The Dimensions of Loyalty in Public Transit among Older Adults: A Comparative Analysis across Three Canadian Regions

Abstract

There is an ongoing debate in public transit literature on how loyalty should be defined. While measures of willingness to recommend and to reuse have become the default, some argue for the addition of other dimensions (i.e., satisfaction and importance). We assess whether a unidimensional factor structure representing loyalty exists within these variables using a sample of senior transit users from three Canadian regions. The results are compared to two- and three-variable structures regarding fit and reliability, including questions on the importance of transit to quality of life as a third dimension to loyalty is recommended while not so for satisfaction.