Evaluation of Public Transport among University Commuters in Rural Areas

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the quality of Public Transport (PT) in the Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) area, Irbid, Jordan. The study focused on two different analytical techniques. The first was the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM) method to analyze student satisfaction and loyalty toward using PT. The second method was binary logistic regression (BLR), which analyzed factors such as socioeconomic status and travel habits that might make someone choose PT or their car to travel to JUST. Data were collected through an electronic and paper-based questionnaire with 572 participants. This study concluded that the proposed structural model could explain 76% of the loyalty variance. Passenger satisfaction, perceived service quality, perceived costs, and environmental impact were four of the five factors directly influencing passenger loyalty that demonstrated significant impact. In addition, it was concluded that through Multi-Group Analysis (MGA), gender group was the most influential categorical moderator variable. Moreover, the indirect analysis showed that perceived service quality was the most important mediator between the observed constructs’ relationships. BLR showed that the mode of transportation at JUST was statistically correlated with occupancy, travel cost, travel time, average use of PT, and car ownership, with an overall model accuracy of 90.0%. In conclusion, by considering the discussed influencing factors, it is recommended that transportation agencies consider perceived costs, information, reliability, safety, and vehicle characteristics variables while improving PT service quality and travel time, especially in rural areas, which may raise passenger satisfaction, shift car users to PT, and lower emissions. Thus, research results can assist policymakers in implementing sustainable modes of PT.