An integrated index for measuring transit service quality based on the entropy method for objective weighting

抄録

Transit service quality is a widely explored area in the literature. However, typical approaches to assessing transit service quality often rely on subjective weights for quality criteria, leading to bias and uncertainty. In this study, we developed an integrated transit service quality index to measure customers’ objective weights using the Entropy Weight Method (EWM). The Quadratic Regression was then employed to explore the relationship between customer satisfaction and transit ridership. Our results revealed a significant gap in customer satisfaction among transit lines. Lines with a high transit service quality index also exhibited high transit ridership. In other words, lines that provide better customer satisfaction levels have the potential to attract more customers. The findings provide transit authorities and practitioners with evidence to better understand the performance of transit lines and identify specific service quality criteria that need to be improved. The proposed transit quality index can be utilized as a strategic quality index to evaluate transit operational performance.