IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/trapol/v75y2019icp57-69.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The role of critical incidents and involvement in transit satisfaction and loyalty

Author

Listed:
  • Allen, Jaime
  • Eboli, Laura
  • Forciniti, Carmen
  • Mazzulla, Gabriella
  • Ortúzar, Juan de Dios

Abstract

We analyse the relationship between transit passengers' satisfaction and loyalty. Understanding passengers' behavioural intentions after experiencing a service is an essential task for transit managers. We use structural equation models (SEM) to explore the relationship among various satisfaction latent constructs. In particular, we introduce Loyalty, which represents the intent to recommend the service. We also introduce the concept of Critical Incidents (CI), i.e. closure of a transit line in the last three months (planned) or a service anomaly in the past month (unplanned), and hypothesise that CI negatively affects any attribute-specific satisfaction construct. We additionally model the concept of Involvement, measured as the intent to participate in future public transport (PT) marketing studies, and hypothesise that both Overall Satisfaction and Loyalty may affect this variable. Finally, we conduct an SEM Multi-Group Analysis (SEM-MGA), with the objective to determine whether heterogeneity is present in passengers' satisfaction models, by incorporating users’ travel and demographic characteristics (i.e. gender, age, nationality, time of day, travel frequency, and trip purpose). Our findings show that CI significantly impact all attribute-specific satisfaction constructs, specially the unplanned events during the last month. We also find that Loyalty is influenced by Overall Satisfaction and also by specific satisfaction constructs. By comparing various SEM models, we find that service satisfaction constructs, such as speed and waiting time at the platform, are the most relevant towards Overall Satisfaction. The SEM-MGA serves as a tool to test for heterogeneity in the satisfaction models within user groups. We find differences in time of day, age, and travel frequency. Finally, we consider that the Involvement relationship needs further research. Our framework allows for more detailed policy-making in PT systems regarding heterogeneous subpopulations and more concrete policy variables, such as Critical Incidents.

Suggested Citation

  • Allen, Jaime & Eboli, Laura & Forciniti, Carmen & Mazzulla, Gabriella & Ortúzar, Juan de Dios, 2019. "The role of critical incidents and involvement in transit satisfaction and loyalty," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 57-69.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:trapol:v:75:y:2019:i:c:p:57-69
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tranpol.2019.01.005
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967070X18304384
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.tranpol.2019.01.005?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Laura Antonucci & Corrado Crocetta & Francesco d’Ovidio & Ernesto Toma, 2014. "Passenger satisfaction: a multi-group analysis," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 48(1), pages 337-345, January.
    2. Golob, Thomas F., 2003. "Structural equation modeling for travel behavior research," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 1-25, January.
    3. Machado-León, José Luis & de Oña, Rocío & de Oña, Juan, 2016. "The role of involvement in regards to public transit riders' perceptions of the service," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 34-44.
    4. de Oña, Juan & de Oña, Rocío & Eboli, Laura & Mazzulla, Gabriella, 2013. "Perceived service quality in bus transit service: A structural equation approach," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 219-226.
    5. Park, Jin-Woo & Robertson, Rodger & Wu, Cheng-Lung, 2004. "The effect of airline service quality on passengers’ behavioural intentions: a Korean case study," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 10(6), pages 435-439.
    6. Rosseel, Yves, 2012. "lavaan: An R Package for Structural Equation Modeling," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 48(i02).
    7. Lai, Wen-Tai & Chen, Ching-Fu, 2011. "Behavioral intentions of public transit passengers--The roles of service quality, perceived value, satisfaction and involvement," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 318-325, March.
    8. van Lierop, Dea & El-Geneidy, Ahmed, 2016. "Enjoying loyalty: The relationship between service quality, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions in public transit," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 50-59.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. de Oña, Juan, 2021. "Understanding the mediator role of satisfaction in public transport: A cross-country analysis," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 129-149.
    2. Mandhani, Jyoti & Nayak, Jogendra Kumar & Parida, Manoranjan, 2020. "Interrelationships among service quality factors of Metro Rail Transit System: An integrated Bayesian networks and PLS-SEM approach," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 320-336.
    3. Esmailpour, Javad & Aghabayk, Kayvan & Aghajanzadeh, Mohammad & De Gruyter, Chris, 2022. "Has COVID-19 changed our loyalty towards public transport? Understanding the moderating role of the pandemic in the relationship between service quality, customer satisfaction and loyalty," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 80-103.
    4. de Oña, Juan, 2020. "The role of involvement with public transport in the relationship between service quality, satisfaction and behavioral intentions," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 296-318.
    5. Jomnonkwao, Sajjakaj & Ratanavaraha, Vatanavongs, 2016. "Measurement modelling of the perceived service quality of a sightseeing bus service: An application of hierarchical confirmatory factor analysis," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 240-252.
    6. Díez-Mesa, Francisco & de Oña, Rocio & de Oña, Juan, 2018. "Bayesian networks and structural equation modelling to develop service quality models: Metro of Seville case study," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 1-13.
    7. Jonas De Vos & Long Cheng & Frank Witlox, 2021. "Do changes in the residential location lead to changes in travel attitudes? A structural equation modeling approach," Transportation, Springer, vol. 48(4), pages 2011-2034, August.
    8. Sun, Shichao & Duan, Zhengyu, 2019. "Modeling passengers’ loyalty to public transit in a two-dimensional framework: A case study in Xiamen, China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 295-309.
    9. Park, Keunhyun & Farb, Anna & Chen, Shuolei, 2021. "First-/last-mile experience matters: The influence of the built environment on satisfaction and loyalty among public transit riders," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 32-42.
    10. Sun, Shichao & Xu, Lingyu & Yao, Yukun & Duan, Zhengyu, 2021. "Investigating the determinants to retain spurious-loyalty passengers: A data-fusion based approach," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 70-83.
    11. Nattiya Wonglakorn & Vatanavongs Ratanavaraha & Ampol Karoonsoontawong & Sajjakaj Jomnonkwao, 2021. "Exploring Passenger Loyalty and Related Factors for Urban Railways in Thailand," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-15, May.
    12. Fu, Xue-mei & Zhang, Jiang-hua & Chan, Felix T.S., 2018. "Determinants of loyalty to public transit: A model integrating Satisfaction-Loyalty Theory and Expectation-Confirmation Theory," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 476-490.
    13. Juan Oña & Rocío Oña, 2023. "Is it possible to attract private vehicle users towards public transport? Understanding the key role of service quality, satisfaction and involvement on behavioral intentions," Transportation, Springer, vol. 50(3), pages 1073-1101, June.
    14. Juan de Oña & Rocio de Oña, 2015. "Quality of Service in Public Transport Based on Customer Satisfaction Surveys: A Review and Assessment of Methodological Approaches," Transportation Science, INFORMS, vol. 49(3), pages 605-622, August.
    15. Dea Lierop & Ahmed El-Geneidy, 2018. "Is having a positive image of public transit associated with travel satisfaction and continued transit usage? An exploratory study of bus transit," Public Transport, Springer, vol. 10(2), pages 241-256, August.
    16. Allen, Jaime & Muñoz, Juan Carlos & Ortúzar, Juan de Dios, 2018. "Modelling service-specific and global transit satisfaction under travel and user heterogeneity," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 509-528.
    17. Juan de Oña, 2022. "Service quality, satisfaction and behavioral intentions towards public transport from the point of view of private vehicle users," Transportation, Springer, vol. 49(1), pages 237-269, February.
    18. Amirali Soltanpour & Mahmoud Mesbah & Meeghat Habibian, 2020. "Customer satisfaction in urban rail: a study on transferability of structural equation models," Public Transport, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 123-146, March.
    19. Machado-León, José Luis & de Oña, Rocío & de Oña, Juan, 2016. "The role of involvement in regards to public transit riders' perceptions of the service," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 34-44.
    20. Ojeda Diaz, Alfredo J. & Cantillo, Víctor & Arellana, Julián, 2023. "Understanding how individuals perceive changes in the built environment and the transport system after implementing a BRT system. The case of Barranquilla, Colombia," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:trapol:v:75:y:2019:i:c:p:57-69. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/30473/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.