The Impact of Urban Rail Transit Epidemic Prevention Measures on Passengers’ Safety Perception

In 2020, COVID-19 triggered concern about the safety of public transport. To meet passengers’ expectations regarding safety, the public transport department has stepped up its pandemic prevention services. Some prevention services require passengers to follow mandatory requirements. However, whether and to what extent these requirements affect passenger satisfaction with public transportation services remains unclear. This study aims to construct an integrated framework to explore the direct and indirect relationships between four constructs (regular services quality, pandemic prevention service, psychological distance, and safety perception) and passengers’ satisfaction in the context of urban rail transit services. Based on survey data collected from 500 passengers on the Shanghai Metro, this paper examines the relationships between routine service, pandemic prevention measures, safety perceptions, and satisfaction with the service. The results from the structural equation model indicate that routine service (0.608), pandemic prevention measures (0.56), and safety perception (0.05) have positive effects on passenger satisfaction. Psychological distance negatively impacts safety perception (−0.949) and has indirect effects on passenger satisfaction. Further, in order to identify the service improvements that public transportation departments should focus on, we use the three-factor theory to identify the services that should be improved: Basic factors, such as “punctual arrival of metros”, “treatment of harmful garbage”, “increasing frequency of platform disinfection”, and “measurement of station temperature” should be treated as the first priority. As the second improvement priority, “the planning of metro stations can accommodate my travel scope” can be considered. Last, public transportation departments can enhance the exciting factor by installing “metro entrance signs” when resources are available.