Title: Measuring the effectiveness of first service encounter in public transportation: an empirical investigation

Authors: Govind Nath Srivastava

Addresses: Faculty of Marketing and Data Analytics, Institute of Management Studies, Lal Quan, G.T. Road, Ghaziabad, 201009, India

Abstract: Platform is crucial interface between commuters and public transport organisation as maximum service encounter occurs at platform. Platform services are neglected area of the research although it set the expectation of customers, gives the clue and creates the first impression about the service quality of public transport services. This study is part of comprehensive research project which was carried out to measure perception of commuters regarding effectiveness of different kinds of services delivered by Delhi Metro. In the present study, total 1,015 samples were taken from all the 160 metro stations using survey method. Qualitative research technique was used for extraction of the variables while multivariate regression analysis was employed to process the data. The result of the study depicts that updated information, the number of directional signage and cleanliness has the most significant impact on customer satisfaction while medical facility on the platform is a least important factor.

Keywords: public transportation; customer satisfaction; service encounter; service quality; platform amenities; Delhi Metro; platform services.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBIR.2021.111990

International Journal of Business Innovation and Research, 2021 Vol.24 No.1, pp.100 - 123

Received: 01 Dec 2018
Accepted: 23 Jun 2019
Published online: 22 Dec 2020 *

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