Title: Transport Service Quality and Social Responsibility Through Relationship Marketing
Abstract: This chapter describes how, during the last decades, significant efforts have been made to promote and make public transport alternatives more attractive for citizens in urban areas all over the world. One can observe that many limitations have been hampering its success, making its performance unsatisfactory. Desirable results should indicate a high quality of public transport service leading to a demand increase, consumer satisfaction and consequently consumer retention. The importance of the role of marketing in this kind of project should be obvious. The main objective of this chapter is on marketing for public transport and it is based on the research results of the Mobile Group concerned with urban sustainable development and mobility issues. The research is developed using the concept of Integrated Mobility Management (IMM), comprising conception, application, and monitoring of integrated models of production and management of transport and land-use (commercial, service and leisure activities) search for sustainable regional-urban development. Focus is on the business environment, with the purpose of matching the financial and economic goals of companies and social aims of public interests (companies with social, ethical, and environmental responsibilities). Despite the large scope of issues involving sustainable development and sustainable transport, which are practically at the beginning states of investigation, the approach adopted here has been developed with the goal to enhance the greening of transport and to switch car trips to the transit alternatives.