Abstract
Priority has been given to increasing public transport use in the mobility programmes of developed countries as part of a global strategy to manage traffic congestion and air pollution in urban areas. Understanding citizens’ travelling behaviour, their perceptions and satisfaction after experiencing public transport services is crucial to the delineation of efficient future mobility programmes. In this paper we apply cluster analysis to segment public transport users in a Portuguese urban area according to their perceptions of public transport operators and satisfaction with the public transport service. The outcomes reveal four segments of public transport users: one positive, one indifferent and the other two negative. Managerial implications of the findings are discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anable J (2005) “Complacent car addicts” or “Aspiring environmentalists”? Identifying travel behaviour segments using attitude theory. Transp Policy 12:65–78
Anable J (2013) The SEGMENT toolkit: segmented marketing for energy efficient transport (final report). http://www.segmentproject.eu/hounslow/segment.nsf/Files/SFF-321/$file/SEGMENT%20FINAL%20PUBLISHABLE%20REPORT.pdf. Accessed 20 Jan 2016
Anable J, Lane N, Kelay T (2006) A review of public attitudes to climate change and transport: summary report. Department of Transport, London. http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk; http://www.dft.gov.uk/adobepdf/163944/A_review_of_public_attitude1.pdf. Accessed 15 Jan 2016
Anable J, Lane N, Kelay T (2006b) An evidence base review of public attitudes to climate change transport behavior. Department of Transport, London. http://www.china-up.com:8080/international/case/case/1457.pdf. Accessed 22 Jan 2016
Beirão G, Cabral J (2007) Understanding attitudes towards public transport and private car: a qualitative study. Transp Policy 14:478–489
Cairns S, Sloman L, Newson C, Anable J, Kirkbride A, Goodwin P (2008) Smarter choices: assessing the potential to achieve traffic reduction using “soft measures”. Transp Rev 28(5):593–618. doi:10.1080/01441640801892504
Cameron J, Kingma R (2002) Public transport in Cape Town: market segmentation and policy tests to give effect to modal shifts. In: 21st annual South African transport conference. http://repository.up.ac.za/bitstream/handle/2263/7842/060.pdf?sequence=1. Accessed 20 Jan 2016
Cools M, Brijs K, Tormans H, De Laender J, Wets G (2012) Optimizing the implementation of policy measures through social acceptance segmentation. Transp Policy 22:80–87
Cronin J, Taylor S (1992) Measuring service quality: a reexamination and extension. J Mark 56:55–68
De Witte A, Macharis C, Mairesse O (2008) How persuasive is ‘free’ public transport? A survey among commuters in the Brussels Capital Region. Transp Policy 15(4):216–224
Del Castillo J, Benitez F (2012) A methodology for modelling and identifying users satisfaction issues in public transport systems based on users surveys. Proc Soc Behav Sci 54:1104–1114. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.09.815
Eboli L, Mazzulla G (2007) Service quality attributes affecting customer satisfaction for bus transit. J Public Transp 10(3):21–34
Edvarson B (1998) Causes of customer dissatisfaction—studies of public transport by critical incident method. Manag Service Qual 8(3):189–197
Elmore-Yalch R (1998) A handbook: using market segmentation to increase transit ridership (TCRP Report 36). National Academy Press, Washington D.C
European Commission (2013) Special Eurobarometer 406: attitudes of Europeans towards urban mobility. European Commission, Brussels. http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_406_en.pdf. Accessed 14 Sept 2015
Fellesson M, Friman M (2008) Perceived satisfaction with public transport service in nine European cities. J Transp Res Forum 47(3):93–103
Friman M, Fellesson M (2009) Service supply and customer satisfaction in public transportation the quality paradox. J Public Transp 12(4):57–69
Friman M, Gärling T (2001) Frequency of negative critical incidents and satisfaction with public transport services. II. J Retail Consum Services 8:105–114
Friman M, Larhult L, Gärling T (2013) An analysis of soft transport policy measures implemented in Sweden to reduce private car use. Transportation 40:109–129. doi:10.1007/s11116-012-9412-y
Fujii S, Kitamura R (2003) What does a one-month free bus ticket do to habitual drivers? An experimental analysis of habit and attitudes change. Transportation 30(1):81–95
Gärling T, Schuitema G (2007) Travel demand management targeting reduced private car use: effectiveness, public acceptability and political feasibility. J Soc Issues 63(1):139–153
Hair J Jr, Black W, Babin B, Anderson R (2010) Multivariate data analysis: a global perspective, 7th edn. Prentice-Hall, New Jersey
Hamilton B (2005) Dunedin modal change market research project. Otago Regional Council, Dunedin
Hensher D, Stopher P, Bullock P (2003) Service quality—developing a service quality index in the provision of commercial bus contracts. Transp Res Part A 37(499–517):1016
Iman R (2014) Measuring public transport satisfaction from user surveys. Int J Bus Manag 9(6):106–114
Johnson M, Gustafsson A, Andreassen T, Lervik L, Cha J (2001) The evolution and future of national customer satisfaction index models. J Econ Psychol 22:217–245
Kitamura R, Fujii S, Pas EI (1997) Time-use data, analysis and modelling: toward the next generation of transportation planning methodologies. Transp Policy 4(4):225–235
Krizek K, El-Geneidy A (2007) Segmenting preferences and habits of transit users and non-users. J Public Transp 10:71–92
Laconte P (2002) Smart segments for urban public transportation: a international survey of practices. Japan Railway Transp Rev 32:4–11
Lai W, Chen C (2010) Behavioral intentions of public transit passengers—the role of service quality, perceived value, satisfaction and involvement. Transp Policy 18(2):318–325
Mackett R, Edwards M (1998) The impact of new public transport systems: will the expectations be met? Transp Res Part A Policy Pract 32:231–245
MALT (Metropolitan Authority of Lisbon Transport) (2014) Organization, tariffs and financing of public transport system of metropolitan area of Lisbon. Unpublished report
Marshall S, Banister D (2000) Travel reduction strategies: intentions and outcomes. Transp Res Part A Policy Pract 34(5):321–338
Mees P, Stone J, Imran M, Nielson G (2010) Public transport network planning: a guide to best practice in NZ cities. New Zealand Transport Agency research report 396. http://www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/resources/research/reports/396/docs/396.pdf. Accessed 11 Sept 2015
Mokonyama M, Venter C (2013) Incorporation of customer satisfaction in public transport contracts—a preliminary analysis. Res Transp Econ 39:58–65. doi:10.1016/j.retrec.2012.05.024
Passos A, Ramos S, Costa P (2014) Estudo de Satisfação dos Utilizadores dos Transportes Públicos da Área Metropolitana de Lisboa 2013—Final Report of Focus Groups. Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL): Lisbon (unpublished report)
Polzin S, Chu X, Rey J (2000) Density and captivity in public transit success: observations from the 1995 nationwide personal transportation study. Transp Res Rec 1735:10–18
Silva R (2014) Strategic plan for transport and infrastructures horizon 2014–2020 (PETI3+). http://www.transportespublicos.pt/o-plano-estrategico-de-transportes-e-infraestruturas-e-o-transportespublicos-pt/. Accessed 6 May 2015
Statistics Portugal (1991) Census 1991. Statistics Portugal, Lisbon
Statistics Portugal (2011) Population mobility. Census Population Report. Statistics Portugal, pp 31–37
Steg L (2005) Car use: lust and must. Instrumental, symbolic and affective motives for car use. Transp Res Part A Policy Pract 39:147–162
Sullivan C, O’Fallon C (2009) Segmentation research for sustainable transport: do’s and don’ts. In: Proceedings of the 32nd Australasian transport research forum, Auckland
Sumaedi S, Bakti I, Yarmen M (2012) The empirical study of public transport passenger’s behavioural intentions: the roles of service quality, perceived sacrifice, perceived value and satisfaction. Int J Traffic Transp Eng 2(1):83–97
Taniguchi A, Fujii S (2007) Promoting public transport using marketing techniques in mobility management and verifying their quantitative effects. Transportation 34(1):37–49
Thogersen J (2006) Understanding repetitive travel mode choices in a stable context: a panel study approach. Transp Res Part A Policy Pract 40(8):621–638
Thornton A, Evans L, Bunt K, Simon A, King S, Webster T (2011) Climate change and transport choices: a framework for reducing CO2 emissions from personal travel. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/49971/climate-change-transport-choices-full.pdf. Accessed 14 Jan 2016
Vilares M, Coelho P, Cadilhe M (2005) Satisfação e lealdade do cliente: Metodologias de avaliação, gestão e análise. Escolar Editora, Lisboa
Wardman M (2014) Valuing convenience in public transport. International transport forum. http://www.internationaltransportforum.org/jtrc/DiscussionPapers/DP201402.pdf. Accessed 14 Sept 2015
Wittink D, Bayer L (2003) The measurement imperative. Mark Res 6(4):14–22
Zatti A (2011) New organizational models in European Local Public Transport: from Myth to Reality, Working paper CIRIEC 2011/06. http://www.ciriec.ulg.ac.be/fr/telechargements/WORKING_PAPERS/WP11-06.pdf. Accessed 20 Jan 2016
Acknowledgments
This article is part of the project Estudo de Satisfação dos Utilizadores dos Transportes Públicos da Área Metropolitana de Lisboa 2013, a joint project of Metropolitan Transport Authority of Lisbon (AMTL) and Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Vicente, P., Reis, E. Profiling public transport users through perceptions about public transport providers and satisfaction with the public transport service. Public Transp 8, 387–403 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12469-016-0141-z
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12469-016-0141-z