Improving transportation service quality based on information fusion

How to improve transportation service quality and thus attract more passengers to use public transportation systems is an important concern for city governments around the world. In this study, we propose a novel information fusion model that addresses the dependent relationships among the various criteria for a method of non-additive weighted gap analysis aimed at evaluating and improving the service quality of transport systems. The hybrid model remedies prior shortcomings and should be more applicable to real-world situations. The proposed model is applied to a real case study of Taipei city bus companies to demonstrate its usefulness. The resulting analysis and the managerial applications for improving the bus service quality are also discussed with regards to the current policies of Taipei city.

[1]  Gordon J. Fielding,et al.  PERFORMANCE EVALUATION FOR BUS TRANSIT , 1985 .

[2]  Steven A. Taylor,et al.  Measuring Service Quality: A Reexamination and Extension , 1992 .

[3]  Hisashi Kubota,et al.  User satisfaction with paratransit in competition with motorization in indonesia: anticipation of future implications , 2007 .

[4]  Michio Sugeno,et al.  A Model of Human Evaluation Process Using Fuzzy Measure , 1985, Int. J. Man Mach. Stud..

[5]  Timothy J Lomax,et al.  DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF PERFORMANCE MEASURES FOR RURAL PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION OPERATORS , 1992 .

[6]  Laura Eboli,et al.  A methodology for evaluating transit service quality based on subjective and objective measures from the passenger’s point of view , 2011 .

[7]  William Jen,et al.  Passengers’ Perceived Service Quality of City Buses in Taipei: Scale Development and Measurement , 2006 .

[8]  D. Hensher.  Bus Transport: Economics, Policy and Planning , 2007 .

[9]  Gwo-Hshiung Tzeng,et al.  Evaluating vehicle telematics system by using a novel MCDM techniques with dependence and feedback , 2010, Expert Syst. Appl..

[10]  William T. Pullen,et al.  DEFINITION AND MEASUREMENT OF QUALITY OF SERVICE FOR LOCAL PUBLIC TRANSPORT MANAGEMENT , 1993 .

[11]  J. Liou,et al.  An outsourcing provider decision model for the airline industry , 2013 .

[12]  Gwo-Hshiung Tzeng,et al.  A Non-Additive Model for Evaluating Airline Service Quality , 2007 .

[13]  Constantinos Antoniou,et al.  Public transit user satisfaction: Variability and policy implications , 2008 .

[14]  J. Drea,et al.  Selecting and promoting service encounter elements in passenger rail transportation , 2002 .

[15]  Chung-Hsing Yeh,et al.  Fuzzy multicriteria analysis for performance evaluation of bus companies , 2000, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[16]  Gilbert Laporte,et al.  Quality of service in dial-a-ride operations , 2009, Comput. Ind. Eng..

[17]  Peter R. Stopher,et al.  Service quality––developing a service quality index in the provision of commercial bus contracts , 2003 .

[18]  James J. H. Liou,et al.  Developing a hybrid multi-criteria model for selection of outsourcing providers , 2010, Expert Syst. Appl..

[19]  L. Eboli,et al.  Service Quality Attributes Affecting Customer Satisfaction for Bus Transit , 2007 .

[20]  Reeti Agarwal.  Public Transportation and Customer Satisfaction , 2008 .

[21]  Thomas L. Saaty,et al.  Decision making with dependence and feedback : the analytic network process : the organization and prioritization of complexity , 1996 .

[22]  A. Parasuraman,et al.  A MULTIPLE-ITEM SCALE FOR MEASURING CUSTOMER PERCEPTIONS OF SERVICE QUALITY , 1988 .

[23]  Gwo-Hshiung Tzeng,et al.  An integrated MCDM technique combined with DEMATEL for a novel cluster-weighted with ANP method , 2011, Expert Syst. Appl..

[24]  Gordon J. Fielding,et al.  PUBLIC TRANSIT PERFORMANCE EVALUATION: APPLICATION TO SECTION 15 DATA , 1983 .

[25]  H. Said,et al.  Evaluation method of service quality parameters in transport networks , 2002, Proceedings of the 5th Biannual World Automation Congress.

[26]  Sheng-Hshiung Tsaur,et al.  The evaluation of airline service quality by fuzzy MCDM. , 2002 .

[27]  Rong-Ho Lin,et al.  Using a modified grey relation method for improving airline service quality. , 2011 .

[28]  Gwo-Hshiung Tzeng,et al.  A Novel Hybrid MCDM Model Combined with DEMATEL and ANP with Applications , 2008 .

[29]  A. Parasuraman,et al.  A Conceptual Model of Service Quality and Its Implications for Future Research , 1985 .

[30]  D. Gilbert,et al.  PASSENGER EXPECTATIONS AND AIRLINE SERVICES: A HONG KONG BASED STUDY , 2003 .

[31]  J. Carman.  Consumer perceptions of service quality: an assessment of the SERVQUAL dimensions , 1990 .

[32]  David A. Hensher,et al.  Productivity measurement in the urban bus sector , 1995 .

[33]  Hiroyuki Iseki,et al.  Style versus Service? An Analysis of User Perceptions of Transit Stops and Stations in Los Angeles , 2010 .

[34]  Anjali Awasthi,et al.  A hybrid approach based on SERVQUAL and fuzzy TOPSIS for evaluating transportation service quality , 2011, Comput. Ind. Eng..

[35]  Naresh K. Malhotra,et al.  Marketing Research: An Applied Orientation , 1993 .

[36]  A. Parasuraman,et al.  SERVQUAL: A multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality. , 1988 .

[37]  Oliver H. M. Yau,et al.  Assessing the Reliability and Validity of SERVQUAL in a Longitudinal Study: The Experience of an Australian Organisation , 1994 .

[38]  菅野 道夫,et al.  Theory of fuzzy integrals and its applications , 1975 .

[39]  C. Yeh,et al.  Evaluating passenger services of Asia-Pacific international airports , 2003 .

[40]  Ching-Fu Chen,et al.  Behavioral intentions of public transit passengers--The roles of service quality, perceived value, satisfaction and involvement , 2011 .

[41]  Ram M. Shrestha,et al.  MULTI-CRITERIA APPROACH FOR THE SELECTION OF ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS FOR ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT SYSTEM IN DELHI , 2003 .

[42]  Ching-Lai Hwang,et al.  Fuzzy Multiple Attribute Decision Making - Methods and Applications , 1992, Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems.

[43]  Eftihia Nathanail,et al.  Measuring the quality of service for passengers on the hellenic railways , 2008 .

[44]  Kenneth R. Stuart,et al.  Structural Equation Model of Customer Satisfaction for the New York City Subway System , 2000 .