Determinants of users’ perceived taxi service quality in the context of a developing country

ABSTRACT

Taxis play an indispensable role as the main mode of paratransit in many cities in the developing countries. To the best of our knowledge, research on taxi service quality, and certainly studies focusing on developing countries, are quite rare. Using a subjective approach (data collected from passengers), this study examines the main determinants that affect user’s perception of fixed-route taxi services in Shiraz, Iran. The methodology adopted in this study employs principle component analysis (PCA) followed by partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results show that among the different attributes of service quality, driver behavior (including components of attitude toward passengers, driving practice, and professionalism) was the strongest determinant of passengers’ overall assessment of the service quality. Service providers and the municipalities that oversee operations can draw on the results of this study to develop future strategies for improving their paratransit services.

KEYWORDS:

• Paratransit
• Taxi service
• Service quality
• User satisfaction
• Structural equation model (SEM)
• Partial least square (PLS)
• Importance-performance map analysis (IPMA)
• Shiraz

Highlights

• Uncovered user preferences and attitudes in regards to taxi service performance in the context of a developing country;

• Investigated how attributes of service quality of existing fixed-route taxi services contribute to them being perceived as a desirable mode for mobility;

• Found that driver behaviour was the strongest determinant of passengers’ overall assessment of the service quality, followed by service management, total travel time, and vehicle condition;

• Identified the potential areas for policy insight development in order to improve the taxi services, especially in developing countries, where similar taxi services are provided.

Acknowledgment

The authors would like to thank Shiraz Municipality for its support of the project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.