Awareness of users of urban public transport in the metropolis

Akopyan Gurgen Aleksandrovich ORCID: 0000-0003-3812-735X PhD in Sociology Associate Professor; Institute of Economics, Management and Law; Moscow City Pedagogical University 115191, Russia, Moscow, 2nd Tulsky lane, 4 akopyang@mgpu.ru

SHevchenko Pavel Vladimirovich ORCID: 0000-0002-3025-9617 PhD in Psychology Associate Professor; Institute of Economics, Management and Law; Moscow City Pedagogical University 115191, Russia, Moscow, 2nd Tulsky lane, 4 shevpav@yandex.ru

Introduction

Moscow's urban public transport is developing dynamically along with the city. According to an independent assessment by McKinsey ^[9], compared to 25 other megacities in the world, the Moscow transport system looks decent, being among the leaders both in individual indicators and in general.

The Department of Transport and Road Infrastructure Development of the City of Moscow (hereinafter referred to as Deptrans) is responsible for the development and condition of the capital's transport system. In addition to such objective indicators as the increase in the length of metro lines, the introduction of new transport routes, the renewal of the tram fleet, etc., he is also interested in increasing the satisfaction of residents using urban public transport and road transport infrastructure.

Literature review

Research shows that satisfaction is always related to the quality of the service provided ^{[2, 6]}, but unlike in the sphere of consumer goods production, competition in the sphere of a megalopolis does not lead to an increase in the quality of services. The experience of private carriers' admission to the mass transportation market in Moscow revealed a low quality of service compared to state-owned enterprises ^{[5, p. 53]}, which led to the elimination of fixed-route taxis in 2016. Being a de facto monopolist in the field of public transportation, Deptrans evaluates the effectiveness of measures implemented by transport enterprises in the capital to improve the quality of public services ^[3].

There are studies showing that the level of satisfaction of users of public transport does not always unambiguously correspond to the level of quality of services ^{[7, 14]}, the assessment of the quality of a trip is not uniform in nature and depends on the context ^{[13, p. 219]}. The existing gap between the consumer's expectations and his perception of the result underlies most of the methods used to assess the quality of services ^{[2, p. 268]}, and transport services are perceived mainly in terms of accessibility and comfort level.

According to McKinsey's assessment, the satisfaction of the Moscow population with some aspects of public transport (in particular, its efficiency, as well as the operation of electronic services) it is worse than the objective state ^{[9, p.123]}, but according to domestic analysts, the improvement of the communication system in some cases will contribute to the convergence of the subjective perception of the situation with objective reality ^[11]. Improving two-way communication between Deptrans and the public will contribute to better awareness among residents, reduce the number of negative appeals to executive authorities, and the number of complaints from residents dissatisfied with public transport is one of the indicators used by the Moscow Government to evaluate the work of the Department and its subordinate organizations.

The use of scientific methods for solving applied problems in the field of communication between executive authorities and society, as well as informing about their activities in a transparent and accessible manner, is in demand and determines the scientific relevance of the presented research.

Research methodology

At the initiative of Deptrans, a study was initiated on the problem of insufficient awareness of users of OT and DT, which was conducted in 2023-2024. The purpose of the study was to identify deficits in the content of messages and channels of direct and reverse communication.

The term "communication" first appeared in the scientific context of 20th century philosophy and today has become one of the key aspects of social practices with numerous research interests in various fields of science.

The study of communication theory reveals common trends in the works of scientists, including the structure and functions presented, for example, in the works of G. Lasswell, G.P. Bakulev, V.M. Berezin.

The Lasswell model of communication was first proposed to describe communication, especially in the context of mass communications, which provide ideal scenarios for the study of human behavior and the development of communication theory.

In his work "The Structure and Functions of Communication in Society", G. Lasswell in 1948 investigated the relationship between mass communication and the effectiveness of propaganda effect. He defined mass communication as a structure and function, and also proposed a classical definition of this concept.: "The most appropriate way to describe a communicative act is to answer the following questions: "Who? What does it tell you? On what channel? To whom? With what result?".

Thus, the communicative model of mass communication includes five components: the communicator, the message, the channel, the recipient and the result in the form of feedback.

In the information activity of Deptrans, according to the model of mass communication, the least structured element is the recipient of information, since information policy is primarily focused on mass media. According to the main hypothesis of the study, the lack of information among transport users - recipients of information - is associated with the established practice of informing the public, with a predominant focus on the mass media (mass media) as an intermediary in the transmission of information. However, mass media can help to convey information to as many people as possible, to make the fact known to many, but their capabilities are limited in order to take into account the specifics of individual groups or categories of consumers of transport services in the process of informing.

Thus, the subject of the study was determined - the segmentation of urban transport users based on transport behavior, which makes it possible to clarify the strengths and weaknesses of user awareness work.

The research methods included interviews with experts from Deptrans, a questionnaire survey (N= 1400) of public transport users, and focus groups with users of OT and DTI.

The variants of user segmentation based on the peculiarities of the transport behavior of citizens were studied, the frequency of transport use and the purpose of the trip were identified as signs of segmentation with the greatest similarity ^{[8, p.136]}.

Option 1. Segmentation based on the purpose of the trip: to work / study and back; to visit, for a walk on a day off; shopping, etc.

Option 2. Segmentation based on the frequency of transport use: daily use during rush hours, trips throughout the working day, irregular use of transport.

Option 3. Segmentation based on social characteristics: those who work daily (outside the home) during the working week; those who commute to work in a flexible mode; students; pensioners; temporarily unemployed.

Traditional parameters such as age, place of residence, as well as consumption of services of a certain type of transport or related infrastructure were also taken into account in the study.

The results of the study

Interviews with experts from Deptrans, who are responsible for PR campaigns and information saturation, showed that they use any information occasion, analyze data and send information messages to the media without delay. Trying to keep up with the times, they use Telegram channels, have developed their own chatbot "Alexandra" and several applications for gadgets, interact with social networks. Comparing the answers of experts with the answers of residents showed what should be paid attention to, how to adjust the ways of communicating official information.

Focus groups with passengers of various types of urban transport (metro, bus, tram), car drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians revealed a number of information search trends common to all.

First of all, as expected, the list of direct and reverse communication channels for users is wider than the one used by Deptrans. The Alexandra chatbot Deptrans project is not mentioned in the responses of the focus group participants. Telegram is not used as the main feedback channel, because any feedback (emojis, comments, votes) is disabled there. Popular online platforms Zen, Picaboo, and the You Tube channel (still functioning at the time of the study) were not used by Deptrans.

In such non-standard situations as "planning a weekend trip" or "you need to change your route," users mostly rely on Yandex services. As a rule, all respondents carry out official complaints through the channels of the city authorities, while three quarters of the respondents are generally satisfied with the content of the responses to their appeals.

The questionnaire survey allowed us to assess the level of popularity of individual information channels that are not mentioned by Deptrans experts (Table 1).

Table 1 – The level of popularity of sources of information about Moscow's public transport (number of respondents, in % of all respondents).

The survey showed that the rating of its own Telegram channels and chatbot is low, while informing through mobile applications is quite effective. The fact that information reaches passengers more often through word of mouth than through its own channels indicates that Deptrans focuses primarily on informing "everyone", and some groups cannot find relevant information for them.

It was also found out in what format the citizens want to receive information. The preferred format for receiving information is text messages – a short text message (61% of respondents), push notifications in a mobile application (27.9%), a message in a messenger (27.9%), a running line in transport (22.9%), the remaining formats are marked by less than 15%. This format is universal, it is suitable even for those who are driving – the phrase "traffic jam for 15 minutes" can be read in time.

First of all, passengers are guided by visual signals, so even the announcement in the subway that there is no boarding on the train is not perceived by everyone, only 11% preferred the format of a short audio message, and only 3% preferred "live" communication with specialists at the counter. it is physically difficult for someone to understand the flow of information.

Fig.1. Satisfaction with the use of transport in Moscow (in % of 100% who noted each type of transport).

The answer options "electric train", "MCD", "minibus" and "trolleybus" are not truly "Moscow", but they are used by residents of the Moscow region when coming to Moscow, and they are necessary for comparison.

Passengers of the Moscow rail transport – the metro and the MCC – are the most satisfied with their transportation, while bus passengers are the least satisfied (those coming to Moscow from outside the MKAD noted taxis, commuter trains and trolleybuses). The group of metro, bus (electric bus) users is much larger in size than motorists and cyclists ^[1], but high satisfaction indicates that people have not regretted using a car or bicycle in Moscow. From 2010 to 2023, the average speed of personal transport in Moscow increased by 24%, and much has been done for cyclists in recent years: in the current 2024 alone, infrastructure was created on 92 streets and a 160-kilometer "Green Ring" was opened.

A more detailed study of the reasons for the dissatisfaction of bus passengers - residents of remote areas of the capital - revealed not only failures in the operation of the transport itself, but also the lack of information about the actual bus schedule, changes and cancellations of routes. Having such information is very important for those who commute to work during rush hours every day, as the most valuable resource in Moscow is time. In a sprawling metropolis, passengers have always valued time ^{[4, p.55; 5]}, and the organization of the driver's work is still far from ideal: on those information platforms with which Deptrans does not work (Zen, Pikabu, Otzovik, etc.), metropolitan drivers complain about constant overwork, non-payment of part of their working hours, and other features precarious labor, typical for the transport sector ^[12].

Students and young people often complained about non-functioning validators (and difficulties paying for travel on crowded buses) and the rudeness of supervisors who "fulfilled the plan." Obviously, this social group is acutely aware of injustice and discomfort.

In general, injustice, an unsolvable problem, and infringement of rights most often lead dissatisfied people to contact the "competent authorities." For example, respondents are outraged by the fact that special bike paths are clogged with leisurely pensioners and mothers with strollers, it is impossible to leave the Bogorodskoye area by the SVH "left", the metro cannot be extended to Golyanovo for more than 50 years, and the newly built Communal apartment already has a metro. At the same time, official information about new bike paths, motorways, and metro lines is presented as a fact that must be accepted. Discussions, the involvement of independent experts and ordinary residents are not practiced, and "front-line" information does not relieve tension.

Citizens who do not use public transport every day are different in their socio-demographic characteristics, such as those who work partially at home, pensioners, etc. - they have the same difficulties in obtaining information as those who plan a weekend itinerary. Many people cannot immediately find information at the right moment, because they do not know which service can help them, especially when there are different options and other subtleties.:

- information about which modes of transport can be used to get to the desired location (and temporary changes in the operation of transport),;

- about the time it may take to travel to your destination;

- the cost of the upcoming trip (changed fares) and payment methods;

- about traffic congestion and traffic jams (making it difficult to get to the airport).

Separately, we can single out a category of residents who want to know "everything about their area of residence." For them, the lack of information about the network of bike paths, the timing of the completion of the interchange or other changes in transport is a reason to write an appeal on the official website. mos.ru . A significant part of the appeals could be pre-empted by informing this category in the framework of a special area of information work.

Conclusions

The study showed that the strengths of Deptrans information work are:

1. Informing passengers through the Moscow Metro and Moscow Transport applications, recognized by the majority of respondents (over 75%) how convenient.
2. The use of a "running line" in public transport, electronic information boards at bus stops.
3. The content and method of responses to the appeals received by Deptrans through various official channels, recognized by the majority of applicants as "satisfactory".

At the same time, the relatively weak sides and deficits of his work are:

1. The official website of Deptrans, its Telegram channels and chatbot Alexandra, which are not popular with residents of the capital, are inconvenient in terms of obtaining up-to-date information.

2. Formality of information ("reporting") instead of considering problems taking into account the opinions of various groups of urban transport users.

3. Not using what the world's megacities use:

• User surveys conducted by independent organizations.
• Regular interviewing of experts, both individual and institutional, i.e. from independent, non-profit organizations.
• Attitude to the planned projects.

4. The lack of proactive information – both positive and preventive – in which news that is interesting to specific groups of users of OT and DTIM will be distributed by them (through word of mouth channels).

The system of informing users by the Department of Transport and Road Infrastructure Development of the City of Moscow is multi-channel and extensive. The main channels of information correspond to the channels that users access.

Visual, auditory, communicative and interactive types of information are used to interact with the population. Visual information in Moscow transport is presented in a variety of formats: from traditional printing to new technologies such as information boards with a running line, themed trains, navigation systems and television monitors at stations and in transport.

Timely notification of schedule changes, repairs, innovations, new stations, parking lots, and transfer hubs allows for more efficient flow management, load optimization, and, as a result, increased travel comfort for all city residents.

However, the identified deficits and weaknesses of the information work of Deptrans allow us to determine the potential for developing user awareness. It consists in complementing the current media-oriented information policy with a policy of segmentation of transport users, in which transport behavior is the main parameter. It is necessary to take into account the diversity of urban transport user groups, including their type of movement, age, and field of activity. This will make it possible to more accurately adapt information messages and services to the needs of each group. Moscow successfully competes with the world's largest megacities in the development of transport infrastructure, as evidenced by international comparative studies. At the same time, taking into account global transport experience in the development of communication strategies focused on transport behavior and user segmentation will make it possible to increase the effectiveness of informing users of public transport in Moscow.

The management of the Deptrans information unit was recommended to provide, along with general information to all residents of the capital (by sending messages to all media), the preparation of information messages for individual target groups, having previously identified such groups based on an analysis of the transport behavior of residents of Moscow and the Moscow region. The recommendations are formulated in the form of design solutions that require testing in 2025.