INTER-CITY BUS SERVICE QUALITY AND THE PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF TRAVELERS: A CASE OF LONG-DISTANCE ROUTE IN PAKISTAN

Long-distance travel is perceived as a burden by the travelers. In recent years, people preferred to travel by mode of luxury buses for inter-city travel. Luxury bus companies have launch facilities in terms of service quality for their travelers. Therefore, the current study examined the role of service quality, provided by liberalized transport companies, and its sub-components on the psychological well-being of long-distance travelers. For this study, a sample of 400 long-distance/inter-city travelers from Multan to Karachi (938 Kilometers) was approached. The age of participants ranged from 20 to 60 years (M = 40.53, SD = 9.15). The data was collected with the help of self-report measures based on service quality questionnaires and psychological well-being scale of travelers at bus terminals. The findings demonstrated that service quality was significantly related to psychological well-being. Regression analysis revealed that service quality affects travelers' psychological well-being during their travel except for personal security sub-component. The study provides valuable bases for future research in the context of long-distance travelers' mode choice in case of long-distance route travel. Disciplinary: Psychology (Social Psychology, Customer Service Psychology), Social Engineering. (C) 2020 INT TRANS J ENG MANAG SCI TECH.