Investigating Multidimensional Factors Influencing Switching Intention on School Bus among Chinese Parents—A Push–Pull–Mooring Framework

Abstract

School buses could alleviate the emissions associated with school travel. China is devoted to promoting its school bus service, leaving parents in a dynamic process of change from the original school travel mode to using the school bus service. This study analyzes parents’ switching intentions regarding school buses and decomposes the dimensions of certain critical factors by applying the Push–Pull–Mooring model. We conducted an online questionnaire survey of 463 parents. The measurement model result showed a satisfying prediction power, superior to that of existing theories. The results showed that perceived service quality is the most influential factor in the initial stage of school bus promotion. Among the four dimensions of perceived service quality, parents emphasize reliability and comfort. These results contribute to a deeper comprehension of parents’ intentions to switch to school bus services during the rollout phase and to ensuring sustainable school travel.