Journal of Social Sciences (COES&RJ-JSS)

ISSN (E): 2305-9249 ISSN (P): 2305-9494

Publisher: Centre of Excellence for Scientific & Research Journalism
st
Online Publication Date: 1 April 2014
Online Issue: Volume 3, Number 2, April 2014
http://www.centreofexcellence.net/J/JSS/JSS Mainpage.htm

A Theoretical Overview of Public Transport Service Quality:

A Focus on Bus and Mini-Bus Taxi Service in South Africa
Krishna Govender

Abstract

With the introduction of the Bus Rapid Transport system in South Africa, existing public
transport organisations, particularly buses and minibus taxis, will have to adapt to the
changes or else they will inevitably fail. In general, public transport organisations are
being forced to move from a traditionally operations-driven orientation to a more market-
driven orientation, which means that they need to improve their service quality. In light of
the aforementioned, this paper explores the theory of service quality with special emphasis
on the dimensions of transport service quality, namely, reliability, assurance, tangibles,
empathy, and responsiveness.

Keywords Transport; public transport; transport service; service quality.

Citation: Govender, Krishna; A Theoretical Overview of Public Transport Service

Quality: A Focus on Bus and Mini-Bus Taxi Service in South Africa; (April, 2014);
Journal of Social Sciences (COES&RJ-JSS), Vol. 3, No. 2, pp: 301-316.
Journal of Social Sciences (COES&RJ-JSS), 3(2), pp. 301-316

1Introduction

Public transport is essential to the wellbeing of any nation, and the benefits of a well-
planned and efficiently managed transportation system spread far beyond the transport
field, as it is essential for industry, for people’s mobility and for good communications
(Matthews 2013). In South Africa (SA) the minibus taxi industry has an estimated 70%
market share, while public buses have a market share of just over 20%, and rail a market
share of just over 14%. The state of public transport service in South Africa has given rise
to a need to focus on the quality of service provided (Cape Regional Chamber of
Commerce and Industry 2011; Johannesburg Press Club 2011).

Public transport must be differentiated from other modes of transport, such as private
vehicles, by providing better and superior service than that offered by the other modes,
and by making the commuters aware of the service being provided without compromising
either convenience or comfort. The question often arises as to the reason why people
prefer one mode of transport to another, and surveys have highlighted the crucial and
sometimes, overwhelming importance of certain factors which play a role in this decision,
which factors may be grouped under the general heading of ‘the quality of service’ and,
include amongst others, the speed of delivery, certainty of timing (reliability and
scheduling), freedom from interruption (extent of the service) and safety (Gubbins 1988).

In view of the aforementioned, this paper theoretically explores transport service quality
focusing primarily on the dimensions in public transport service quality, namely
reliability, extent of the service, comfort, safety, and affordability.

2. Service Quality

For more than a decade, academics and practitioners have all been trying to conceptualise
and assess service quality, and pioneers of service quality research such as Parasuraman et
al. (1986) argue that in contrast to the quality of goods, which may be measured
objectively by such indicators as durability and number of defects, service quality is an
abstract and elusive construct because of the following three features which are unique to
services, namely, intangibility, heterogeneity and inseparability of production and
consumption. Thus, in the absence of objective measures, a useful and appropriate
approach to assessing the quality of a transport organisation’s services would be to
measure the commuters’ perceptions of quality (Dodds and Monroe 1985).

The perceived quality of service refers to the consumer’s judgement about a product’s
overall excellence or superiority (McKnight et al. 1986), and this differs from objective
quality, as it is a form of attitude related, but not equivalent to satisfaction, since
perception of quality results from a comparison between expectations and perceptions of
performance. A challenge arises with regard to the definition of public transport service,
since the quality of service in the context of public transport is extremely difficult to
define, as it is made up of numerous attributes which may be in competition with each
other, including such factors as fares, comfort, schedule, reliability, the extent of service
and safety of the service. This same challenge applies to both objective and perceived
service and researchers (McKnight et al. 1986), have emphasised the difference between
objective and perceived quality in the conceptualisation of service quality, by postulating

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that quality service is a form of overall evaluation of the product or services and may be
regarded as similar in many ways to attitude (Olshavsky 1985). Some researchers such as
Holbrook and Corfman (1985) argue that service quality is a relatively global value
judgement.

In the service quality literature, expectations are specifically viewed as the desires or
wants of consumers, that is, what consumers feel a service provider should offer rather
than would offer (Pasuraman et al.1988). Gubbins (1988) defines quality within the
context of public transport as specifically referring to the way in which a transport
organisation looks after the passengers in its care during a journey. In this study, transport
service quality is regarded as the degree and direction of any discrepancies between the
service perceptions and expectations of a passenger. Expectations (or expected service
quality) are perceived as the passengers’ wants or desires, in other words, what the
passengers feel a service provider should offer rather than would offer, and perceptions (or
perceived service quality) refer to the passenger’s judgement about the overall excellence
or superiority of a service and are similar to attitudes.

Although it is possible to study comprehensive models of service quality and also their
limitations, understanding exactly which dimensions of quality are of importance to
customers is not always easy in evaluating service quality, and it is also not sufficient for
companies to set quality standards in accordance with misguided assumptions about
customers’ expectations. A further problem in defining service quality lies in the
importance which customers often attach to the quality of the service if the service
provider is distinct from the service it offers. In other words, it is not possible to separate
the two as readily as in the case of goods, and it is thus essential that service organisations
take into account the dimensions of service quality. Theo (2012) recommends that service
organisations should seek to understand the determinants of service quality, which would
in turn, help service organisations to focus on removing non value-adding processes or
“muda” from their delivery systems.

3Service Quality Dimensions1

The quality of service may be measured by means of quantitative research, and although
the SERVQUAL measurement instrument has been most often applied in the service
industries (Parasuraman et al. 1988), it has not been without complexities, which resulted
in inter-alia, the dimensions being reduced to five, known as RATER (Reliability,
Assurance, Tangibles, Empathy, Responsiveness). However, with regard to transport
services, it is important to note that passengers do not perceive quality as a one-
dimensional concept and their assessment of quality includes perceptions of the following
multiple dimensions, namely performance, features, reliability, conformance, durability,
serviceability, aesthetics and perceived quality (equivalent to prestige) that apply to all
services (Zeithaml and Bitner 2000). However, it is also not easy to apply the general
service quality dimensions which are applicable to service industries to passenger
transportation. Moreover, the SERVQUAL instrument has also not been without criticism
(Buttle, 1996), for inter-alia, not being ideal for determining commuters perception of

?
The words constructs, attributes and dimensions all have the same meaning and are
used interchangeably in this paper.

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transport service quality. Thus, in order to measure service quality in the passenger
transport context, a different approach is required and the following attributes namely,
delays on routes, traffic safety, personal security, frequency of service or convenience of
pick up times, directness of service (no transfers); ride comfort; temperature control,
noisiness, availability of seats; availability of service, crowdedness, walking distances to
vehicles and sheltered waiting areas, have been found to be the most frequently mentioned
(McKnight et al. (1986). The aforementioned criteria have been grouped into a cluster of
five important service attributes (RECSA) as depicted in figure 1.

Figure 1Clusters of service quality attributes

Source: McKnight et al. (1986).

Each of the service quality dimensions described in figure 1 above is discussed briefly in
the next sections.

3.1 Dimensions of Service Quality

3.1.1Reliability of the Service
Service reliability refers to the ability to perform the service dependably and accurately in
terms of service punctuality, adherence to timetable (including arrival at destination,
journey length, and communications), and adherence to scheduled routes (McKnight et al.
1986). In its broadest sense, reliability means that the public transport operator will deliver
on promises about being punctual or on time, and in order to deliver on this promise, the
operator requires efficient operating or scheduling systems. While the scheduling process
is important in the effective management of transport operations, the complexity of the
public transport operational planning and scheduling process has challenged researchers to
develop automated, computerised procedures, which resulted in the development of a
number of software packages (Button and Hensher 2001). One such software (figure 2)
illustrates the important features of the scheduling system and the operational process,
which includes four basic components, namely, network route design, setting timetables,
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scheduling vehicles to trips and assignment of drivers, and the purpose of the vehicle
scheduling component is to plan and schedule vehicles to trips according to given
timetables.

Figure 2 Overall view of passenger transport scheduling system

Data editor Graphic

Timetable
display

Evaluation of
Vehicle Scheduling timetables,
Driver blocks,
scheduling data bank duties and rosters
scheduling

Report Driver
generator rostering

Source: Button and Hensher (2001).

Timetables are important in the scheduling process because the dissemination of

information to passengers is critical to the successful operation of public transport
services, and in maintaining and stimulating demand. With respect to South Africa,
timetables are not available from most operators and where they are available, the quality
is often poor or the timetables are difficult to comprehend. In addition, because
information dissemination processes are mainly paper based, there are numerous problems
relating to presentation, distribution and accuracy. It is therefore necessary to develop
systems that will be sufficiently flexible to respond appropriately to the needs of
commuters (Mashiri et al. 2010). The importance of the timetable arose from the fact that
the commuters had interpreted the timetable either as a form of contract or as a declaration
of commitment on the part of the public transport service operator to provide commuters
with certain travel services. However, it appeared that the respondents had soon
determined that the timetable was of little value, as they had confirmed that the bus
companies rarely adhered to it with any sense of urgency.

All the components of scheduling are extremely sensitive to both internal and external
factors (figure 3), as well as to other factors which are often evident when buses operate in
mixed traffic. It is well known that maintaining a schedule may be a challenge as signal
timing, traffic congestion, traffic incidents, and other factors may disrupt the expected
running timetable. All of the aforementioned factors have a direct bearing on the public
transport industry as they may give rise to service interruptions (Levinson 2011).

Figure 3 Internal and external factors

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Internal factors
External factors

Transport
organisation
?Market-driven approach
?Passenger transport systems ?Social policy
?Productivity and service quality ?Government regulation
?Determination of fares and
economic model ?Socio-economic factors

Service quality and level of service

Source: Gubbins (1988).

Internal factors include internal systems, quality of service, fares and operational
strategies, and external factors include social policy, government regulation and other
socio-economic factors which often affect fares and the quality of service, all of which
may easily result in an inefficient public transport system or scheduling of service.

In a focus group study commuters were of the view that since the bus companies in SA
had been privatised, the public had no voice or power in terms of establishing the criteria
for an acceptable level of service. One example often cited was problems with the
scheduling and cancelling of services at short notice. The study concluded that it was
essential for the local authorities to constantly review their efforts to communicate with
the public on local transportation-related issues and to understand that there needs to be
buy-in from the local community as regards decisions related to transportation. Ignoring
the buy-in factor would lead to the local people becoming frustrated and unwilling to
support transportation policy at large, and commuters would continue to perceive public
transport as poor compared to the private motor cars (McGovern 2005).

It is clear from the discussion above that implementing appropriate systems and making
joint and correct public transport decisions will improve the reliability of the public
transport service, encourage continuous co-operation between commuters and public
transport authorities, and enhance commuter satisfaction.

3.1.2Service Comfort
Service comfort involves the availability of service aesthetics, and includes the availability
of seats and space (often referred to as passenger density), smooth journeys, the
availability of air conditioning and the conditions of shelters (Litman 2008). The
qualitative aspects of transport are increasingly being discussed as factors influencing the
choice between individualised and public transport (Martin and Haywood 2011). The
literature on transportation is demonstrates the fact that the qualitative attributes of public
transport may affect the welfare of individuals and their modal choices (Litman 2008).
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Public transport researchers have found that, when deciding which mode of transport to
use, service comfort is one of the issues that is often taken into consideration (Samson and
Thompson 2007), and rated as one of the top 11 key attributes that are important in
determining the mode of transport used (Solvoll and Mathisen 2010). In addition, research
on customer satisfaction in public transport showed that the comfort of service was one of
the top four factors that positively correlated with overall satisfaction (Budiono 2009).

Service comfort plays an important role in ensuring that passengers enjoy their journeys
while increased comfort may also improve the on-board health and environment status.
The end result may, in turn, be improved productivity in the workplace (Mashiri et al.
2010), and the extent to which public transport comfort improves productivity in the
workplace is an important area of study which should be pursued although it is beyond the
scope of this study.

In practice, it is often found that public transport in South Africa lacks comfort because,
among other things, loading conditions often prevent people from boarding at the desired
time as crowding imposes relatively severe discomfort.

3.1.3The Extent of the Service

The extent of service involves service availability, the extent to which a public transport
mode take commuters to their exact destinations, and the friendliness of the frontline staff
(McKnight et al. 1986). The availability of the service refers to the availability of the
service on weekdays, evenings, weekends and public holidays. A service provider should
plan the daily schedule irrespective of the demand, since scheduling is a potentially
important operator service strategy. When used as a marketing tool, the schedule of an
operator aligns operator capacity with commuter needs and the result is an optimisation of
the service offering.

The use of the operator’s schedule as a marketing tool implies that both the recognition of
these demand characteristics and the allocation of individual offering of service to meet
the needs of both classifications of commuters (Farris and Harding 1976). The
convenience of the service is also important and is the key to increasing the number of
public transport users (Ahmad 2010), and according to Farris and Harding (1976), public
transport organisations should consider demand and adjust the service according to the
service requirements.

In SA, certain routes or markets are protected for either political or social reasons. As
a
result attempts by operators to contract the service in these areas may be interpreted as
antisocial acts on the part of management. There is also the problem of tradition, in that
after serving particular city-pair markets for long periods of time, the operators may be
perceived as residents of the communities by the regulatory agencies, and as a result, may
not be permitted to contract operations if demand diminishes. However, even in the face
of these difficulties, management should continually review its service offerings as
regards both expansion and contraction possibilities as both these strategies may be of
merit in achieving profitable and efficient levels of operations.

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Service availability strategy involves altering the service mix in response to a market
change. Urban public transport operators the world over are currently attempting to
upgrade the quality, dependability, and security of the service. Many cities, including
cities in the United States of America, for example, have resorted to express type bus
services during peak hours. In such cases, the operators are utilising the strategy of
service-mix alterations in order to achieve a greater balance between the changing wants
and needs of their customers. Service mix strategy involves finding new uses for present
service offerings. Urban high-way systems are most efficiently used when other modes are
limited to non-peak hour while future urban rapid-transit systems should include freight-
carrying capacity to help offset operating costs. In all such cases, finding new uses for
existing operations has resulted in a more complete utilisation of facilities and, hence,
greater returns on capital and labour investments.

3.1.4The Safety of the Service

The safety of the service may be defined as the number of accidents involving a transport
mode and refers to the passengers’ fears that they are more likely to be involved in an
accident as a result of using a particular transportation mode, the condition of vehicles,
driving behaviour and not obeying the rules of the road (McKnight et al. 1986). It is
important that service safety is viewed from three, equally important, angles, namely,
safety of passengers, safety of drivers, safety of buses and minibus taxis (McKnight et al.
1986), and it is important to note that, in order to achieve a high degree of safety, all three
of the abovementioned areas must work together smoothly and efficiently. Each of the
safety aspects will be briefly discussed.

3.1.4.1Safety of passengers
Research shows that households were becoming insular in the way they lead their lives or
how artificial bubbles were being created to enable them to feel more secure when
undertaking day-to-day journeys (McGovern 2005). The goal of service safety is to reduce
vehicle fatalities and injuries and the associated costs by ensuring that transport operators
maintain the minimum standards for both their drivers and their vehicles. The reason for
this is that transport operators in South Africa are responsible both for the mechanical
maintenance of their buses and minibus taxis, and for the actions of the drivers over which
they exercise control (McKnight et al. 1986).

With regard to international approaches to public transport safety, it is evident that various
countries approach it in different ways, and that the measures adopted to improve safety
often vary (World Bank 2006). In Sweden, for example, the approach has been that of
quality management of the transport component of the transport organisation concerned. A
programme had been introduced in France to increase the involvement of private
companies in road safety related to their use of vehicles. Agreements have been drawn up
between government, insurance companies, the national occupational health fund and
volunteer companies. The programme focuses on motivating transport organisations to
undertake road safety programmes designed to increase the awareness of the cost of road
crashes to the organisation concerned, with worker compensation and vehicle insurance
premiums being decreased if the programmes are implemented. Some of the programmes
have also concentrated on drunk driving because of the significant role played by alcohol
in both work- and non-work-related road accidents in France. In South Africa, alcohol
related road accidents increased from 1.86% in 2004 to 2.55% in 2006 (Arrive Alive
2103).

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The Traffic Safety Council in Germany had promoted the establishment of voluntary
safety circles in which employees from transport organisations meet to discuss critical
issues and to devise solutions under the leadership of an experienced moderator. The
Traffic Safety Council also runs a one-day training course on safe, economical and
environmentally friendly driving. In the United Kingdom, various measures have been
implemented to improve safety in organisations, and these include driver training
programmes, incentive schemes, penalties, accident reviews, driver monitoring systems
and driver feedback procedures. However, it is unclear whether these measures have had
the desired effect (World Bank 2006).

The profiteering nature of the minibus taxi industry in South Africa in particular, is a
cause for concern as regards passenger safety, since minibus taxi operators feel compelled
to maximise revenue and minimise the cost of the service, which in effect translates into
overloading, wars between taxi associations, and a general failure to observe the rules of
the road. Govender and Allopy (2006:106) assert that “the minibus taxi transports most
people to their destinations, sometimes even in record time but often, at the expense of
other road users and even at the expense of their lives.”

3.1.4.2Safety attributable to Driver behaviour

Regarding driver safety, it is essential that transport organisations invest in research and
development (and technology) aimed at enabling operators to manage and control their
vehicles better. For example, on-board computers provide public transport managers with
detailed reports on the behaviour of drivers and the performance of vehicles. These reports
may be used to modify driver behaviour and for accident prevention, accident analysis and
accident reconstruction (World Bank 2006).

Researchers (Maunder, Pearce and Babu 1999) argue that one single factor is unlikely to
cause an accident and therefore it is probable that a combination of causes would result in
an accident. The factors involve drivers and their driving habits coupled with the ease of
obtaining a driving vehicle licence (in South Africa), lack of professional driver training,
lack of knowledge of the highway code, driver fatigue as a result of long working hours,
overloading of vehicles in order to maximise revenue, drivers consuming alcohol or drugs,
and speeding. The overriding factor that needs to be addressed is how to improve bus
driver behaviour. Maunder et al. (1999) suggest the following as possible solutions to the
problem of driver behaviour, namely, drivers should be taught the social and
psychological skills involved in being safe and responsible, refresher driver training
courses to eliminate the inevitable bad driving habits acquired should be encouraged,
awards for accident-free driving should be promoted, medical and health checks should be
compulsory for all drivers, especially those who are ageing, and the enforcement of legal
maximum hours driving public vehicles should be accorded priority.

3.1.4.3Safety of the Vehicles

With regard to vehicle safety, it has been shown that the condition of the minibus taxis is a
cause for concern, as these vehicles have the potential of causing large numbers of
casualties if they are involved in accidents. Although it is a legal requirement (in SA) for
all minibus taxis to have certificates of fitness is in itself good, the problem however is the
ease with which such certificates are obtainable from corrupt roadworthy testing stations,
irrespective of the condition of the bus or minibus taxi (World Bank 2006). Overall, the

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factors affecting the vehicle condition have been found to include inter-alia, the lack of
maintenance, worn tyres and fake parts in an effort to minimise costs, and age of the
vehicles. For example, the average age of the bus fleet has increased from 10.1 years in
1991 to 12.7 years in 1996, while the average age of the minibus taxi fleet is 13 years
(Govender and Allopi 2006).
Addressing the abovementioned factors may increase costs, but is likely to be less
expensive in the longer term, when compared with the cost of human tragedy, vehicle
replacement and other third-party costs. It is thus essential that owners and operators be
encouraged to maintain their vehicles in a much higher standard than is presently, since
preventative maintenance may improve both the performance and productivity of vehicles,
extend the operational life of the vehicle, and reduce accidents. Furthermore, owners and
operators need to understand that vehicle maintenance is sound, effective business practice
which may minimise vehicle downtime and costly, time-consuming breakdowns whilst the
vehicle is in service (Maunder et al. 1999).

3.1.4.4Other factors affecting road transport safety

Road condition which includes the lack of road maintenance, poor wheel alignment, and
lack of traffic signs and safety features, have all been identified as possible causes of
accidents together with the weak enforcement of traffic regulations. Furthermore, a lack of
road sense on the part of pedestrians, especially in rural areas when herding animals or
crossing the roads, have also been cited as a factor affecting road safety (Robertson 2006).

There are specific features of the bus industry in SA, as well as particular challenges
facing the general public transport industry in South Africa with regards to safety, and
these include:
? The rivalry and mistrust between bus and minibus taxi operators, and
intimidation which is prevalent in the taxi industry, remain a challenge for both
government and the traffic authorities;
? Constant attention is given to the roadworthiness of buses but not to that of
minibus taxis;
? Government and the bus industry have been cooperating for a number of years in
setting the technical standards for all aspects of bus construction and bus components but
little progress with regards to the mini-bus taxis;
? Technical standards are contained in road traffic legislation, regulations and
through the manufacturing standards system regulated by the South African Bureau of
Standards; the standards are monitored and updated based on the findings of accident
investigations; and recent additions to the standards include specifications for roll-over
protection as well as well as the construction and anchoring of bus seats, steering, braking
and tyre standards are included in the areas which are specifically focused upon during the
testing process; and safety procedures require drivers to conduct safety checks on all
vehicles during journeys (Arrive Alive 2010).

Maunder et al. (1999) argue that it is not possible for either a single individual or
discipline to bring about improvements in safety, and a collective responsibility and a
collective spirit is required of all those involved, including bus and minibus taxi owners,
drivers, conductors and mechanics; bus and taxi operator associations and unions; police
and government transport departments; road safety associations and driver training
schools; manufacturers of vehicles, spare parts and tyres; and all road users.

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On a positive note however, it has been argued that the minibus taxi industry in SA does
care about the service and safety of its passengers and drivers and, hence, the launch of the
Hlokomela campaign, which was designed to change the behaviour of the minibus taxi
owners, operators, drivers and, to a certain extent, passengers (Mthembu 2010; 2011). The
Administration Adjudication of the Road Traffic Offences Act (AARTO) represents a step
in the right direction, however, vigorous and speedy implementation of the Act is likely to
be a challenge as drivers question its relevance (Moss 2010).

3. 5Affordability of the Service

Service affordability involves value for money and thus, includes fares charged by the
public transport modes (McKnight et al. 1986). The commuting public will always try to
equate the quality of service with the fares paid, thus determining the correct fares is
always a challenge. In the UK for example, transport operators submit fare increase
applications to the city council every year, and in considering whether or not to grant a
fare increase application, many authorities tend to take into consideration the measure of
affordability. There is however no internationally agreed-on method of measuring
affordability when applied to bus services (Maunder et al. 1999).

The usual approach to determining fares involves dividing the price of a number of
standard journeys by some measure of income. While conceptually this is a simple
measure, it is however not easy to measure either parameter, since the cost of a journey
may vary significantly depending on the distance travelled and whether monthly passes
are used or not. It is equally difficult to measure income on a standard basis, and unless
there is reason to select a specific journey, it is probably best to take the average fare paid
by all passengers as the measure of the fare, and either the average income of all groups
concerned or the GDP per capita, if available, as the measure of income (World Bank
2006). The average monthly wage of the population in the area served by the bus system
may also be useful in determining the affordability of bus fares. However, since this
information is not always available, in some countries the figure is calculated for the
country as a whole although urban incomes are usually significantly higher than average
incomes (World Bank 2006).

Although pricing in public transport is important as it affects the affordability of service

(Button and Hensher 2001), it is essential that the correct balance be established between
service and fares charged. At the same time, public transport organisations are concerned
about maximising the efficiency of their operations. Therefore, in economic terms, the
concept of efficiency relates to the notion of maximising output per unit of input.

It is widely accepted that the development of public transport systems leads to social
exclusion and inequality of access to facilities. For example, public transportation is a
necessary element in the consumption of several other important services and its absence
may create a major problem. Public transportation is also subject to economies of scale
and, thus, equity issues in the provision of transport services are of particular importance.
However, this clearly does not mean that it is possible for high-quality transport systems
to be available at all locations.

In a study into the significance that commuters attach to the quality characteristics of
public transportation systems, it became clear that, in terms of both the entire population
surveyed and the three major subgroups of users (under 20 years and single, elderly and

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low income) it was the service quality items rather than the strict efficiency items that
received top ratings. Among the 32 quality attributes that were included in the study, items
such as arriving as scheduled, having a seat, no transfer trips, less waiting time,
availability of shelters at pick up points, and availability of the service, emerged as the
definite choice of users instead of the traditional emphasis on such service quality items as
faster trips and more direct routes (Tomazinis 1975).

The existence of both process and outcome quality may explain why a bus or mini-bus
taxi operator with marked technical skills, including effective planning and scheduling of
trips, may fail to compete effectively with another public transport operator who is able to
deliver superior, interpersonal quality in the manner in which the service is provided.
However, if the commuters are able to judge the technical quality of the outcome
effectively, they will base their quality judgements on process dimensions, such as the bus
operator’s ability to solve passenger complaints, as well as on his/her ability to offer quick
solutions and show empathy and courtesy.

If commuters are not able to evaluate the technical quality of a service accurately, they
form impressions of the service, including its technical quality, based on whatever sources
exist, using either their own understanding or cues that may not be apparent to the
operator. Transport operators should ensure it is possible to evaluate the service
objectively in order to improve the service encounter experience, for example, in
situations in which promises are either kept or broken and where the proverbial “rubber
meets the road,” sometimes termed real-time marketing. Commuters build their
perceptions based on these service encounters, and a service encounter may be potentially
critical in determining customer loyalty. If, for example, the commuter is interacting with
a bus operator for the first time, this initial encounter will create the commuter’s first
impression of the organisation. Since in this instance, the commuter has no other basis for
judging the quality of the service offered, this initial encounter may take on excessive
importance in the commuter’s perceptions of quality. However, even in situations in
which the commuter has had multiple interactions with the transport service company,
each individual encounter is important as regards creating a composite image of the
organisation in the commuter’s memory (Zeithaml and Bitner 2000). Positive encounters
may result from improvements effected by the service operators which, in turn, may
positively affect the utilisation of and the demand for service.

4. Discussion, Conclusions and Recommendations

From the above discussion of the public transport service quality dimensions, it may be
concluded that passenger transport will best serve its customers when fares and routes are
integrated and, when it offers access to a wide range of destinations with easy transfers.
These easy transfers are made possible by purpose-built interchanges, where passengers
may change modes in safety, and are protected from the elements.

With the advances in information technology (ICT), commuters who have access to
mobile telephones are able to access both the internet and social media in order to access
timetables. Social marketing programmes may be of value as information instruments in
support of transportation demand management policies. Such programmes may function
as effective channels of communication in building dialogue, garnering public support for

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the demand management policy in question and in delivering important transport

messages directly to commuters (McGovern 2005).

Several international municipalities have implemented efficient scheduling systems

successfully. For example in Dubai, the Dubai Public Transport Department caters for a
quarter of a million commuters with approximately 550 buses and 1 000 drivers working
on almost 55 routes (Shaibani 2005). In view of the increase in the number of passengers,
buses, drivers and routes in Dubai, the Dubai Public Transport Department implemented a
system known as MICROBUS in order to raise efficiency levels. MICROBUS is vehicle
dispatch software that consists of different modules that may be used to optimise the
internal workflow of public transport operators of all kinds and sizes (Shaibani 2005).
Commuters who use the buses benefit from the system as a result of the comprehensive
and simple bus timetable which is available at bus stops. This guarantees the predictability
of the service in terms of arrival/departure schedules, which may be sent to the commuters
via SMS.

Mentor Streets® Schedule Software Suite is another scheduling software program which
was developed for transport agencies that wanted to eliminate slow, inefficient manual
processes and streamline schedule creation (Gregory, 2011). As route information is
entered, the scheduling system handles all the mathematics required, enabling the
scheduler to assign runs, blocks and rosters by simply dragging the mouse. When the
schedule is completed it may be exported to Google Maps with a single click (Gregory
2011).

ICT is important in managing public transport service quality, since it can increase the
effectiveness, efficiency, and capacity of existing transportation systems, including
information processing, communications, control and electronics (Mashiri et al. 2010).
The specific benefits of ICT solutions are primarily increased efficiency, lower costs and
higher productivity levels, which translate into increased reliability, shortened travel
times, and greater convenience. Furthermore, ICT technology may also result in higher
passenger satisfaction, and the ability to promote passenger transport. Mamatkulov (2010)
emphasizes that another important consideration with regards to ICT involves the
introduction of Integrated Circuit Card (ICC), Ticketing and Automatic Vehicle Location
(AVL) systems that improve the quality, efficiency, and transparency of the passenger
transport sector

With regard to the BRT Rea Vaya service in SA, although there are communication
systems at the stations, namely, Variable Messaging Screen (VMS), the systems at the
stations do not work properly, and Rea Vaya has had a number of problems with the VMS
signs, caused mainly by optical cable breaks by contractors and, cable theft (Rea Vaya
2012).

It is recommended that intercoms be installed inside the stations so that passengers may be
informed of the time the next bus or mini-bus taxi will arrive. The existing intercoms are
used only to notify passengers about safety deviations and any change of operations, and
information regarding the next bus (Rea Vaya 2012).

It is also essential that passenger transport operators be responsive to a wide range of

objectives and influences, including concerns about maintaining established services,

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Journal of Social Sciences (COES&RJ-JSS), 3(2), pp. 301-316

balancing budgets, legal constraints, public safety, social equity and political
considerations. However, responding to marketplace signals about demand is often lower
down on the list of priorities. Nevertheless, in balancing the many competing objectives, it
is imperative that the factors affecting demand not be taken for granted (Mashiri et al.
2010).

The question whether building transport ‘ridership’ would have more to do with
persuading people to use the transport every day, once a week, or a few days a month, has
profound implications for transport marketing, pricing strategies, and transport financing,
since the transport industry has long focused on regular riders, large numbers of trips, and
daily commuting. In addition, captive and public transport dependency concepts are also
common in the industry’s view of its markets (Mashiri et al. 2010).

In conclusion, understanding the service dimensions that affect public transport is

important as gaps often emerge between service perceptions and expectations
(Parasuraman, et al. 1988). The successful promotion of the public transport service
dimensions will depend on the ability of government and public transport organisations to
market service quality dimensions effectively. Furthermore, segmentation and the
understanding of commuter behaviour plays an important role, and it is essential that the
marketing of service dimensions be targeted at the correct audience and the correct
interventions be instituted.

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About the Author

Krishna Govender
Regenesys Business School
Johannesburg,
South Africa
krishnag@regenesy.co.za

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