Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty Index for Public Transport

• Published in: Civil Engineering and Architecture
• Main Author: Norzelan N.F.; Ishak S.Z.; Haron S.; Sarifah Radiah Shariff S.; Yaacob T.Z.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Horizon Research Publishing 2022
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85168962162&doi=10.13189%2fcea.2022.100130&partnerID=40&md5=c936313ff95bdca877e06c500b3699df

The COVID-19 outbreak is a global pandemic that is now widespread across the world. Malaysia government has implemented the Movement Control Order (MCO) or so-called massive restriction in Malaysia. The restriction amongst others includes that the public is advised to stay and work from home. Only the essential services are allowed to operate at capacity within the stipulated Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). Public transport operation is considered as essential services that need to provide people with mobility and access to employment, community resources, medical care, and recreational opportunities in communities. This study aims to identify the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on urban public transport in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The objectives include: to determine the change of ridership trends, to measure the Customer Satisfaction Index (SCI) and Loyalty Index (CLI) in taking consideration of the current COVID-19 SOP provided by public transport operators. The questionnaire survey was distributed via online and received 401 respondents. The results show significant decreases in ridership and new mobility patterns emerge from public transport to private cars. The COVID-19 pandemic also impacted the CSI and CLI value for both public transport services-bus and rail within the urban public transport users. The highlights of public transport users' concern on using the public transport during this pandemic will be discussed. © 2022 by authors, all rights reserved.