Assessment of service quality in transport Industry: the case of Tanzania Zambia Railways Authority

TAZARA is facing competition not only from Tanzania Road transport but also from other transport corridors (Roads, Railways and Ports) in Mozambique and South Africa. Another strategic challenges facing TAZARA is the growing and changing needs and expectations of customers as they demand broader range of products and services at competitive prices through more efficient transport. The main objective of the research was to find out factors affecting service quality in TAZARA. Five hypotheses were developed which rested on the five service quality dimensions as tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. The study shows that there is a gap between customer expectations and management perceptions by Parasuramanet.al, (1988) is not wholesale adhered to by Tazara staff of TAZARA. The researcher concludes that the broad dimensionality of service quality as proposed The research therefore recommends how; Management visible involvement and commitment to service, quality values, undertaking frequent market research, implementing human resources development, investing more resources for quality provision and conducting internal audit of Tazara's own service performance strengths and weaknesses.