Does competitive tendering improve customer satisfaction with public transport? A case study for the Netherlands

An analysis concerning the weighted satisfaction judgments of 15 underlying service attributes revealed that 'service frequency, on-time performance, travel speed, and vehicle tidiness' contribute the most to the effect on satisfaction in the tendered regions. We found that new vehicles impact highly on satisfaction with travel speed and vehicle tidiness. The emphasis in the tenders with increasing service frequency, led to an increase in satisfaction but, may have a deteriorating effect on (the satisfaction with) on-time performance.