Has COVID19 changed habits towards public transport and perceived service quality? findings from an Italian case study

Abstract

Public transport service quality has long been considered as an important factor influencing passengers’ satisfaction. Within this topic, transportation terminals’ quality plays an important role. The coming of COVID19 changed people’ perceptions of life in general, including travel habits and behaviour. The aim of the study is to quantify the changes in perception of public transport service quality attributes compared to the pre-pandemic. To carry out the research purpose, a survey addressed to the passengers of a metro line of the southern Italy was conducted in 2023, and a comparative analysis was made with the data collected through a similar survey performed in 2019, before pandemic. Both surveys aimed at collecting passengers’ perceptions about the quality of a metro station, including aspects such as cleanliness, comfort, and aesthetics of the station. The results of an ordered logit model show that we are in the “new normal”, where passengers perceptions have changed as regards the pre-pandemic. Metro station cleanliness and comfort have gained a more relevant role, as we need in general cleaner and more comfortable facilities. The aesthetic aspect resulted as the least relevant one, maybe meaning that passengers pay more attention to the essence, rather than appearance.