that equipment that increases safety for public transportation service users is an important factor for all elderly passengers that must be improved. Public transportation services in different regions should be developed to provide more reliable and regular services.

Highlights

We found that the studies on transportation service quality were conducted to increase service user satisfaction
The analysis results of user expectations and satisfaction from all three approaches showed distinct strengths and theoretical differences that led to different interpretations
The importance performance analysis (IPA) with the Gap2 approach is similar to traditional IPA, but it has a different objective, which is to compare the performance of a service to that of competitors

Summary

Introduction

In 2019, the number of elderly (aged 65 years and over) increased to 703 million worldwide, highlighting the global phenomenon of population ageing. Southeast Asia has the world’s largest number of elderly people, estimated at 260 million people, or 37% of the world’s total. This number is expected to remain stable until 2050 [1]. In 2019, Thailand had a population of 66.56 million [3] and had a proportional population of the elderly (aged 60 years and over) of 16.73%, or 11.13 million people [4]. By 2022, Thailand will be categorized as a super-aged society, as the proportion of the elderly will rise to 26.9% in 2030 and to 37% in 2050.

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