Urban transport management and customer perceived quality: a case study in the metropolitan area of Cagliari, Italy

Liberalization processes and the threats posed by ever increasing competition have forced public transport companies in Italy to pay a closer attention to their customers, so to enhance loyalty and demand for transport. These customer-targeted strategies have been responsible for some significant changes of otherwise consolidated practices, in an attempt to lure new transit riders and discourage potential competitors from entering local markets. The present study describes the results of an on-board survey implemented within the Cagliari’s metropolitan area and aimed at discovering the degree of perceived quality toward the offer of public transport managed by CTM S.p.A, the local transport agency in charge for the planning and management of public mobility around the Sardinian’ regional capital. The research focuses on the implementation of an Impact Score methodology which, following the suggestions included in the Transit Cooperative Research Program Report n°47 (1999), assesses the degree of perceived quality with reference to ten core attributes of the public transport. The survey results show a substantial lack of structural problems and a high level of perceived quality, although some attributes need to be addressed if CTM aims to preserve and strengthen the central role so far enjoyed.