Investigating the sources of heterogeneity in passengers’ preferences for transit service quality

Improving the service quality of public transport is necessary to maintain the loyalty of current users and attract new travelers. Past studies show that users’ preferences for transit service quality are heterogeneous, but recognizing the factors describing this heterogeneity has not been investigated in depth. This paper aims to evaluate the sources of heterogeneity in passengers’ preferences for service attributes of bus transit regarding the regular bus system in the city of Tehran. Four attributes of bus travel, including in-vehicle travel time, fare, vehicle crowding, and headway, were considered. Stated preference (SP) data of 360 commuters with work purpose was collected through face-to-face interviews. The random parameter logit (RPL) model, considering the heterogeneity around the mean of random coefficients, shows that heterogeneity can be explained to some extent by observed characteristics. It can be helpful for transit operators to adopt more efficient measures to improve service aspects.