MEDIATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SERVICE QUALITY AND CUSTOMER LOYALTY IN PUBLIC BUS TRANSPORT: THE ROLE OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Abstract

The objective study is to examine the mediating relationship between service quality and customer loyalty in public bus transport: the role of customer satisfaction, evidence from customers of Yankari Express Transport in Bauchi. The study used a quantitative approach, and the data was collected through a survey questionnaire method as a data-gathering instrument. The population of the study was 5,166 customers and the sample size for the study was 357 customers (Krejcie and Morgan Table, 1970). Convenience sampling technique was adopted in selecting the respondents. The data obtained was analysed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) with Partial least square (SEM-PLS). The findings revealed that, customer comfort has a positive significant effect on customer loyalty while transport fare, vehicle cleanliness and customer safety have a negative significant effect on customer loyalty. On the mediation role of customer satisfaction, customer comfort, transport fare and customer safety have a positive significant effect on customer loyalty mediated by customer satisfaction while vehicle cleanliness have a negative significant effect on customer loyalty mediated by customer satisfaction. Also there is a direct and positive significant relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The study concluded that, public bus transport corporations owned by government should concentrate and take care of customer comport, transport fare, vehicle cleanliness, and customer safety which have effect on loyalty mediated by satisfaction so as to support and enhance corporation’s business survival and growth. The study recommended that, top management of the public bus transport owned by government should improve on it customer comfort, transport fare, vehicle cleanliness, and customer safety which will also improve customer loyalty with the intervention of customer satisfaction, to support the corporation’s business growth.