International Journal of Transportation Engineering

International Journal of Transportation Engineering

Predicting and Analyzing Bus Service Quality in Dhaka City by Choice Model

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Farzana Rahman 1
Md. Fazle Rabby 2
1 Professor, University of Asia Pacific, Dhaka, Bangladesh
2 BSc, Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Asia Pacific, Dhaka, Bangladesh
10.22119/ijte.2025.255826.1543
Abstract
Bus as a means of transport plays a crucial role in Dhaka city. For being the cheapest means of transport, people rely heavily on bus service. Although people use the available bus service, they are not satisfied with the provided service. Considering the present and future condition of bus service, it is very important to assess the existing bus service and improve its service quality (SQ). This study aims to investigate key service factors influencing the bus SQ in Dhaka city by choice model. For this study, two step methodologies were followed where the first step was to collect data by questionnaire survey and the second step was to develop the model. An interview survey was done at 15 major locations of Dhaka city. The questionnaire had a total 40 service attributes, divided into 7 main parts including ‘trip characteristics’, ‘quality of service’, ‘quality of bus’, ‘quality of bus stop’, ‘safety and security of bus’, ‘staff behavior’ and ‘reliability and accessibility of bus’. In the second step, Ordered Probit Model (OPM) was developed. Result indicates that ‘Seat comfort level’, ‘Physical condition of bus’ and ‘Paying fare/Ticketing system’ was the most important and key service attributes influencing bus SQ. The result from the study will be convenient to the bus service providers as it will let them know the improvement opportunities for enhancing bus SQ. Furthermore, findings from this research can be employed to develop rules and regulations to improve bus SQ in developing cities.
Keywords
Bus service quality
Dhaka city
Ordered probit model
  • Abdel-Aty, Mohamed A (2001). "Using ordered probit modeling to study the effect of ATIS on transit ridership." Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies 9, no. 4, pp. 265-277.

 

  • Abdullah, Haslyn Nasuha, and Mohd Faiz Hilmi (2014). "Service Quality as Determinant of Customer Loyalty." International Journal of Business and Innovation 1, no. 6, pp. 1-11.

 

  • Ali, Alphonsus Nwachukwu (2010). "An assessment of the quality of intraurban bus services in the city of Enugu, Enugu State, Nigeria." Theoretical and Empirical Researches in Urban Management 5, no. 6 (15), pp. 74-91.

 

  • Amemiya, Takeshi (1985) “Advanced econometrics”, Harvard university press.

 

  • Anable, Jillian (2005). "‘Complacent car addicts’ or ‘aspiring environmentalists’? Identifying travel behaviour segments using attitude theory." Transport policy 12, no. 1, pp. 65-78.

 

  • Andaleeb, Syed Saad, Mahmudul Haq, and Rubina I. Ahmed (2007). "Reforming innercity bus transportation in a developing country: A passenger-driven model." Journal of Public Transportation 10, no. 1, pp. 1.

 

  • Antoniou, Constantinos, and Yannis Tyrinopoulos (2013). "Factors affecting public transport use in touristic areas." International Journal of Transportation 1, no. 1.

 

  • Baki, Birdogan, Cigdem Sahin Basfirinci, Ilker Murat AR, and Zuhal Cilingir (2009). "An application of integrating SERVQUAL and Kano's model into QFD for logistics services." Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics.

 

  • Banister, David (2007) “Unsustainable Transport”, Routledge: London.

 

  • Bitner, Mary Jo (1990). "Evaluating service encounters: the effects of physical surroundings and employee responses." Journal of marketing 54, no. 2, pp. 69-82.

 

  • Bojanic, David C (1996). "Consumer perceptions of price, value and satisfaction in the hotel industry: An exploratory study." Journal of Hospitality & Leisure Marketing 4, no. 1, pp. 5-22.

 

  • Borhan, Muhamad Nazri, Deprizon Syamsunur, Norliza Mohd Akhir, Muhamad Razuhanafi Mat Yazid, Amiruddin Ismail, and Riza Atiq Rahmat (2014). "Predicting the use of public transportation: a case study from Putrajaya, Malaysia." The Scientific World Journal 2014.

 

  • Boulding, William, Ajay Kalra, Richard Staelin, and Valarie A. Zeithaml (1993). "A dynamic process model of service quality: from expectations to behavioral intentions." Journal of marketing research 30, no. 1, pp. 7-27.

 

  • Bunting, P. M (2004) “Making public transport work”, McGill-Queen's Press-MQUP.

 

  • Cameletti, Michela, Valerio De Rubeis, Clarissa Ferrari, Paola Sbarra, and Patrizia Tosi (2017). "An ordered probit model for seismic intensity data." Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment 31, no. 7, pp. 1593-1602.

 

  • Cats, Oded, Roberto F. Abenoza, Chengxi Liu, and Yusak O. Susilo (2015). "Identifying priority areas based on a thirteen years evolution of satisfaction with public transport and its determinants." Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 2, no. 2323, pp. 99-109.

 

  • Choocharukul, K (2004). "Passengers’ perspective of bus service quality in Bangkok: an ordered probabilistic modeling approach." In Australasian Transport Research Forum (ATRF), 27th, 2004, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, vol. 27.

 

  • Dabholkar, Pratibha A (1993). "Customer satisfaction and service quality: Two constructs or one." Enhancing knowledge development in marketing 4, pp. 10-18.

 

  • De Oña, Juan, Rocío De Oña, Laura Eboli, and Gabriella Mazzulla (2013). "Perceived service quality in bus transit service: a structural equation approach." Transport Policy 29, pp. 219-226.

 

  • Deb, Saikat, and Mokaddes Ali Ahmed (2018). "Determining the service quality of the city bus service based on users’ perceptions and expectations." Travel Behaviour and Society 12, pp. 1-10.

 

  • Dell’Olio, Luigi, Angel Ibeas, and Patricia Cecín (2010). "Modelling user perception of bus transit quality." Transport Policy 17, no. 6, pp. 388-397.

 

 

  • Eboli, Laura, and Gabriella Mazzulla (2007). "Service quality attributes affecting customer satisfaction for bus transit." Journal of public transportation 10, no. 3, pp. 2.

 

  • Ghotbabadi, Ali Ramezani, Setareh Feiz, and Rohaizat Baharun (2015). "Service quality measurements: a review." International Journal of Academic Research in business and social sciences 5, no. 2, pp. 267.

 

  • Iacobucci, Dawn, Kent A. Grayson, and Amy Ostrom (1994). "The calculus of service quality and customer satisfaction: theoretical and empirical differentiation and integration." Advances in services marketing and management 3, no. C, pp. 1-67.

 

  • Kamaruddin, Rohana, Ismah Osman, and Che Anizaliana Che Pei (2012). "Public transport services in klang valley: customer expectations and its relationship using SEM." Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences 36, pp. 431-438.

 

  • Kotler, Philip, and Kevin Lane Keller (2006) “Marketing Management 12th edition”, Prentice Hall of India, New Delhi.

 

  • Kumar, Mukesh, Fong Tat Kee, and Amat Taap Manshor (2009). "Determining the relative importance of critical factors in delivering service quality of banks." Managing Service Quality: An International Journal.

 

  • Lewis, Barbara R., and Vincent W. Mitchell (1990). "Defining and measuring the quality of customer service." Marketing intelligence & planning.

 

  • Nkurunziza, Alphonse, Mark Zuidgeest, Mark Brussel, and Martin Van Maarseveen (2012). "Modeling commuter preferences for the proposed bus rapid transit in Dar-es-Salaam." Journal of public transportation 15, no. 2, pp. 5.

 

  • Nwachukwu, Ali Alphonsus (2014). "Assessment of passenger satisfaction with intra-city public bus transport services in Abuja, Nigeria." Journal of Public Transportation 17, no. 1, pp. 5.

 

  • Ojo, Thomas Kolawole, Dickson Okoree Mireku, Suleman Dauda, and Ricky Yao Nutsogbodo (2014). "Service quality and customer satisfaction of public transport on Cape Coast-Accra Route, Ghana." Developing Country Studies 4, no. 18, pp. 142-149.

 

  • Parasuraman, Ananthanarayanan, Valarie A. Zeithaml, and Leonard L. Berry (1988). "Servqual: A multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality." Journal of retailing 64, no. 1, pp. 12.

 

  • Parasuraman, Ananthanarayanan, Valarie A. Zeithaml, and Leonard L. Berry (1988). "Servqual: A multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perc." Journal of retailing 64, no. 1, pp. 12.

 

  • Parasuraman, Anantharanthan, Valarie A. Zeithaml, and Leonard L. Berry (1985). "A conceptual model of service quality and its implications for future research." Journal of marketing 49, no. 4, pp. 41-50.

 

  • Quddus, Mohammed, Farzana Rahman, Fredrik Monsuur, Juan de Ona, and Marcus Enoch (2019). "Analyzing Bus Passengers’ Satisfaction in Dhaka using Discrete Choice Models." Transportation Research Record 2673, no. 2, pp. 758-768.

 

  • Rahman, Farzana, Tanay Datta Chowdhury, Tanvir Haque, Rezwanur Rahman, and Aminul Islam (2015). “Analyzing Customer Satisfaction of Bus Service in Dhaka City”. International Conference on Recent Innovation in Civil Engineering for Sustainable Development (IICSD-2015).

 

  • Rahman, Farzana, Tanay Datta Chowdhury, Tanvir Haque, Rezwanur Rahman, and Aminul Islam (2017). "Identifying existing Bus service condition and analyzing customer satisfaction of Bus service in Dhaka city." Journal of Transportation Technologies 7, no. 2, pp. 107-122.

 

  • Deb, Saikat, and Mokaddes Ali Ahmed (2018). "Determining the service quality of the city bus service based on users’ perceptions and expectations." Travel Behaviour and Society 12, pp. 1-10.

 

  • Nwachukwu, Ali Alphonsus (2014). "Assessment of passenger satisfaction with intra-city public bus transport services in Abuja, Nigeria." Journal of Public Transportation 17, no. 1, pp. 5.

 

  • Sharmin, S., Rouf, K. B. A. R Sakib Sarwar Ahmed, Hossain, M., and Mahboob, D. H., (2020). "Redesigning the interiors of public buses in Dhaka city: Exploring the gender-based perceptions and preferences of young public bus users." Asian Transport Studies 6: 100010.

 

  • Lauren, R., Friman, M., Gärling, T., and Hartig, T., (2013). "Quality attributes of public transport that attract car users: A research review." Transport policy 25, pp. 119-127.

 

  • Rozmi, I., H. H. Mohammad, and M. N. Rahim (2013). "Passengers Preference and Satisfaction of Public Transport in Malaysia, Part II: A Comparative Analysis of Komuter and LRT Network." Research Journal of Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology 6, no. 8, pp. 1450-1456.

 

  • Sadri, Arif Mohaimin, Satish V. Ukkusuri, and Pamela Murray-Tuite (2013). "A random parameter ordered probit model to understand the mobilization time during hurricane evacuation." Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies 32, pp. 21-30.

 

  • Shaaban, Khaled, and Rania F. Khalil (2013). "Investigating the customer satisfaction of the bus service in Qatar." Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences 104, no. 2, pp. 865-874.

 

  • Siddique, Md Tanvir (2018). "Accident severity analysis on national highways in Bangladesh using ordered probit model." Scientific Research and Essays 13, no. 14, pp. 148-157.

 

  • Singh, Thangjam Rajeshwar (2010). "An ordered probit model of an early warning system for predicting financial crisis in India." IFC Bulletin 25, pp. 185.

 

  • Smith, Martha J. (2008). "Addressing the security needs of women passengers on public transport." Security Journal 21, no. 1-2, pp. 117-133.

 

  • Smith, Martha J., and Ronald V. Clarke (2000). "Crime and Public Transport." Crime and Justice 27, pp. 169-233.

 

  • Stuart, Kenneth R., Marc Mednick, and Johanna Bockman (2000). "Structural equation model of customer satisfaction for the New York City subway system." Transportation Research Record 1735, no. 1, pp. 133-137.

 

 

  • Tomarken, Andrew J., and Niels G. Waller (2005). "Structural equation modeling: Strengths, limitations, and misconceptions." Annu. Rev. Clin. Psychol. 1, pp. 31-65.

 

  • Tyrinopoulos, Yannis, and Constantinos Antoniou (2008). "Public transit user satisfaction: Variability and policy implications." Transport Policy 15, no. 4, pp. 260-272.

 

  • Zeithaml, Valarie A. and Bitner, Mary Jo (2000) “Services Marketing: Integrating Customer Focus Across the Firm, 2nd edition”, Irwin/ McGraw-Hill, Boston, M.A.

 

  • Zeithaml, Valarie A., Ananthanarayanan Parasuraman, Leonard L. Berry, and Leonard L. Berry (1990) “Delivering quality service: Balancing customer perceptions and expectations”, Simon and Schuster.
International Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 12, Issue 3 - Serial Number 47
Winter 2025
Pages 1911-1927