Abstract
The paper explores the underlying unobserved factors that influence transit ridership as
well as the levels of satisfaction when using transit services of both tourists and residents in
tourist areas in the peak summer period and in winter. The popular tourism destination of the
Island of Kos in Greece was used as the case study for this research, while two appropriate
statistical methods were employed, Factor Analysis and Ordered Probit models. According to
the analysis, the most significant factor for the tourists when deciding to use public transport
is service production, reflecting route frequencies and reliability of service. On the contrary,
residents place more focus on qualitative aspects such as comfort, safety and information.
Furthermore, a common factor that holds a high position in the preferences of both tourists
and residents is transfer quality, comprising attributes related to transfer coordination. The
paper presents in detail the results derived from the two analyses and discusses the use of
these results by local authorities in order to adjust their policy plans accordingly and to
define actions that can better tackle the residents and tourists’ needs and expectations.