Improving traffic infrastructure in a developing country: An investigation into the usage of public bus transport in Malaysia

Abstract

Economic growth with rising household income has put more vehicles on the roads worsening traffic congestion, road accidents, and air and noise pollution. This situation is further aggravated by the potential working population who choose to drive to work instead of taking public transportation. Public bus transport (PBT) plays an important role in alleviating these problems. PBT is underutilized in Malaysia, and there is an opportunity to increase ridership without substantial investment. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the factors that influence the use of PBT in Malaysia. The data were collected using structured questionnaires from 400 respondents. The results of the analysis show that the twin factors consisting of perceived satisfaction of and perceived importance by users towards safety and comfort of facilities and services offered by PBT are significantly related to intention to use those services. The satisfaction of availability of season tickets, the importance of reliability of bus schedule and time table, and the importance of ticket pricing are also significant. By providing insights for both public bus operators and the government, this paper contributes to mitigate the underutilization of PBT in Malaysia and the consequences of putting more vehicles on the roads. From the theory perspective, this paper also contributes by extending the theory of reasoned-action to transportation studies.