Managing customer satisfaction with Metropolitan Public Transport Services based on perceived quality assessments

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to study consumer satisfaction with the perceived quality of ground public transport (GPT) services in the Moscow metropolitan area. The methodology used includes identification of the quality attributes of GPT services relevant to consumers which affect consumer satisfaction, the choice of alternative transport modes, and the competitiveness of GPT services. Study reliability is ensured by a representative sample which included the results of an online survey of 1517 respondents, cluster analysis and the employment of the CHAID decision tree method. The authors formulated and confirmed 4 hypotheses. Thirty-two attributes influencing consumer satisfaction with GPT services were obtained; clusters with different degrees of satisfaction were identified; and attributes of perceived quality that are important for consumers when choosing transportation modes were revealed. Recommendations for marketing and management solutions to improve the competitiveness of urban GPT services in relation to substitutes in order to increase the mobility of the population and reduce the environmental pollution of the metropolis were proposed.