Assessment of factors affecting services quality of upcountry buses in Tanzania

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Date
2009
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Dar es Salaam
Abstract
The study investigated factors that influence quality of service offered by upcountry buses. The four most frequently mentioned dimensions used in evaluating upcountry bus service were chosen for this study namely: Availability, Reliability, Flexibility and Security. In order to achieve this objective both desk and field research methods were used which were both descriptive and analytical. Furthermore, extensive field research was undertaken to obtain relevant data from a random sample of 157 passengers by means of questionnaires and interviews, which were then analyzed statistically. The findings of the study reveal that; Availability, security, flexibility and reliability to a great extent influences the quality of service offered by upcountry buses. The findings have also revealed that the quality of service to a great extent influences customer satisfaction, which in turn has a significant influence on customers’ intention to recommend the use of the service. The study also found out that availability and flexibility were the most important factors influencing the quality of service in upcountry buses. The overall findings of the study indicate that there are great possibilities for more improvement in the quality of service offered by upcountry buses if the factors identified are taken into account during the whole process of service delivery. The study recommends that the Transport Regulatory Authority commonly called SUMATRA should effectively ensure the quality of transport services dimensions in order to improve the quality of service due to its relative importance as revealed by passangers.
Description
Available in print form, East Africana Collection, Dr. Wilbert Chagula Library, Class Mark (THS EAF HE3979T34K44)
Keywords
Upcountry buses, Services quality, Tanzania
Citation
Kisoka, R. J (2009) Assessment of factors affecting services quality of upcountry buses in Tanzania, Master dissertation, University of Dar es Salaam