Quality of service in public transport based on customer satisfaction surveys: A review and assessment of methodological approaches

The growth of literature in the field of quality of service in the public transport (PT) sector shows increasing concern for a better understanding of the factors affecting service quality (SQ) in PT organizations and companies. A large variety of approaches to SQ has been developed in recent years owing to the complexity of the concept; the broad range of attributes required to evaluate SQ; and the imprecision, subjectivity and heterogeneous nature of the data used to analyse it. Most of these approaches are based on customer satisfaction surveys. This paper seeks to summarize the evolution of research and current thinking as it relates to the different methodological approaches for SQ evaluation in the PT sector over the years, and provides a discussion of future directions.This study is sponsored by the Conserjería de Innovación, Ciencia y Economía of the Junta de Andalucía (Spain) through the Excellence Research Project denominated “Q-METROBUS-Quality of service indicator for METROpolitan public BUS transport services”

Human-Centered Design Components in Spiral Model to Improve Mobility of Older Adults

As humans grow older, their cognitive needs change more frequently due to distal and proximal life events. Designers and developers need to come up with better designs that integrate older users’ needs in a short period of time with more interaction with the users. Therefore, the positioning of human end users in the center of the design itself is not the key to the success of design artifacts while designing applications for older adults to use a smartphone as a promising tool for journey planner while using public transportation. This study analyzed the use of human-centered design (HCD) components, the spiral model, and the design for failure (DfF) approach to improve the interactions between older users and designers/developers in gathering usability needs in the concept stage and during the development of the app with short iterative cycles. To illustrate the importance of the applied approach, a case study with particular focus on older adults is presented.The results presented in this study are based on “Assistant” project funded by AAL JP, co-funded by the European Union. The authors would like to thank Dr. Stefan Carmien, my colleague in Assistant, for mentoring and for reading and making comments in the earlier versions of this chapter; participating research institutes; funding agencies; and companies from Finland, Spain, Austria, France, and the United Kingdom for their active support throughout the project

Public transit user satisfaction: Variability and policy implications

This research focuses on passenger\u27s perception of transit performance with an emphasis on the variability between operators and the policy implications of such differences. Two statistical methods (factor analysis and ordered logit modeling) have been used to assess the quality implications of the variability of the users\u27 perceived satisfaction across operators. A market segmentation analysis (between male and female respondents) provides further insight into the differences among groups of the population. Five transit systems in the two major conurbations in Greece, Athens and Thessaloniki, have been examined. The analysis demonstrated that a well-coordinated transportation environment should be the primary aim of the policy makers in Athens, followed by other quality attributes such as service frequency and accessibility. In Thessaloniki, the sole transit operator should include in its policy plans immediate corrective measures addressing the service frequency, waiting time and vehicle cleanliness attributes

Measuring the Effects of Economic Crisis on Users' Perceptions of Public Transport Quality

Research was conducted to measure the effects of the economic crisis on public transport quality, user satisfaction, and transit demand. The survey used in this research extended a research effort that began in 2008; the survey aimed to analyze the variability of users' satisfaction within different public transport systems. The survey was conducted in Athens, Greece, from November 2012 to January 2013, during the peak of the country's economic recession. The content of the questionnaire that was used for the needs of the survey was similar to that of 2008 so that the results would be comparable. Passengers were asked to rate how important a series of metro and bus attributes were, their level of satisfaction with those attributes, their overall satisfaction with the main public transport operator they used, and the increase or decrease of their individual demand for public transport. A factor analysis was first performed to identify potential common patterns between the individual importance attributes. Ordered logit models were then estimated with the overall satisfaction as a response variable. Results of the analysis were then compared with the findings of the earlier (precrisis) research; this comparison revealed interesting adaptations in users' perceptions of the public transport operators' quality. Moreover, a hybrid choice and latent variable model was estimated to explore the overall satisfaction of the respondents. Finally, a demand model was developed; this model revealed the characteristics that led to the increase (or decrease) of public transit demand in the past 5 years

Macroscopic traffic flow models and optimisation methods for their validation

Μη διαθέσιμη περίληψηNot available summarizationΠαρουσιάστηκε στο: 6 th International Congress on Transport Researc

De la propriété et de ses formes primitives par Émile de Laveleye 4e édition, revue et considérablement augmentée (Paris, Félix Alcan, 1891)

Lefranc Abel. De la propriété et de ses formes primitives par Émile de Laveleye 4e édition, revue et considérablement augmentée (Paris, Félix Alcan, 1891). In: Revue internationale de l'enseignement, tome 22, Juillet-Décembre 1891. pp. 262-263

SMART-WAY: A mobile navigation system for public transport

The idea of SMART-WAY (SMART-WAY (2012)) is to provide a seamless public transport navigation system based on mobile devices that gives passengers the possibility to act as they are used to do with common navigation systems in their cars. Once entered the destination of their trip they are able to get into a vehicle and to jump off/on in order to change or interrupt their trips as often as they like to. Passengers are not longer bound to a printout of the route – the system will always guide them to the desired destination even if a change of vehicles is needed, the route is interrupted or modified. Commuters and locals are able to switch to alternative routes if their bus or train is late and tourists have the chance to find the quickest route to their hotel or to the main city sights