Determinants of satisfaction with campus transportation services: Implications for service quality

Abstract

Background: In a number of countries, buses are a critical element of public transportation, providing the most inclusive and sustainable mode of transportation to all forms of citizenry, including staff and students of universities.

Objectives: The study examines the determinants of satisfaction with campus bus transportation. The article is primarily discursive and based on the synthesis of existing service literature supported by data obtained from a survey of 847 respondents.

Method: Structural equation modelling is undertaken using AMOS 19, allowing for the examination of compound relationships between service engagement variables.

Results: Results show statistically significant differences between perceived service quality and travel routes. The authors argue that managerial attention to service user experiences does not only hold the key to ongoing competitive success in campus transportation services but also that those services can be significantly enriched through greater managerial attention to the interface between risk of financial loss (which increases when the campus bus transportation service provider becomes less able to compete) and service quality.

Conclusion: The authors argue that if providers of campus bus transportation services are to rise to their service delivery challenges and also maintain or improve upon their market positions, they must conceptualise their services in a manner that takes into consideration the two-way interrelationship between risk of financial loss and service quality. It must also be noted that, although this study may have relevance for firm–firm scenarios, its focus is primarily on service supplier firm–customer service engagements.

Keywords: Modelling; Transportation; Service