Copyright © 2018 Authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits
unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
International Journal of Engineering & Technology, 7 (2.29) (2018) 865-870
International Journal of Engineering & Technology
Website: www.sciencepubco.com/index.php/IJET
Research paper
Perceptions Passengers on Service Quality: Public Transport
in Kuala Lumpur
Hamza Imhimmed Mohamed Irtema
1,4*
, Amiruddin Ismail
1,2
, Muhamad Nazri Borhan
1,2
,
Hassan M Abdelsalam
1,
Abdurauf.B.Z Alshetwi
1,5
, Shaban Ismael Albrka
8,
Abdalrhman Milad
1,
Buseif Mo-
hashhash
1,
Aboubaker Y. Y. Alfakhri
1,
Amsori Muhammad Das
1,7
,
Hussin A.M. Yahia
6
, Allam Musbah Al Allam
3
1
Centre for Smart and Sustainable Township Research Centre (Sutra), Faculty of Engineering & Built Environment, Universiti Ke-
bangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia.
2
Programme of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering & Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia.
3
Department Of Civil Engineering, Univversiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), 86400 Batu Pahat Johor, Malaysia.
4
Department of Civil Engineering, Sebha University, Sabha, Libya.
5
Department of civil Engineering Higher Institute of Science and Technology Zahra Libya.
6
Department of civil Engineering Middle East College, Knowledge Oasis Muscat.
7
Department of Civil and Environments Engineering, Universitas Batanghari,Jambi, Kota Jambi, 36122, Indonesia.
8
Civil Engineering Department, Near East University, Nicosia/TRNC, North Cyprus, Mersin 10, Turkey.
*Corresponding Author E-Mail: Hamzairtemih@Gmail.Com & Hamzairtemih@siswa.ukm.edu.my
Abstract
The quality of service is a measurement of the level of service provided against the expectations of customers. This research exam-
ines the behaviour of passengers using public transport with respect to the service quality of public transit. A questionnaire was an-
swered by 412 passengers at one of the main railway stations, Kuala Lumpur Sentral. Empirical data were extracted based on the
information collected from the survey. Structural equation modelling was used to examine the measurement model. The findings of
the study reveal that public transport passengers are significantly influenced by service attributes, for example, vehicle safety, clean-
liness of the facility, and management of complaints. These findings identify the important service attributes that public transporta-
tion services in Kuala Lumpur need to prioritise. This study will help ascertain whether service quality meets or exceeds the expecta-
tions of the passengers.
Keywords: Kuala Lumpur; service quality; public transport; and Structural Equation Modelling
1. Introduction
In today’s world, the success of a public transit system is associat-
ed with the ability of the system to attract and retain passengers.
Therefore, the quality of the service provided is important, since
an increase or decrease in the quality of service will impact the
satisfaction of passengers, thus influencing the usage of the system.
Service quality, in this study, is associated with a set of attributes
that describe public transport services. ‘Customers are the sole
judges of service quality’ (1), and a number of other researchers
agree with this theory. Service quality is an important factor to
consider for city transport planners while planning urban growth.
Generally, passengers are questioned about their expectations of
the service.
The attributes of service quality that need improvement are high-
lighted based on the importance of the attributes and the level of
satisfaction experienced by the passengers (2, 3). Hence, the
measure of service quality from the passengers’ perspective will
depend on their perception of the individual attributes of the ser-
vice rendered. The service quality of public transport plays a ma-
jor part in affecting the public’s daily mode of transportation. The
central and local governments initiate sustainable transport poli-
cies to avoid congestion in cities because it adversely affects the
environment and climate. However, the policies also need to con-
sider the requirements of the passengers. Therefore, it is important
to identify and quantify the variables that most influence a passen-
ger’s decision to use public transportation. The policies must be
devised based on the categories or socio-economic strata of the
passengers or potential users who will be affected by the policies;
they believe that issues to improve the quality of service must be
addressed to attract more customers. In Malaysia and some other
developing nations, the inadequate quality of their public transit
system is one of the major issues faced by city planners and gov-
ernment.
In Malaysia, construction of a high quality public transportation
system is difficult due to the continuous growth of its urban popu-
lation. Besides, Malaysia needs to focus on ensuring the basic
requirements of transportation to support its economy growth and
boost investment. There has been an improvement in the public
transport system in Malaysia, thus reducing the number of private
vehicles. (4) the traffic congestion has reduced together with
sound and air pollution. However, with the increase in number of
people using private cars, Kuala Lumpur has the lowest number of