An application of the rail-servqual model for improving service quality at a selected rail organisation in South Africa

Abstract

Transport availability and accessibility impact global development designs and can be a lift or a snag to the financial development of the country. Therefore, it’s important to continuously evaluate the service quality of any transport service to increase customer satisfaction. Customers are becoming more conscious of their needs. Customer preferences and attitudes are rapidly changing, making it more difficult for service providers to effectively and efficiently assess and operate services. The purpose of the study was to measure the quality of service delivered by the railway organisation, using the modified SERVQUAL approach (RAILSERVQUAL), in South Africa for passenger rail to monitor and improve its services and increase competitiveness among the transport industry. The study discussed the importance of service quality within public transport, particularly the railway industry. The methods and instruments applicable to evaluate the level of service quality within the railway industry were also addressed. This study employed a quantitative methodology to investigate the phenomena being investigated. This research was undertaken ethically to protect all participants as well as the integrity of the University which granted the ethical clearance before data collection proceeded. A survey method was used to collect quantitative data from 110 respondents at different junction stations. The survey aimed to identify the participant’s opinions regarding the service quality of the passenger railway. The questionnaires were administered to conveniently selected respondents based on their willingness to participate in the study. The data were stored on the Microsoft Office Excel sheet before being imported into the statistic software kit SPSS version 26. Thereafter a factor analysis and one-sample t-test were used to analyse datasets for this study. The key finding is that passengers perceived that the rail transport network in the Western Cape did not meet their expectations. Passengers identified variables such as reliability, safety and comfort which they perceive are of poor service. The RAILSERVQUAL measuring instrument was tested in this study and it can be used for all the railway organisations in various regions of South Africa. It further provides railway managers guidelines on how to monitor, control, and enhance the service quality or performance and attractiveness. The study, therefore, recommends that the railway organisation put strategies in place to address these variables to improve customer satisfaction.