Are the Drivers of Metro Passenger Satisfaction the Same in Different Stations?

This article delves deeply into the passenger satisfaction survey data of Guangzhou Metro Line 3 in 2024, and constructs an evaluation index system covering six dimensions, including Off-station perception. Drawing on the concept of Location Potential, a “Station Location Potential Index”(SLPI) was established to classify stations into three levels: “below-expectation”, “meet-expectation” and “exceed-expectation” stations. Structural Equation Modeling with Partial Least Squares(PLS-SEM) was applied to estimate the drivers of satisfaction across these different station levels. The key finding is the significant spatial heterogeneity in the drivers of passenger satisfaction across various station tiers. For the below-expectation stations, “operation-facility” and “entry-exit” are the primary determinants of evaluation, with “responsiveness”s is key to service recovery. For the meet-expectation stations, “off-station perception” becomes the primary influencing factor, indicating a significant increase in passenger demand for connection between rail transit and city life. For the exceed-expectation stations, “responsiveness”, “environment”, and “interchange” gain significant importance and are key to crafting a superior experience. The result provides an empirical basis for precision management and service enhancement.