1. MEASURING THE EVOLUTION OF PASSENGER SATISFACTION FOLLOWING THE INTRODUCTION OF SCHEDULED SERVICES:
THE CASE OF THE 7TH AVENUE MINIBUS-TAXI ASSOCIATION IN MITCHELLS PLAIN
S. SADDIER, N. MCLACHLAN, D. DASS
10 July 2019

2. BACKGROUND
CoCT – SATC 2018 Presentation

3. The toc program Designed and supported by the City of Cape Town
Four taxi association of Mitchells Plain
Business model improvements to transform taxi associations into Transport Operating Companies that will:
own all operating licenses;
employ drivers and staff;
own and manage their fleet;
be eligible for contracting by the City.
First step: mutualising revenue and optimising operations
On 10 January, 7th Ave Taxi Association rolled out scheduled services (with fixed routes and set timetables)
Research question: how did passengers perceive this evolution?

4. approach Two surveys were organized:
Before the pilot (n = 732)
During the pilot (n = 693)
Same methodology and questionnaire for comparability
Passengers surveyed at the rank while waiting for a vehicle
Second survey more difficult to implement (10 days vs. 7 for the first)
Surveyors recruited by the Association and trained by the Consultant

5. Questionnaire AND app
Questionnaire designed to be administered in < 3 minutes
Available in English and Afrikaans
Three group of questions:
Demographics of respondent
Trip characteristics
Satisfaction with service
Use of smartphones to record responses
QuickTapSurvey app for offline survey administration
Multiple-choice questions only to simplify data processing (with one open-ended question at the end)
Data uploaded daily at end of shift

6. Quality control process
Daily quality control of metadata:
Number of responses
Survey start and end times
Average duration per questionnaire
GPS coordinates of surveyor
Comparison of responses across surveyors
Example of anomalies in scoring and gender distribution (data discarded)
Example of spatial anomalies detected in yellow (confirmed to be instances of GPS inaccuracy)
Passenger satisfaction survey

7. Demographics of Respondents
More female than male passengers (as observed in previous surveys)
Slight variations between survey likely caused by differences in work hours and surveyors team composition
These characteristics are used as control variables to check that changes in satisfaction levels result from the implementation of the new system (and not from a different population segment being surveyed)
Passenger satisfaction survey

8. Trip characteristics
Large share of shopping trips consistent with previous research (possibly emphasized by survey hours).
Some variation between the two surveys, likely resulting from differences in time of the year/month/day between the two surveys
Similar distribution of intermodal trips across the two surveys (low share of rail emphasized by survey hours)

9. Satisfaction scores

10. Journey time/itinerary No other changes needed Journey time/itinerary
Open-ENDED questionS
Before the pilot: “What is the most important thing that should be improved in the taxi services on this route?”
During the pilot: “What other changes would you like to see on taxi services on this route?”
Comfort of vehicle
36%
Attitude of crew
16%
Journey time/itinerary
15%
Fare
12%
Safety/security
11%
Other 8%
No other changes needed
44%
Journey time/itinerary
24%
Comfort of vehicle
14%
Fare 5%
Attitude of crew
Safety/security 4%
Other
Passenger satisfaction survey

11. «How does the new system compare to the old one?»
ConCLUSION
Scheduled services = improvement for a majority of users
Regression analysis confirms that improved satisfaction is associated with scheduled services
Encouraging results for the TOC-formation program
Change of business model also benefits the end-users
Satisfaction = experience vs. expectation, likely to evolve in time
«How does the new system compare to the old one?»

12. Simon Saddier