DEVELOPING A PERFORMANCE IMPORTANCE MATRIX FOR A PUBLIC SECTOR BUS TRANSPORT COMPANY: A CASE STUDY

This paper presents a study of comparison of the importance attached by the service providers’ and the customers’ with respect to eighteen service characteristics towards the public transportation services provided by a bus company. The survey was conducted in three bus depots in one division of a state road transport undertaking (SRTU) in south India. The importance the SRTU and the customers attach to these characteristics indicates significant differences. This reveals the existence of a gap between customers’ expectations and the service provided by the company. Finally the customer retention and customer development criteria have been. identified.