Gabriela Beirão

José Sarsfield Cabral

Repositório Aberto da Universidade do Porto

4th International Conference on Traffic and Transport Psychology Washington D.C., 31 Agosto a 4 de Setembro 2008  Measuring Satisfaction with Public Transport in Attitudinal Market Segments G. Beirão*, J. S. Cabral Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, Portugal  This	   paper	   explores	   measures	   of	   importance	   and	   performance	   with	   public	   transport.	   A	  dissatisfaction	  measure,	   witch	   combines	  measures	   of	   importance	   and	   performance	   labelled	  user	   disgruntlement	   (Stradling	   et	   al.,	   2007),	   was	   used	   to	   ascertain	   which	   aspects	   of	   service	  need	  urgent	  improvement.	  Because	  attitudes	  as	  well	  as	  perceptions	  are	  important	  factors	  that	  characterize	   the	   underlying	   travel	   behaviour,	   insights	   into	   six	   previously	   extracted	   market	  segments	  using	  attitudes	  towards	  travel	  were	  analysed.	  	  As	  expected,	   the	  percentage	  of	  disgruntled	  respondents	  with	  the	  service	  quality	  attributes	   is	  higher	   for	   non-­‐users	   of	   public	   transport	   and	   for	   work/school	   trips.	   The	   analysis	   of	   the	   six	  attitude	  segments	  showed	  that	  the	  Obstinate	  Drivers,	  the	  Tense	  Riders	  and	  the	  Status	  Seekers	  Environmentalists	   clusters	   are	   the	   most	   disgruntled	   and	   feel	   that	   the	   service	   should	   be	  performed	  better.	  On	   the	  contrary	   the	  Transit	  Enthusiasts	   are	   the	  most	   satisfied	  with	  public	  transport	   services.	   Travel	   mode	   choice,	   travel	   purpose	   and	   intention	   to	   use	   more	   public	  transport	   vary	   across	   the	   segments,	   suggesting	   that	   perceptions	   and	   attitudes	   must	   be	  integrated	   to	   understand	   which	   segments	   are	   most	   willing	   to	   switch	   behaviour	   and	   which	  service	   aspects	   should	   be	   improved	   first.	   This	   has	   important	   implications	   for	   transport	  initiatives	   targeting	   travel	   behaviour	   change	   and	   promoting	   alternatives	   to	   car	   use.	   It	   is	  essential	   for	   public	   transport	   operators	   to	   promote	   a	   positive	   public	   perception	   of	   their	  services.	  This	  requires	  an	  understanding	  of	  how	  consumers’	  perceived	  the	  service	  offered	  and	  which	  aspects	  are	  more	  important	  for	  the	  segments	  most	  motivated	  to	  change.	  	  Reference:	  Stradling,	   S.	   G.,	   Anable,	   J.,	   Carreno,	   M.	   (2007).	   "Performance,	   importance	   and	   user	  disgruntlement:	   A	   six-­‐step	   method	   for	   measuring	   satisfaction	   with	   travel	   modes."	  Transportation	  Research	  Part	  A:	  Policy	  and	  Practice	  41(1),	  pp.	  98-­‐106.	  	  Keywords:	  Customer	  satisfaction	  ,	  market	  segmentation,	  travel	  attitudes	  and	  travel	  behaviour 	  

Measuring Satisfaction with Public Transport in Attitudinal Market Segments

Open Repository of the University of Porto

4th International Conference on Traffic and Transport Psychology 
Washington D.C., 31 Agosto a 4 de Setembro 2008 
 
Measuring Satisfaction with Public Transport in 
Attitudinal Market Segments 
G. Beirão*, J. S. Cabral 
Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, Portugal 
 
This	   paper	   explores	   measures	   of	   importance	   and	   performance	   with	   public	   transport.	   A	  
dissatisfaction	  measure,	   witch	   combines	  measures	   of	   importance	   and	   performance	   labelled	  
user	   disgruntlement	   (Stradling	   et	   al.,	   2007),	   was	   used	   to	   ascertain	   which	   aspects	   of	   service	  
need	  urgent	  improvement.	  Because	  attitudes	  as	  well	  as	  perceptions	  are	  important	  factors	  that	  
characterize	   the	   underlying	   travel	   behaviour,	   insights	   into	   six	   previously	   extracted	   market	  
segments	  using	  attitudes	  towards	  travel	  were	  analysed.	  	  
As	  expected,	   the	  percentage	  of	  disgruntled	  respondents	  with	  the	  service	  quality	  attributes	   is	  
higher	   for	   non-­‐users	   of	   public	   transport	   and	   for	   work/school	   trips.	   The	   analysis	   of	   the	   six	  
attitude	  segments	  showed	  that	  the	  Obstinate	  Drivers,	  the	  Tense	  Riders	  and	  the	  Status	  Seekers	  
Environmentalists	   clusters	   are	   the	   most	   disgruntled	   and	   feel	   that	   the	   service	   should	   be	  
performed	  better.	  On	   the	  contrary	   the	  Transit	  Enthusiasts	   are	   the	  most	   satisfied	  with	  public	  
transport	   services.	   Travel	   mode	   choice,	   travel	   purpose	   and	   intention	   to	   use	   more	   public	  
transport	   vary	   across	   the	   segments,	   suggesting	   that	   perceptions	   and	   attitudes	   must	   be	  
integrated	   to	   understand	   which	   segments	   are	   most	   willing	   to	   switch	   behaviour	   and	   which	  
service	   aspects	   should	   be	   improved	   first.	   This	   has	   important	   implications	   for	   transport	  
initiatives	   targeting	   travel	   behaviour	   change	   and	   promoting	   alternatives	   to	   car	   use.	   It	   is	  
essential	   for	   public	   transport	   operators	   to	   promote	   a	   positive	   public	   perception	   of	   their	  
services.	  This	  requires	  an	  understanding	  of	  how	  consumers’	  perceived	  the	  service	  offered	  and	  
which	  aspects	  are	  more	  important	  for	  the	  segments	  most	  motivated	  to	  change.	  
	  
Reference:	  
Stradling,	   S.	   G.,	   Anable,	   J.,	   Carreno,	   M.	   (2007).	   "Performance,	   importance	   and	   user	  
disgruntlement:	   A	   six-­‐step	   method	   for	   measuring	   satisfaction	   with	   travel	   modes."	  
Transportation	  Research	  Part	  A:	  Policy	  and	  Practice	  41(1),	  pp.	  98-­‐106.	  
	  
Keywords:	  
Customer	  satisfaction	  ,	  market	  segmentation,	  travel	  attitudes	  and	  travel	  behaviour 	  


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Measuring Satisfaction with Public Transport in Attitudinal Market Segments

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