Public transport usage among university students: what to expect based on customer satisfaction survey (CSS) analysis

Abstract

Customer Satisfaction Surveys (CSS) are valuable tools for both public management and operating companies. It provides useful information to understand public transport users’ needs, to define more effective goals, and to make more assertive investments. In the literature, the combination of market segmentation and the comparison between satisfaction and relative importance data have been rarely assessed. This study investigates the tendency for public transport continuous adoption among undergraduate students from Curitiba (Brazil) through usage habits, perceived satisfaction, relative attribute importance and GAP analysis. Overall, the results do not show an intention from the studied group to keep using this mode into the future. However, if properly motivated, students are more likely to become agents of change and could positively affect behavioral intentions toward public transport.

Keywords

• Public Transport. Customer Satisfaction Survey (CSS). User Perception. Relative Attribute Importance. Market Segmentation.