Evaluating public bus transportation services in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam

Abstract

Research on public transport, especially bus service, is very important since public transport affects all citizens and many social problems like reducing traffic jams, either improving energy efficiency or the environment, and mitigating private vehicles in urban areas. Despite the huge benefits of public transportation, the number of bus users in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam has been decreasing recently given the noticeably-deteriorated service quality and lack of satisfaction they derive from the services of public transport. The aim of this paper was to identify the important service elements and ridership’s demographic characteristics in determining passenger satisfaction. Ridership’s satisfaction with public transport services in Ho Chi Minh City had been investigated using binary logistic regression model. The finding showed that ‘availability of seats’, ‘ease of getting on and off the bus’, ‘cleanliness of vehicle interior’, ‘safety on crime while in the bus’, ‘price/cost charged’, ‘waiting time at bus station’, ‘frequency of service’, ‘information on transport routes and timetables’, ‘obey road laws’, ‘behavior of the bus driver and conductor’, ‘accuracy of announcement and information on services’, ‘customer care’, ‘gender’ and ‘income’ were found to be significant factors influencing passenger rating for overall service quality. In addition, the findings had implications for service providers, transport planners and authorities with regard to the implementation of the strategies to upgrade the bus service quality and increase passenger satisfaction.