Factors Inﬂuencing Passengers’ Satisfaction with the Light Rail Transit Service in Alpha Cities

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Factors Influencing Passengers’ Satisfaction with the Light Rail

Transit Service in Alpha Cities: Evidence from Kuala Lumpur,

Malaysia Using Structural Equation Modelling

Ahmad Nazrul Hakimi Ibrahim 1, Muhamad Nazri Borhan 1,2,* , Muhamad Razuhanafi Mat Yazid 1,2 ,

Riza Atiq Rahmat 1and Sotaro Yukawa 3





Citation: Ibrahim, A.N.H.; Borhan,

M.N.; Mat Yazid, M.R.; Rahmat, R.A.;

Yukawa, S. Factors Influencing

Passengers’ Satisfaction with the

Light Rail Transit Service in Alpha

Cities: Evidence from Kuala Lumpur,

Malaysia Using Structural Equation

Modelling. Mathematics 2021,9, 1954.

https://doi.org/10.3390/math9161954

Academic Editors: Gregorio Esteban

Giménez and Javier Valbuena

Received: 27 July 2021

Accepted: 12 August 2021

Published: 16 August 2021

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral

with regard to jurisdictional claims in

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iations.

Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

This article is an open access article

distributed under the terms and

conditions of the Creative Commons

Attribution (CC BY) license (https://

creativecommons.org/licenses/by/

4.0/).

1Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan

Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Malaysia; nazrulhakimi@siswa.ukm.edu.my (A.N.H.I.);

razuhanafi@ukm.edu.my (M.R.M.Y.); rizaatiq@ukm.edu.my (R.A.R.)

2Sustainable Urban Transport Research Centre (SUTRA), Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment,

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Malaysia

3Department of Economics, Osaka University of Commerce, Mikuriyasakae-machi, Higashiosaka-shi,

Osaka 577-8505, Japan; s77yukawa@nifty.com

*Correspondence: mnazri_borhan@ukm.edu.my

Abstract:

Policy makers and service providers must have a good understanding of the determinants

of passengers’ satisfaction with light rail transit (LRT) in order to be able to formulate effective

strategies that ensure passenger satisfaction, which would in turn help to retain existing passengers

and attract new ones. This is seen as the most important determinant of the long-term financial

performance of LRT service. In this context, the present study seeks to establish the influence of

passenger expectation, perceived quality and perceived value on their satisfaction with the service

provided. A total of 417 responses from a self-administrated questionnaire were collected from LRT

passengers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The proposed model was tested using a structural equation

model. The results proved the significant and direct effect of perceived quality and perceived value

on passenger satisfaction. Of the factors, perceived quality is the most critical construct determining

the satisfaction level of LRT passengers. The present study concludes by deriving the theoretical and

managerial implications on the field of transport. This study provides beneficial information which

helps service providers, authorities, policy makers, planners, and researchers formulate effective

strategies to increase the use of LRT service, especially in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and other alpha

and metropolitan cities in general.

Keywords:

light rail transit; public transport; railway; service quality; satisfaction; structural

equation model

1. Introduction

The rapid population growth and urban development in many cities worldwide has

led to the massive urbanisation and intricate transformation of the urban landscape. This is

one of the phenomena faced by the increasingly higher number of rural people migrating to

urban areas in the pursuit of better employment and education opportunities; this has con-

tributed to a higher degree of urban agglomeration. For instance, approximately 80% of the

urban population in European countries is the result of the urbanisation phenomenon [1].

The major impact of this phenomenon is a higher demand for transportation. In this regard,

the provision of a proper public transport network is of critical importance to reduce

dependence on motorised transport. Kwan et al. [

] emphasised that an inadequate public

transport network leads to the dependence of motorised transport for mobility. This has

contributed to a number of social economic burdens, including massive traffic congestion,

risks of road accidents, longer travel time, higher cost, and environmental problems such

as air pollution and high carbon dioxide emissions [

–

]. In addition, the use of motorised

Mathematics 2021,9, 1954. https://doi.org/10.3390/math9161954 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/mathematics

Mathematics 2021,9, 1954 2 of 15

transport could have an adverse impact on human health due to air and noise pollution

and the involuntary adoption of a sedentary lifestyle [5,6].

As one of the most developed countries in Southeast Asia, Malaysia experiences

significant urbanisation and urban agglomeration. The rate of urbanisation in Malaysia is

projected to be about 70% in the year 2020 [

]. Kuala Lumpur is one of the cities in Malaysia

experiencing a rapidly expanding metropolitan area and massive urban development.

Ranked as an alpha (an alpha level city is a city that serves the main node in the global

economic network) world city, Kuala Lumpur is the financial, cultural and economic centre

of the country and is one of three Malaysian Federal Territories [

]. Kuala Lumpur has a

very high population density of 6891 people/km

. The population of Kuala Lumpur in

2016 is 1.76 million, and by the year 2020 Kuala Lumpur is expected to have a population

of 2.2 million [

]. In its role as an alpha and capital city, Kuala Lumpur is the centre for

several activities such as high technology development, education-training, commercial

and financial, international business and trade, and others, all of which influence the

number of trips made within the city area. Trips in the Kuala Lumpur area are made

using private motorised transport such as cars and motorcycles. Chuen et al. [

] and

Kwan et al. [

] found that only 17% (1.24 million) of the trip in Kuala Lumpur are made by

public transport, and 83% (6 million) of the trips are made by private motorised transport.

In addition, Mohamad and Kiggudu [

] reported that 70% of the vehicles plying the

major roads during the morning rush hour are single-occupancy vehicles. These evidences

proved that the commuting methods used by the residents of Kuala Lumpur are extremely

inefficient. This has contributed to the negative effects of the dependence on private motor

vehicles discussed in previous works [10–13].

A large amount of transport literature has contended that public transport is a vital

element in the global effort to promote sustainable transport [

]. This endeavour

could reduce the dependency on private transport and promote the use of sustainable trans-

port; in Kuala Lumpur, for instance, the rail transit service provides an efficient, reliable,

affordable and eco-friendly travel alternative. However, according to

Masirin et al. [15]

the ridership for the rail transit in Kuala Lumpur is still low, even though the govern-

ment has been making a large investment to encourage the use of rail transit and increase

the ridership of rail transit in the past few decades. Similarly, Zulkifli et al. [

] and

Ibrahim et al. [17]

reported that one of the most serious concerns in Asian transport litera-

ture is the low ridership of rail transit. The low ridership of rail transit in Kuala Lumpur

is similar with the low rate of public transport usage reported in many other parts on the

globe [

]. Generally, the poor public transport usage is due to the convenience of using

private transport, including better flexibility, comfort, privacy and speed, compared to the

utilisation of public transport [1,19].

According to Kwan et al. [

], one reason for the low intention to use the railway for

commuting in Kuala Lumpur is because the rail transit network only connects 10–20% of

the urban area. In addition, several studies have reported that the reason for the lack of

enthusiasm to use rail transit is the failure to provide the level of quality service expected

by the passengers [

]. This has caused dissatisfaction with the service provided.

According to Shen et al. [

], passengers who are not satisfied with the public transport

service would not be loyal to the service and would not recommend it to others. Numerous

studies have investigated passengers’ satisfaction with rail transit [

–

] and reported

that passengers’ satisfaction with the service provided is a primary factor influencing their

decision to use and promote the railway service to others in the future. Thus, the provision

of a high-quality service that meets passengers’ expectations would result in passenger

satisfaction, which in turn ensures passenger retention and attracts potential passengers to

use the service.

As has been pointed out in the various marketing and transport literature, an indi-

cator of a successful public transport service which ensures the ability to survive in the

transport market and the ability to compete with other forms of travel mode is the number

of passengers that the system is able to retain and attract [

]. Thus, there is a critical

Mathematics 2021,9, 1954 3 of 15

need for the authorities and rail transit service providers to determine whether the services

provided adequately satisfy passengers’ needs and satisfaction. In addition, the factors

which influence passengers’ satisfaction with rail transit have to be established to enable

researchers, policy makers, engineers, service providers and the authorities to formulate

strategic measures which would enhance passengers’ satisfaction with rail transit and thus

increase ridership. Therefore, this paper attempts to investigate the factors influencing the

satisfaction of rail transit passengers based on the evidence from the light rail transit (LRT)

in Kuala Lumpur. The covariance-based structural equation model (CB-SEM) approach

is used to assess the relationship between the constructs, namely passenger expectation,

perceived quality, perceived value and passengers’ satisfaction with the LRT service. There

are several advantages offered by this approach. In a statistic point of view, SEM is an

advanced linear model approach which involves the multiple regression analysis to inves-

tigate the consistency of the hypothesised model with the data collected [

]. Additionally,

Williams et al. [

] stated that SEM is a multivariate analytical method employed to assess

and evaluate the complex causal relationship between constructs, even when the relation-

ship is hypothetical direct or not directly observable. In general, the SEM approach is

popular and is preferred in social science and management studies because it can assess the

measurement model and structural path efficiently, especially when the structural model

consists of multiple dependent variables, latent constructs based on multi-item indicator

variables, and multiple stages/levels of constructs in a structural model [

]. Due to its

robustness, the SEM approach has gained attention in the transportation sector. The present

study hopes to provide useful information that would help service providers, authorities,

policy makers, planners and researchers formulate effective strategies to increase the use

of rail transit, especially in Kuala Lumpur, and in other alpha and metropolitan cities

in general.

The rest of the paper is organised as follows. Section 2discusses the reviewed literature

and hypothesis development. Section 3describes the adopted methodology. Section 4

presents and analyses the results of the study, and Section 5explains their implications.

Section 6draws the conclusion from the present study.

2. Hypothesis Development and Conceptual Framework

2.1. Passenger Expectation

Passenger expectation is derived from the passengers’ earlier experience with other

products or service providers, and this experience shapes the passengers’ expectation of

the ability of any company to provide a product or service in the future [

]. According

to Fornell [

], passenger expectation is positively and directly related with perceived

performance, quality of service, perceived value and customer satisfaction. This contention

is supported by Oliver [

] based on the expectancy-disconfirmation model framework,

which considers expectations as one of the most important antecedents of perceived quality,

perceived value and user satisfaction.

Numerous previous works in the field of transportation have reported passenger

expectation as an important factor influencing passenger satisfaction. Shen et al. [

]

investigated urban rail and found that passenger expectation can influence perceived

quality, perceived value and passenger satisfaction. Another study of the Chinese public

transport service by Zhang et al. [

] showed a similar trend of the relationship, and their

findings are supported by those made by Shen et al. [22]. Hussain et al. [34] reported that

passenger expectation has a considerable positive influence on perceived quality, although

the researchers were not able to demonstrate any significant effect on perceived value

based on their investigation of the airline service in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

This outcome is congruent with the findings of an investigation on the public transport

in Suzhou, China [

]. Based on a review of the literature, it is evident that passenger

expectation may influence perceived quality, perceived value and passenger satisfaction.

Thus, on the basis of this evidence, the following hypotheses are proposed:

Mathematics 2021,9, 1954 4 of 15

Hypothesis 1 (H1).

Passengers’ expectation towards LRT service has a positive effect on per-

ceived quality.

Hypothesis 2 (H2).

Passengers’ expectation towards LRT service has a positive effect on per-

ceived value.

Hypothesis 3 (H3).

Passengers’ expectation towards LRT service has a positive effect on the

satisfaction of LRT passengers.

2.2. Perceived Quality

To date, exploration of the theories and practices of service quality has been attracting

increasing attention from practitioners and researchers from many different fields. Service

quality is defined as the overall customer assessment of the service provider’s perfor-

mance [

]. Additionally, Lai and Chen [

] proposed that service quality is a degree to

which the provided service fulfils the consumer’s needs. In much of the reviewed literature,

service quality is considered an important predictor of customer satisfaction [

–

]. A

high service quality leads to higher perceived quality by the customer. Perceived quality,

or perceived service quality, is consumer perception of the services offered by an entity

that includes the full accomplishment of superiority [

], and several studies reported that

it is a key factor influencing customer (or passenger) satisfaction, including in the field

of transportation.

In a study investigating rail-based public transport, Mouwen [

] found that travel

speed and punctuality are among the service quality which have the strongest influence

on user satisfaction. Lai and Chen [

] found that the quality of service provided by the

Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit (KMRT) is a statistically significant factor influencing the

passengers’ perceived value, satisfaction and involvement. In addition, Shen et al. [

]

reported that perceived quality has a significant positive and direct effect on the perceived