Service quality assessment of ride-sourcing services: A distinction between ride-hailing and ride-sharing services

Abstract

With the rapid advancement of wireless technology and internet services, ride-sourcing services have become an integral part of providing door-to-door connectivity to passengers. These services provide a real-time connection between drivers and users, and ubiquitously enhance the transportation sector and urban mobility. Present study explores the factors affecting service quality provided by ride-sourcing services in Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) by conducting research separately for ride-hailing and ride-sharing services. Users' perception was collected from a total of 1260 samples (630 for each) by undertaking face-to-face surveys using a questionnaire. Service quality models were prepared for ride-hailing and ride-sharing services using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) on 80% of the samples (504 for each). The remaining samples were used to validate both models. ‘Reliability’ was identified as the most critical factor affecting the service quality of ride-hailing services, while the most impactful factor regarding ride-sharing services was ‘Security’. External validation test concluded that mean error for ride-hailing and ride-sharing services were ±6.9% and ±7.5%, respectively, thus indicated the model effectiveness. The outcomes of this research will be helpful for the transport planners and Transport Network Companies (TNC's) to prepare guidelines for improving the service quality provided by these services, which in turn, will improve the urban mobility, ridership and the last mile connectivity.