Research On Perceived Quality Of Potential Metro Users

As metro is a public transport with a large capacity and a large capital investment,increasing the travel share rate of metro can amplify the technical and economic advantages to reduce the urban traffic congestion.Potential metro users are the source of new users.Improving potential users’ perception of metro service quality plays a catalyst in boosting the travel share of metro.This thesis aims to reveal the relationship between perceived quality and metro travel intention and the heterogeneity in perceived quality from the perspective of potential user,which provide decision-making reference for improving quality of metro service and attracting potential metro users to travel more by metro.The methodology of literature review and focus group was applied to construct a set of indicators to quantify the perceived quality of the potential metro users of Changsha metro.Data was collected by the survey of Changsha metro potential users.The difference in perceived quality between Changsha potential metro users and regular users was quantified by descriptive statistical analysis,hypothesis testing,and odds ratio.The empirical results show that the differences are statistically significant,and the potential users tend to have higher requirements for the provided service quality.A partial least squares structural equation model with latent variables of perceived quality,satisfaction,and travel intention was constructed to reveal the influential mechanism of potential users’ perceived quality on metro travel intention.The results indicate that the perceived comfort of potential users has a direct impact on travel intention,while perceived convenience,perceived reliability and other perceived characteristics only indirectly affect metro travel intention through the moderator of satisfaction.A two-step analytic method combining the latent class model and the ordered logit model was proposed to explore the heterogeneity in perceived quality of potential metro users.The result demonstrates that Changsha metro potential users can be clustered into three homogeneous groups.Among each group and the whole sample,the key influential indicators and the associated marginal effects of overall perceived quality are significantly different.24 figures,29 tables,and 87 references are included.