Various types of surveys were conducted in order to identify, rank (in order of importance), and rate (according to actual performance as perceived by users), the most relevant LOS (level of service) variables to current and potential users of the Santiago public transport system. First, a Delphi-type exercise, with two waves, was administered to several national experts; second, a set of semistructured interviews were administered to focus groups; third, a structured survey was administered to a large sample of users of all public-transport modes available in the city (buses and minibuses, shared taxis, and underground); and fourth, a stated-preference experiment was administered to another large sample of public-transport users. The paper briefly presents the main results of the first two surveys which allowed the identification of a set of relevant LOS variables, and concentrates on an analysis of the results of the third (rank and rate) and fourth (determination of LOS attribute weights), that allowed the team to make a diagnosis of the current state of the system from the point of view of users. (A)
Abstract