Public Bus Services Research Articles

Why Public Bus is a Less Attractive Mode of Transport: A Case Study of Putrajaya, Malaysia

This paper investigates the constraints that limit the use of public bus by people commuting to work in Putrajaya, Malaysia. Putrajaya was built to replace the city of Kuala Lumpur as the new administrative centre for the government of Malaysia. This research adopted qualitative methods which involved a total of 29 respondents who use car and/or bus to commute to their workplaces. The findings of this study show that several factors, such as reliability, safety, and customer service, play considerable roles in promoting the use of public transportation. The respondents agree that reliability (e.g. frequency, punctuality, and transfer) is an important factor in choosing a particular mode of transport. Safety is one of the major concern amongst the respondents, which need to be improved along with customer satisfaction of the public bus service. The results of this study suggest that a more reliable and accessible service is required to promote public bus as an attractive mode of transport.

Service Quality and Customer Acceptability at the Cape Coast Branch of Metro Mass Transit Limited


 
 
 The paper seeks to examine customer’s perception about the state of public transport in Ghana; assess the extent to which customers are satisfied with Metro Mass Transport’s (MMT) public bus service delivery; and further establish the relationship (if any) among service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty. A quantitative approach, using questionnaires, was adopted to survey 377 regular students from the University of Cape Coast, who mostly patronize public transport services, especially on vacations, public holidays and school reopening seasons. Data was analyzed, using descriptive statistics and Pearson’s product moment correlation technique. The findings indicate that the respondents’ strongest perception about the state of public transportation was its importance to society. Majority of the respondents were generally dissatisfied with MMTs service delivery; and empirically, there was a weak, negative correlation between customer satisfaction in terms of service quality and customer loyalty. It is recommended that Metro Mass Transit Limited management focus on some quality variables such as safety-comfort-cleanliness; information-communication; accessibility; terminal and stop points performance; and online performance, in order to improve and sustain customer loyalty.
 
 

Carbon Footprint Reduction in Transportation Activity by Emphasizing the Usage of Public Bus Services Among Adolescents

Transportation is one of the sectors that contributes to the Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) emissions. In terms of carbon footprint, transportation is among the major contributors of high carbon intensity in the urban area. This study was conducted to reduce the carbon footprint contributed by the transportation sector in Penang Island by emphasizing the use of public buses. Secondary school students were the target group for this study. They were asked to report their daily travel behaviour and fuel consumption in a travel journal. The fuel consumption data from the travel journal were used to calculate each individual’s carbon emission level. After the analyses, the value of carbon emissions was revealed to the students. Next, they were encouraged to use public transport in a motivation session and were asked to record their fuel consumption in the travel journal once again. The results showed that there was a significant difference in fuel consumption before and after the motivation session, as the students preferred to use public buses instead of private vehicles after the motivation session. This indicates that the motivation programme had been successful in creating the awareness towards carbon footprint reduction among the adolescents.

SERVICE QUALITY AND CUSTOMER ACCEPTABILITY AT THE CAPE COAST BRANCH OF METRO MASS TRANSIT LIMITED

The paper seeks to examine customer’s perception about the state of public transport in Ghana; assess the extent to which customers are satisfied with Metro Mass Transport’s(MMT)public bus service delivery; and further establish the relationship (if any) among service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty. A quantitative approach, using questionnaires, was adopted to survey 377 regular students from the University of Cape Coast, who mostly patronize public transport services, especially on vacations, public holidays and school reopening seasons. Data were analyzed, using descriptive statistics and Pearson’s product-moment correlation technique. The findings indicate that the respondents’ strongest perception of the state of public transportation was its importance to society. Majority of the respondents were generally dissatisfied with MMTsservice delivery; and empirically, there was a weak, negative correlation between customer satisfaction in terms of service quality and customer loyalty. It is recommended that Metro Mass Transit Limitedmanagement focuses on some quality variables such as safety-comfort-cleanliness; information-communication; accessibility; terminal and stop points performance; and online performance, in order to improve and sustain customer loyalty.

Inaccessible Public Bus Services in Thailand

This article aims to explain the causes and effects of incompatibility between public bus services (provided by the Thai government) and the needs of passengers, particularly transport-disadvantaged passengers (namely children, elders, pregnant women, persons with wheelchair, mobility, hearing or visual impairment, people carrying heavy loads, the overweight, people with slow moving preferences). A documentary-research approach on Thai official documents, international and national academic papers is utilised for critical analysis. The findings show that even though the Thai government has planned to provide low floor public buses to facilitate passengers, the services remain challenging because of inaccessibility. The universal design concept provides for full installation of all aid tools that accommodate all groups of passengers. The article provides an overview of public bus services in Thailand, discusses the meaning of ‘accessibility,’ the causes and effects of incompatibility between public bus services and passengers’ needs, the multiple advantages of accessible public bus services for all, and concludes with recommendations.

A produção social da organização do transporte coletivo urbano rodoviário de Porto Alegre - 2012-14

Este artigo analisa a produção social do transporte coletivo urbano rodoviário de Porto Alegre tendo como referência a teoria da produção social (TPS) proposta por Carlos Matus, que explica como a realidade social é produzida por atores que atuam sob condicionamentos e restrições. O estudo analisa interpretativamente dados secundários a partir das categorias da TPS. Considerando os fatos sociais que resultaram em acumulações e na alteração da regra do jogo, bem como os atores sociais envolvidos, sua motivação e recursos que mobilizam, evidencia-se a relevância das ações do Bloco de Lutas pelo Transporte Público no processo de produção social analisado. Destacam-se, também, as contribuições da TPS para analisar as políticas públicas como parte de um processo de interação entre atores sociais, localizados no aparelho de Estado e fora dele.

An Assessment of Public Transport Facility in Johor Bahru: a case study in Taman Ungku Tun Aminah Area, Majlis Perbandaran Johor Bahru Tengah, Malaysia

Provision of public transport infrastructure is important to increase the ridership and at the same time decrease the use of private transport. Like the other Malaysian cities, Johor Bahru is mostly dependent on private vehicles such as motor cars and motor cycles. The ridership on public transport especially public bus is getting lower over the years. In this situation the sustainability in transportation and land use cannot be ensured. This paper aims to assess the public transport facility in Taman Ungku Tun Aminah in Johor Bahru which is very old and traditional residential area with some major extent of commercial and educational land uses. The actual scenario of public transport service and underlying problems that impeded the residents to use public bus service is observed in this paper. The possible options for the improvement of the bus service and turning it into an effective short and medium length inter town travel media are also discussed as well. Both the primary and secondary information are collected for the purpose of study. Various descriptive statistical data analysis are done in order to get the expected outcome from the collected data. According to this study only 26.7% of the respondents use public bus for their daily travel. The opinion of the respondents is taken for the underlying causes of their reluctance on using public bus service and also the effective measures for the enhancement of this service to the users like them. Finally some recommendations and strategic actions and policy frameworks are also suggested in this paper.

Effects of Taichung bus policy on ridership according to structural change analysis

Since 2001, the Taichung City Government has launched several policies to stimulate public transit ridership. Based on this successful experience of reforming the urban bus system, the aims of this study are to analyze the structural change in bus ridership time series over a period of more than a decade. The major objectives are to determine effective policies and explore critical factors. According to monthly ridership from 2001 to 2014, five regimes of bus ridership and three effective bus policies were defined. Important elements of successful policies include complete bus network, high frequency of buses and mileage subsidy. These policies have brought high growth to once very low bus ridership in Taichung City. This type of research process helped to provide an understanding of actual outcomes of past policies, as well as to obtain key factors, which can be used to continue to formulate or adjust public transportation policies. The results of this study may serve not only as a reference for formulating bus strategy in Taichung City, but also for providing direction in the development of public bus service in similar-sized cities.

Анализ условий формирования и развития рынка пассажирских перевозок городским автобусным транспортом

The paper presents a detailed analysis of the market development stages of public transport bus services. Establishment of a new management model on the urban ground public transport entails a need to create a competitive market, through effective distribution of the city route network. As part of this goal we propose the route grouping method based on weighted average profitability and investigate some Moscow route network. The analysis and classification of these routes can determine the degree of variation in the route profitability. Drawing on the data obtained, we offer certain conclusions concerning the feasibility of a more detailed diversification of route portfolio followed by its further distribution among passenger carriers on regular urban bus routes.

A methodology for rearranging transit stops for enhancing transit users generalized travel time

Abstract This study develops a methodology to consolidate transit stops. It develops a mathematical model and a program which takes stop consolidation decision(s) according to users generalized travel time savings and desired accessibility. The model iterates until the users generalized travel time savings are maximized. The study tests this mathematical model in different hypothetical scenarios. Six factors (distance between stops, passenger activity, average cruising speed, maximum walking distance, service frequency, and percentage of decreased passengers) with multiple levels were set to build the scenarios. Three responses (percentage of consolidated stops, percentages of travel time and operating time savings) were observed. The findings showed that the distance between the stops the passenger activity, and the probable demand change (or the percentage of decreased passengers) are the most influential factors. The frequency of service was found to be influential as well. The average cruising speed has very little influence on the response variables. Finally, the model is tested on two routes (route 900 and 930) of Al Ain City public bus service. It shows that 22 and 32 out of 98 and 126 stops can be consolidated in route 900 and 930 respectively. This can save considerable amounts of users travel and operating times. In monetary values, the savings are about $329,827 and $491,094 per year for routes 900 and 930, respectively.

The Role of Quality Assessment for Development of Sustainable Bus Service in Mid-sized Cities of India: A Case Study of Patna

Public transport in urban areas has been observed to have contributed significantly to the reduction of traffic congestion and pollution, providing alternate means of sustainable transport mode and in a general improvement in ‘quality of life’ of city dwellers. In developing countries like India, rapid urbanization has led to increased travel demand, an increase in a number of the personalized vehicles; however, lack of commensurate comprehensive transportation planning in urban areas has put tremendous pressure on the existing inadequate and out of date transport infrastructure. In order to overcome such alarming situation, improved public transport both in qualitative and quantitative terms has been recommended from all quarters. The present study assesses the existing ‘quality of services’ of midi buses operating in Patna, India. Accordingly, a Likert-type ordinal scale rating based face-to-face survey was conducted among midi bus users in Patna. Respondents were asked to rate the 20 attributes of midi bus services in the city, in terms of satisfaction based on their experiences while commuting. A total of 402 refined questionnaires were analyzed using TOPSIS method. The findings will help to understand the shortcomings of the existing public bus service and provide the responsible authorities and bus operators with suggestions that can enhance the ‘quality of service’ and attract more users to public bus service. Commuters were found satisfied with ‘qualitative’ attributes such as ‘ticketing facility’, ‘seat comfort’, ‘condition of bus stops’, ‘condition of bus’, etc. while dissatisfaction was found for ‘bus information at the bus stop’, ‘frequency of bus service’ and ‘buses being on time’. This study justifies the need of improving ‘qualitative’ aspects of existing bus services. The findings of the study will provide the policy makers and bus operators in planning and implement the effective and sustainable public transport system in future for small and mid-sized cities of developing countries.

Transporte público de buses versus congestión y contaminación en Lima y Callao

This study measures the influence of public bus services on traffic congestion and environmental pollution in Lima and Callao. The effect of the flow of buses on the transportation network is measured by way of a dynamic traffic assignment program, Dynasmart. The database is constructed on the basis of the 2005-2025 Master Plan. To this end, the transportation network is verified using Google Earth, and field measurements of capacity, speed, and volume- relay functions to describe traffic congestion are used. The flow of buses is calculated using the Emme3 program. Origin-destination matrices are calculated for each hour based on the 24-hour origindestination matrix from the Master Plan. In the case of congestion, both the exact and the maximum influence of the flow of buses are measured, and the case of segregating a traffic lane for a Rapid Bus System—a much-discussed topic—is also considered. In the case of pollution, the exact influence of the flow of buses is used to measure fuel consumption and pollutant emissions for the option of reducing public bus services as well as a further five options, including the implementation of a Rapid Bus System featuring gas-powered buses. It is found that halving the size of the bus fleet increases the speed of the transportation network by between 2 and 7% per day, and between 9 and 14% until 11 am, and yields 46% of the benefits of promoting clean fuels and inspection and maintenance; that is, that this measure is of limited worth in reducing congestion, and should not be considered a priority means of alleviating pollution.

Need for public bus transportation in A'Sharqiyah Governorate of Oman: the community's perception

The means of public transportation in A'Sharqiyah governorate of Oman are minimal and mostly based on private taxis. The development of a public transport system (specifically buses) can contribute significantly to solving many of the social problems of the region like traffic accidents, congestion and pollution. The current research evaluates the community's perception regarding the need for, and the benefits of a public bus service system in A'Sharqiyah governorate (north and south) of Oman. Furthermore, it determines the major expectations of the community concerning the potential bus transport system in the region. Four hundred and eighty nine residents of A'Sharqiyah region participated in the survey from all the cities of governorate. The results identified the high public demand for the bus service in the region. The findings also provide detailed account on the expectations of the residents regarding the bus service. The study has implications for practitioners as well as concerned public authorities.

Need for public bus transportation in A'Sharqiyah Governorate of Oman: the community's perception

The means of public transportation in A'Sharqiyah governorate of Oman are minimal and mostly based on private taxis. The development of a public transport system (specifically buses) can contribute significantly to solving many of the social problems of the region like traffic accidents, congestion and pollution. The current research evaluates the community's perception regarding the need for, and the benefits of a public bus service system in A'Sharqiyah governorate (north and south) of Oman. Furthermore, it determines the major expectations of the community concerning the potential bus transport system in the region. Four hundred and eighty nine residents of A'Sharqiyah region participated in the survey from all the cities of governorate. The results identified the high public demand for the bus service in the region. The findings also provide detailed account on the expectations of the residents regarding the bus service. The study has implications for practitioners as well as concerned public authorities.

Reforms in the regulation of public bus service in Israel

Regulation of public bus services in fixed routes is common worldwide. This article presents regulatory reforms instituted in Israel from 2000 to 2014, in which part of the public bus services are being provided through competitive tendering. The results generally indicate relative success in most of the variables examined: the average cost per vehicle kilometer, the level of service, fares and the number of passengers. However, the reform has also been accompanied by fairly frequent changes in the characteristics of the tenders. These changes may reflect difficulties in imposing regulation on the operators. The findings indicate that the existing regulation in Israel should be changed, both structurally and in terms of the organizations involved in the process. In addition, it is recommended that a new measure be developed to examine the quality of passenger service provided, which should also be included as a significant criterion in the selection of operators.

Big buses in a small country: The prospects for bus services in Wales

The evolution of the bus market and industry in Wales since deregulation in the mid-1980s is reviewed. After a brief period of competition, which seemed to offer the prospect of welfare gains, the industry rapidly consolidated, with resulting losses in bus usage and welfare, similar to the rest of Great Britain outside London. There were large increases in subsidy following the introduction of a national free concessionary fares scheme in 2002. There is some evidence that some of this subsidy has leaked, at least some of the time, into super-normal profits, in part due to generous concessionary fare reimbursement terms. For the urban parts of Wales, particularly in the North East (centred on Wrexham) and the South East (centred on Cardiff), there are aspirations to develop Bus Rapid Transit to supplement the existing rail network. For rural Wales, there have been long standing aspirations to develop more flexible public transport services and long distance bus services, but this has often been thwarted by lack of funding. Organisational reforms that might assist the Welsh Government in delivering these aspirations are reviewed, including Quality Contracts, Quality Partnerships and Community Partnerships.

Dominating factors contributing to the high(er) costs for public bus transports in Sweden

The purpose of this study is to deepen the understanding of what are the underlying reasons for the increasing cost of public transport in general and bus services in particular in a Swedish context. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with managers at the bus operators as well as the authority organizations. This paper contributes by identifying nine categories that can be the dominating factors behind the increasing costs of public bus services in Sweden. The identified categories of cost drivers are; of traffic appearance (peak times), greening of buses, age requirements, the contract period, the accessibility customization, special requirements on buses, collective agreements (working time regulation), tendering and contracting process, and finally, counterproductive political governance. It can be concluded that many of the cost drivers originate from the circumstances of the process of public procurement, such as different demands for different regions in Sweden as well as the trade-off between the bus operators' wishes for higher flexibility in the contracts and the traffic authorities' fear of more risks and thereby higher bids in the end.

Privatisation Reversals of Bus Transport Service: A Case of Shanghai in China

Public services have experienced a wave of privatisation reversal worldwide since 1990s. The debate about privatisation reversal has thus increased growing scholarly attention. To fully understand the reversal, this paper attempts to identify the reasons for reversal (why do actors engage in them), reveal the characteristics of reversal process (how does it happen), and evaluate the performance after reversal in urban bus transport field. The reversal of the privatised Shanghai public bus service was selected for illustration. The findings suggest that: (1) there exist various reversal reasons in different institutional environments, involving economic, political, and societal factors; (2) The reversal process is characterised by multi-actor interactions embedded in institutional environments; (3) The performance is improved after reversal.

Young Consumers’ avoidance towards Public Bus Services of urban areas in Bangladesh

In this paper; young consumers’ generic avoidance nature towards urban public transportation facilities in Bangladesh ha s been discussed. From the discussion, four major categories of negative associations regarding public transportation in the urban areas were identified. While three of them have already been explained in the brand avoidance model, another new dimension added to this particular public bus service context was the safety concerns. According to this study result, public bus services are being highly avoided by young urban consumers due to the safety concerns. All the respondents reported some experience or idea about public bus services in the urban city that put them in a n unsafe situation. Physical, financial and psychological safety concerns have been experienced by many individuals. Some of them continued traveling with fear of safety concern implanted in mind whereas most of them stopped traveling through public bus services especially during off peak hour or late night hours. The findings are particularly of managerial interest as further transportation management strategies can be crafted to reduce negative customer associations with public transportation facilities.

Passengers’ Perception towards Private and Public Bus Service

Passenger Road Transportation plays a pivotal role in India in bringing about greater mobility both within and between rural and urban areas. Through increased mobility it also contributes immensely to social and economic development of different regions of the country. In India, as in many other parts of the world, investment in road transport is treated as a part of public provision of services whereby one of the key objectives of this provision has been to meet the social obligations of an affordable, safe and reliable bus service to the people. The road transport mode in India has come to occupy a pivotal position in the overall transport system in India. Over the past four decades, the share of road transport in overall traffic flows has been continually increasing with a substantial shift from rail to road being observed. This mode is currently estimated to have a share of about 80% in passenger transport and 60% in freight transport. Despite such an impressive growth, it is increasingly being recognized that there is a wide gap between the demand for, and the supply of, road transport services, both from a qualitative as well as quantitative perspective. While the problem has been mainly due to the inefficient public sector management of its transport assets (especially in passenger transport services where it dominates), which has also stemmed from restrictive policy and implementation measures over a period of time. The objective of the present study is to compare the consumer perception on service quality of public and private transport services in Tirunelveli district. The main aim of the study is to identify the perception of passengers towards reliability, convenience, cost and comfort of public and private transport. It is found that the majority of the passengers of public and private transports are moderately satisfied with the overall service quality of the public and private transports.