Understanding transit users in Algiers: Key quality factors at the railway services

Algerians citizens most often travel by foot on their daily trips because the lack of a homogeneous offer of public transit and intermodality throughout the city. Furthermore, the private vehicle is experiencing a notable increased use over the last few years. To curb this tendency, the government has launched a metro and a tramway system as key parts of a whole sustainable transport strategy. Guaranteeing the profitability of these modes of transport demands a high quality operation level focused on the users' needs and requirements. While numerous studies have been carried out in developed countries for identifying the essential aspects of different transit modes, this area is still new in developing countries. Then, this paper aims to identify the key quality factors of the railway transit services in Algiers for advising transit authorities and managers towards the most appropriate policy measures. The railway transit services in Algiers consist on three modes of transport: the metro, the tramway (both started into operation in 2011), and a commuter rail system. A Principal Component Analysis combined with a regression model integrates the assessment approach. The results of this research highlight differences among the transit systems analyzed and provide useful insights for the Algiers government and transit authorities.