The Influence of Condition of Minibus Taxis, Compliance with Road Rules on Quality of Service and Commuter Satisfaction in Harrismith, South Africa

Abstract

Despite the increasing awareness of the paramount importance of service quality on commuter satisfaction in the context of public transport, research efforts focused on the investigation of the role of condition of minibuses, compliance with road rules and service quality in fostering commuter satisfaction within minibus taxi service sector have largely remained scant, particularly in developing countries of Southern Africa. Therefore, the primary objective of this study is to fill this void. Three research hypotheses are posited and a sample data of 213 collected from the commuters in Harrismith, South Africa was used to empirically test the hypotheses. The results of this study show that, the condition of minibuses and compliance with road rules positively influences quality of service and commuter satisfaction in a significant way. Public transit implications of the findings are discussed and limitations as well as future research directions are indicated. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n14p319