User satisfaction and the organization of local public transport: Evidence from European cities

• At present, there is no empirical investigation of the relationship between the organisation of LPT and customers' satisfaction.
• We use a large survey conducted in 2009 in 33 European cities and an originally built data set on the organization of LPT.
• The probability of customers' satisfaction is analysed with standard probit models.
• Results show that highest levels of satisfaction are correlated to the presence of one single LPT provider.

In recent decades, market-opening policies in local public transport (LPT) have impacted most European countries. However, we can observe a high degree of variability in possible LPT arrangements, from public monopolies to open markets. This work addresses the following research question: How does user satisfaction correlate to alternative organisational models of LPT service provision? We use the results of a large survey conducted in 2009 in 33 European cities to analyse the likelihood of satisfaction with standard probit models. Results show that the highest levels of satisfaction correlate with the presence of a single LPT provider, as opposed to an industry structure in which multiple providers operate in the same market area.