Regional Differences in Factors Affecting Passenger Satisfaction Levels – An Application of Principal Component Analysis

The satisfaction levels of bus passengers depend on various factors such as fare, comfort, reliability, speed, safety etc. The importance of these factors varies across different regions. This paper identifies factors that influence passenger satisfaction levels across different regions using data from 6000 bus passengers in Andhra Pradesh through Principal Component Analysis and prioritizes them across different regions of the state. It was found that the order of importance of these factors varies significantly across the three regions of the state. Consequently, it is important to evolve different strategies for different regions to increase the passenger satisfaction levels.