Although there are several objective measurements of the socioeconomic benefits of public transportation, the subjective evaluation of 'service benefits' is equally important, especially for cities with large populations that are dependent on public transportation. Addis Ababa launched the first Light Rail Transit (LRT) to overcome the transportation challenges the city has been facing such as congestion, shortage of public transportation service and environmental pollution. The LRT was, thus, designed to offer residents with the viable option of mobility and provide increased comfort, efficiency and attractiveness of the overall public transportation system. It is believed that the system has substantially contributed to the alleviation of the acute transportation shortages along transit corridors. However, service benefits are not scientifically measured from the views of the users. Hence, the aim of this study is to understand riders' perception toward the service benefits of the LRT using eight socioeconomic attributes. Ordered logit model analysis was employed to examine the influencing predictors affecting passengers' perceptions toward the socioeconomic benefits. The results showed that Addis Ababa Light Rail Transit (AALRT) is providing benefits related to reducing travel distance, travel cost, and traffic problems, and these perceived benefits are varying as the passengers' demographic and socioeconomic characteristics vary. Improvement of the overall service with consideration of passengers' socio-economical segmentation strategy can lead the city to develop a system that increases benefits of the rail transport service for its residents and helps to reach its goal of sustaining existing users and appealing to new passengers.

Understanding the service quality of public transportation based on users’ perception is an important input for local governments and transit service providers in their planning efforts to improve system performance. Using the Addis Ababa Light Rail Transit (AALRT) as a case, this study aims to examine service users' views and perspectives by using 18 quality attributes. Factor analysis and ordered logit model were employed for this study. Factor analysis with principal components was used to extract the most important factors of satisfaction from the 18 attributes. The results showed that safety and security, ticketing system, travel information, crowdedness, frequency, cleanliness, and comfort are the most important factors influencing user satisfaction. The level of importance of these factors varies depending on different socioeconomic and travel characteristics of AALRT users. Riders who use the light rail at afternoon peak hours, have high household income and short travel duration, and use LRT for shopping purposes have a negative perception regarding the crowdedness, frequency, ticketing, and information system of the AALRT. Passengers with longer travel distance, those who use the AALRT frequently, and full- or part-time workers and students have a positive perception towards several attributes of the system.