Passengers’ Intentions to Use Public Transport during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study of Bangkok and Jakarta

Abstract

Several problems have arisen due to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in the public transportation sector. Data from 2021 show that the number of bus passengers in Bangkok has decreased by 40–60% below normal conditions, and the number of bus passengers in Jakarta has decreased by around 76% compared to June 2019. In the new normal period, public transport is required to implement strict health protocols in its operations. This paper aims to evaluate potential indicators underlying the intention to use public transport during a pandemic. The target groups are public and paratransit buses in Bangkok and Jakarta, two metropolitan areas in ASEAN that have been greatly affected by this pandemic. A total of 400 questionnaires were distributed in each city. The outcome from the structural equation model reveals a relatively similar finding in both cities. Tangibility is one of the five dimensions of service quality that is influential in both cities; this indicator affects the intention to use public transportation in Jakarta (Coeff. = 14.670, p-value < 0.001) and Bangkok (Coeff. = 1.164, p-value < 0.001). In this study, confidence (CO) is significant for the intention to use public transportation in both cities with a coefficient of 0.105 for Bangkok and 0.969 for Jakarta. Furthermore, the health measure indicator (HM) has a significant value on passenger confidence (CO) in using public transportation for both cities (Coeff. = 0.808, p-value = <0.001 in Bangkok and Coeff. = −1.413, p-value = 0.008 in Jakarta). Health measures such as wearing a mask, always washing hands and not traveling if unwell are considered to be the right policies to prevent the spread of the virus during the COVID-19 pandemic. This practical implication can become a core strategy for improving the quality of public transport services in similar cities.