Analysis of the relationships among infrastructure, operation, safety, and environment aspects that influence public transport users: Case study of university small and medium sized cities in Brazil

University cities record large numbers of daily trips to campuses, resulting in significant impacts on urban traffic. Public transport services are crucial for meeting this demand, especially for students, who form the most abundant group and are typically captive users of this mode. However, various factors including infrastructure, operation, safety, and environment influence the perception of public transport users regarding their daily trips. Therefore, this case study of a Brazilian university examines the relationships among these factors, using a structural equation modeling approach with multiple indicators and multiple causes (SEM-MIMIC), based on perception data from public transport users within the academic community. The results indicate the importance of incorporating safety perception into travel satisfaction models and considering the interaction between infrastructure and public transport operation attributes. It is also crucial to account for the attributes of the environment in which university students travel. Furthermore, the findings show that user perceptions are influenced by factors such as gender, vehicle availability, total travel time, and the adequacy of the service to cope with specific needs. Based on these findings, urban mobility and university managers can plan measures to effectively enhance the attractiveness of public transport and encourage its usage among members of the academic community.