An alternative methodology for evaluating the service quality of urban taxis

Abstract

This paper proposes an alternative methodology to evaluate the service quality of urban taxis and develops a level-of-service (LOS) standard for taxi customers to monitor performance. A customer satisfaction survey was conducted from January to March 2013 in Hong Kong, with the respondents invited to give specific satisfaction ratings for ten service aspects individually and a global satisfaction rating for the overall taxi service quality, as well as to rank the important aspects that influence the given global rating. The ten service aspects related to the amount of time consumed when taking taxis, services and facilities provided for finding taxis, internal environments of taxis, and personal services provided by taxi drivers. An enhanced linear regression model was developed to identify the priority areas for improvement of urban taxi service quality. Based on the numerical score of overall taxi service quality, a six-level LOS standard, similar to academic grading, is introduced accordingly to improve the general public's understanding of the current service level. This paper discusses the potential policy implications to enhance the taxi service quality in Hong Kong, which can be applied to other metropolitan cities that provide similar urban taxi services.