Understanding the perceived behavior of public utility bus passengers during the era of COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines: Application of social exchange theory and theory of planned behavior

Maela Madel Cahigas; Yogi Tri Prasetyo; Satria Fadil Persada; Ardvin Kester S Ong; Reny Nadlifatin

doi:10.1016/j.rtbm.2022.100840

Understanding the perceived behavior of public utility bus passengers during the era of COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines: Application of social exchange theory and theory of planned behavior

Res Transp Bus Manag. 2022 Dec:45:100840. doi: 10.1016/j.rtbm.2022.100840. Epub 2022 May 23.

Authors

Maela Madel Cahigas^{1

2}, Yogi Tri Prasetyo^{1

3}, Satria Fadil Persada⁴, Ardvin Kester S Ong¹, Reny Nadlifatin⁵

Affiliations

¹ School of Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management, Mapúa University, Manila, Philippines, 658 Muralla St., Intramuros, Manila 1002, Philippines.
² School of Graduate Studies, Mapúa University, Manila, Philippines, 658 Muralla St., Intramuros, Manila 1002, Philippines.
³ Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Yuan Ze University, 135 Yuan-Tung Rd., Chung-Li, 32003, Taiwan.
⁴ Entrepreneurship Department, BINUS Business School Undergraduate Program, Bina Nusantara University, Jakarta 11480, Indonesia.
⁵ Department of Information Systems, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Kampus ITS Sukolilo, Surabaya 60111, Indonesia.

Abstract

Over the years, passengers in the Philippines have relied on public utility bus (PUB) to reach a destination. However, PUB has been greatly affected by the adverse effects of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. Therefore, the study analyzed passengers' behavior using PUB during the COVID-19 pandemic by integrating social exchange theory (SET) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB). A total of 505 PUB users completed the online questionnaire containing sixty-seven (67) measures. Through confirmatory factor analysis - structural equation modeling (CFA-SEM), all the twelve (12) hypotheses were found significant. Accessibility, safety, economic benefit, and crisis management had a significant and positive influence on passengers' trust. Moreover, passengers' trust produced a significant positive influence on attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control. Additionally, attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control generated a significant positive influence on the intention to use PUB. Furthermore, perceived behavioral control had a significant positive influence on perceived passenger behavior. Lastly, the intention to use PUB developed a substantial and positive influence on perceived passenger behavior. PUB companies and policymakers can utilize these findings to develop additional PUB reforms for the benefit of passengers, drivers, operators, companies, and the government during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: And coronavirus disease (COVID-19); Confirmatory factor analysis – structural equation modeling (CFA-SEM); Public utility bus (PUB); Social exchange theory (SET); Theory of planned behavior (TPB).