The performance of tramway service from the users' viewpoint: A comparative analysis between two Moroccan cities

The Moroccan government has recently promoted sustainable public transport projects such as tramway services namely in the two largest cities of country, Casablanca and Rabat-Salé. Since its launch, the tramway service is increasingly present in citizens' daily lives in both cities. To maintain its attractiveness, operators and transport authorities should examine the performance of tramway service from user’s point of view. That is, an in-depth understanding of how passengers perceive service quality and what make them satisfied. The purpose of this study is to compare the performance of tramway service in the two cities based on the opinions of a sample size of 613 and 435 individuals in each city. The outcome of this peer comparison allows to determine the strengths and weaknesses of provided service and identify priorities for improvement in each city. Regarding the methodology, we adopted a two-step approach to achieve our research purpose. The first stage intends to compare users' perceptions regarding Service Quality Attributes (SQAs) and overall satisfaction and to identify any significant differences between the two cities. To this end, we applied, in the first stage, a student t-test of two independent samples. The second stage employs an ordered probit regression model to identify the most important SQA; i.e., which most influence the overall satisfaction, and improvements priorities for the current service tramway. The results showed that, in average, passengers found service quality as good and are satisfied with tramway service in both cities. Tram vehicles’ is the best appreciated service attribute in both cities while Comfort in Rabat-Salé and Lines’ connectivity in Casablanca are the least appreciated. Moreover, the service performance of Rabat-Salé tramway exceeds that of Casablanca tramway in terms of service Availability, service Reliability, Fares level, Tram vehicle, Drivers’ competence, Lines’ connectivity, and overall satisfaction. On the other hand, we found that among top six important attributes, Reliability and Administrators should be prioritized for improvement in Casablanca; and staff, Lines, Comfort, and Administrators in Rabat-Salé. Results showed that improvements in all these service aspects would increase significantly overall user’s satisfaction