Identifying Dependency of Service Quality on Perceived Transit Accessibility—A Latent Variable Causal Analysis Approach

The concept of perceived accessibility, which refers to an individual's belief about the ease of accessing and using various locations, services, or resources through the transportation system, is a valuable addition to traditional objective measures of accessibility. Recognizing the importance of user perceptions, it is crucial to include perceived accessibility in analyses to understand how transit users perceive the overall quality of services. This study employs Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to examine complex relationships between latent variables (unobservable constructs) and observed variables (measurable indicators). Service quality is influenced by various aspects of the transportation system, such as stop and vehicle facilities, safety measures, and journey components outside the vehicle. Perceived accessibility assesses the system's ability to provide access to opportunities and activities. A focused questionnaire survey among 700 users of Vadodara's city bus service, including regular and infrequent passengers, measured user perceptions and satisfaction levels. The SEM model incorporates four latent variables: Stop-level facilities, In-vehicle facilities, Safety, and System facilities. Analysis revealed that System facilities had the strongest influence on perceived accessibility, followed by stop-level and in-vehicle facilities. Safety had a lesser influence. Key factors for System facilities include access distance, service frequency, waiting time, total travel time, and facilities for elderly and disabled individuals. Closeness at the end of journeys, stop waiting time, and total journey time significantly influences perceived accessibility, reflecting users’ beliefs in the system's ability to make desired opportunities reachable on time. The study found significant satisfaction differences among socio-economic clusters in the city. It emphasizes the relationship between service quality and perceived accessibility, offering practical implications for transportation companies and managers to improve services and cater to diverse user needs effectively.