Exploratory Research on Factors Affecting User Satisfaction of an Urban Railway System in a Developing Country: The Case of Jakarta Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) in Indonesia

Urban railway systems are critical for the daily lives of citizens in cities. Considering that urban railways are a core infrastructure, it is important for urban and railway practitioners to operate and maintain urban railway systems effectively and to maximize user satisfaction. However, despite the importance of this topic, research on the factors that contribute to high levels of railway user satisfaction in the context of Southeast Asian developing countries remains limited. To address this gap, this study conducted an exploratory case study using the Jakarta Mass Rapid Transit (MRT). This study collected 406 valid responses regarding Jakarta MRT user satisfaction through a face-to-face questionnaire survey and analyzed them using regression analysis, fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), and text-mining techniques, which have seldom been applied in previous research on factors influencing railway user satisfaction. The results indicate that high levels of satisfaction with railway fares and social considerations —particularly the combination of both—may be the simplest configuration associated with higher overall user satisfaction, while various other combinations of satisfaction dimensions could also lead to elevated satisfaction. The results also suggest that all dimensions may serve as necessary and/or sufficient conditions for high satisfaction, implying the importance of considering all dimensions.