Análise da qualidade do sistema de transporte público por ônibus em Natal/RN sob a ótica dos estudantes do CT – UFRN campus central

Abstract

This research program investigates the level of quality in the public transportation system by bus from city of Natal through the opinion of students from the Center of Technology - UFRN Central Campus. The applied methodology allows evaluate the weights and the performance of the level of the service indicators defined by Ferraz and Torres (2004), through the opinion poll represented by a questionnaire model developed by Rodrigues (2006), besides collecting suggestions for the system improvement. The analysis of results provided elements to identify and discuss the positive and negative aspects of the public transport by bus in this city, mainly on the determining indicators, according with the opinion of the interviewed, and suggesting low-cost solutions that can be applied to short-term, those are summarized as follow: installation of more bus shelters correctly fagged, pavement regularization, up-to-date posting of transit routes and schedules at bus stops, and more bus operating in peak periods in order to reduce the bus headways.