SERVICE QUALITY AND CUSTOMER ACCEPTABILITY AT THE CAPE COAST BRANCH OF METRO MASS TRANSIT LIMITED

Abstract

The paper seeks to examine customer’s perception about the state of public transport in Ghana; assess the extent to which customers are satisfied with Metro Mass Transport’s(MMT)public bus service delivery; and further establish the relationship (if any) among service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty. A quantitative approach, using questionnaires, was adopted to survey 377 regular students from the University of Cape Coast, who mostly patronize public transport services, especially on vacations, public holidays and school reopening seasons. Data were analyzed, using descriptive statistics and Pearson’s product-moment correlation technique. The findings indicate that the respondents’ strongest perception of the state of public transportation was its importance to society. Majority of the respondents were generally dissatisfied with MMTsservice delivery; and empirically, there was a weak, negative correlation between customer satisfaction in terms of service quality and customer loyalty. It is recommended that Metro Mass Transit Limitedmanagement focuses on some quality variables such as safety-comfort-cleanliness; information-communication; accessibility; terminal and stop points performance; and online performance, in order to improve and sustain customer loyalty.