Evaluation of Quality in Public Transport Services: The Use of Quality Dimensions as an Input for Fuzzy TOPSIS

The assessment of the quality of service provided by organizations plays a key role in the continuous improvement of the quality management system. When it comes to the quality of public transportation, the theme becomes even more relevant since user satisfaction influences the perception of a better quality of life. One of the modes of public transport that stands out in Brazil is the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, characterized by fast passenger transportation since it uses exclusive runways and promotes faster locomotion and less pollution of gases. In the Northeast region of Brazil, the current system has operated since 2014 with two large corridors with a length of 25km and carrying more than 830 thousand people daily. Due to the importance of the fast passenger transport sector, it is necessary to evaluate the quality of the service provided. In this sense, the present work proposes an approach to evaluate the public transport services offered to users of the BRT system in the northeast of Brazil, through a structured questionnaire to measure customer perception and applying the Fuzzy Set and Technique for Order Performance by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). The motivation for choosing the Fuzzy Set is based on the data processing mode since fuzzy numbers simplify the expression of human judgment rather than its individual rationality, the translation of individual subjectivity, and data processing. The choice of TOPSIS for the possibility of ordering variables by means of comparison with the perfect alternative. The methodology of this article is considered a case study and 569 questionnaires were applied to BRT users. The result of the application of the approach showed that the best-evaluated variables are technical security and a single charge of the collection. On the other hand, there was a shortage of information about the schedules of the lines and the presence of convenience stores, demonstrating that these aspects can be developed for greater user satisfaction. It is believed that the proposed approach can contribute to the organizational context by guiding managers and establishing a logical set of procedures for assessing service delivery situations, revealing the level of adjustment required to achieve optimal service performance, and variables and quality dimensions by the best performance score according to the customer's perception.