Norizzati Azudin, Mariati Norhashim, Gobu Nachiappan
ABSTRACT
E-hailing application has gained traction as a lifestyle enhancing solution particularly Uber. Even though Uber‟s presence is more prevalent in large cities in Malaysia, due to the weaknesses in conventional public transport especially the metered taxis, the situation has significantly shifted the public‟s demand to use E-hailing services in smaller cities like Ipoh. By default, Uber drivers in large cities face greater competition compared to their counterparts in smaller cities. This study used the SERVQUAL model to evaluate service quality levels of Uber drivers in Ipoh, a small Malaysian city. The objective was to profile small city Uber users and explore their perception towards the service. The findings revealed that there was no evidence to show that Uber services is lower in a small city like Ipoh, in contradiction to anecdotal accounts. Although reliability and responsiveness were the most significant factors in determining overall perceived service quality, these factors were not the most highly ranked among the five service quality indicators
Keywords: E-hailing, Uber, Service Quality, Public Transport, SERVQUAL