Analysis of the passengers’ experience and travel time use on board urban buses. The case of Brescia

Providing users of the public transport with a satisfactory service is necessary to discourage the use of private transport modes. In addition to ensuring high performance in terms of accessibility, usability and availability of the service, in recent years the concept of travel experience has been deepened, to consider how travel time can constitute a further quality factor instead of being conceived as wasted. The article studies the travel experience of a sample of 554 urban bus system users in the city of Brescia, where the bus service already achieves high levels of passenger satisfaction. Through in-depth analysis, factors which particularly influence travel time and some critical aspects of the service are identified, related to three main topics: perception of the onboard experience, possibility and comfort in time engagement and interaction with other passengers. The analysis made it possible to pinpoint where it would be appropriate to intervene to make the travel experience more satisfying