Abstract
The relationship between Nigerian passenger usage, fares, customer
satisfaction and loyalty, and the calibre of intercity public transport services
was assessed in this study. Survey methods included questionnaires and
interviews with eight main intercity public transport operators on the Owerri-
Abuja and Owerri-Lagos routes. The gap model of service quality, descriptive
statistics, and log-linear multiple regression analysis were utilised in the
analysis of the data gathered for the current study. The major intercity public
transport service operators' mean coefficient of quality of service on the
Owerri-Abuja and Owerri-Lagos routes is 23.6%, which indicates that their
subpar service quality is below the 50% average. GIGM has the highest
service quality score (31.3%), indicating that the level of services offered by
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the individual operators assessed is disproportionately high. The results also
showed that the service providers had a mean daily patronage on the routes
(MPAR) of 117.72, a mean customer satisfaction score (CS) of 66.69%, and a
re-purchase intention (loyalty) score of 50.66%. It has been demonstrated that
elements like customer satisfaction, loyalty, fare levels, and service quality
have a major influence on the demand for intercity public transport services.
One important policy implication for individual operators is that they should
improve the quality of their intercity travel services because doing so may
increase demand for intercity travel by customers choosing businesses that
provide the best quality and value. To stay competitive, individual operators
should, among other things, develop operational policies that encourage
improvements in customer satisfaction, service quality, and customer
repurchase intention. This is because service providers with higher quality of
service scores also have higher customer satisfaction and loyalty scores, which
in turn lead to higher patronage.