From Functional Service to Emotional Engagement: Modeling the Mediated Pathways to Satisfaction in Age-Friendly Public Transit

As populations age, public transit systems face increasing pressure to meet the specific mobility needs and service expectations of elderly passengers. To address these challenges, this study adopts a perception-oriented approach and uses a structural equation model (SEM) to develop an evaluation model for age-friendly public transit. This model integrates refined service attributes with psychological mediating factors and systematically examines how service attributes influence overall satisfaction through both direct and indirect (mediated) pathways. The SEM analysis reveals that three service factors—Adequacy of Age-Friendly Facilities, Service Professionalism, and Environmental Comfort and Convenience—have significant positive effects on overall passenger satisfaction. Meanwhile, two psychological factors—Perceived Safety and Perceived Social Support—emerge as significant mediators linking these service factors to overall satisfaction. Collectively, the findings suggest that improving service quality for elderly passengers requires not only improvements to physical infrastructure and service management, but also attention to psychological pathways related to a sense of safety and emotional connectedness. This underscores the critical role of psychological perceptions in shaping overall satisfaction. Based on these insights, the study outlines targeted, practice-oriented strategies to support future improvements in age-friendly public transit.