1

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Road network is vital to the economic development, trade and social integration. It facilitates

smooth conveyance of both people and goods. Size of the road network, its quality and access

has a bearing on transport costs. Besides, road network promote specialization, extend

markets and thereby enable exploitation of the economies of scale. Easy accessibility,

flexibility of operations and reliability have earned road transport an increasingly higher

share of both passenger and freight traffic vis-à-vis other transport modes. Availability of

adequate, safe and comfortable passenger transport facility is a very important index of

economic development of any Country. Public transport provides the vital connectivity to far

flung areas in a developing society.Transport demand in India has been growing rapidly. In

recent years this demand has shifted mainly to the advantage of road transport, which carries

about 87 percent of passenger and 61 per cent freight transport demand arising for land based

modes of transport (i.e. roadways and railways taken together) respectively.

1.1 MODES OF TRANSPORT

Based on the medium used for transportation the entire transportation system can be

classified into three parts – (a) Land Transport (b) Water Transport and (c) Air Transport [1]

.

The land transport uses roads and railways to move things and/or people from one location to

the other. Water transport is essential and may be used with advantage where a body of water

separates two places. Air transport uses the air routes to move things and/or people between

places. Each of these modes of transport has an associated cost, and suffers from certain

limitations. In an economically progressive community, all the three modes of transport need

to be well organized and efficient.

Thus, for a growing economy, the problem of transportation is the problem of managing the

three modes of transportation efficiently so that boundary-less integration is possible and

hence the aforementioned benefits of transport systems be achieved. This management of

transportation system necessarily requires the building, operating and maintenance of the

necessary infrastructure, technology and manpower which in turn must be aligned with

economic goals and growth planning of the overall economic system.

2

1.2 PASSENGER MOBILITY IN INDIA

In a global business system with a customer-centric focus, speed of delivery of service is a

key competitive parameter [2]

. Passenger mobility in India relies heavily on rail and road. On

an average, an Indian travelled 287 Km in 1950-51 out of which 187 Km was by train and

100 Km was by bus. During the past five and a half decades their annual travel figure jumped

to about 3000 Km of which 385 Km is using rail and the rest 2615 Km is by road. Since the

road is the most viable alternative for transport at the local level, the passenger transportation

system merits deeper and serious thinking.

1.3 TRENDS OF RAIL-ROAD PASSENGER MOBILITY

While comparing the future demand for buses and other modes of travel such as cars and

jeeps, the demand for buses will be more than that for other modes. It is estimated by the

Planning Group that the passenger traffic demand for buses will increase at the rate of 8 per

cent whereas that for cars, taxis and jeeps will increase at the rate of 7 per cent compound per

annum [5]

. The projections based on these estimated passenger mobility are given in Table 1.1

Table 1.1 Forecasts of passenger mobility by road and rail (Passenger Km in Billion)

Source: Singh S. K. (2000), "Estimating the Level of Rail and Road based Passenger

Mobility in India" IJTM 24(12): 771-781.

1.4 PASSENGER TRANSPORT IN INDIA

India‟s passenger transport for the short and medium distances is essentially bus oriented.

Buses even compete with the railways by offering night trips in the long distance segment.

Buses enjoy a distinct edge over other modes of transport because of their flexibility and

Year Road Rail

1995-96 2412 339

2000-01 3688 390

2005-06 5421 441

2010-11 7572 489

2015-16 9960 532

3

accessibility to a large number of villages and towns. Buses per passenger yield higher

economy in the use of road space, incur lower fuel consumption and lower cost of operations.

India is a vast country with an area of 32.76 lakh square kilometres and about 80 per cent of

the population living in almost six lakh villages. It is predominantly an agrarian economy as

about 60.00 per cent of its people take it up as an occupation. By 2001, over 285 million

Indians lived in cities, more than in all North American cities combined (Office of the

Registrar General of India 2001). There has been especially rapid growth of the very largest

metropolitan areas such as Mumbai, Kolkata, and Delhi, which now exceed 10 million

residents each. Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Bangalore each have more than 5

million residents. And 35 metropolitan areas have populations exceeding one million, almost

twice as many as in 1991[6]

.

Passenger transport is classified into two – rail and road. Out of total passenger movement of

the country, 90 per cent is met by road transport while railways carry the remaining 10 per

cent at present. The villages are physically spread throughout the length and breadth of the

country, and no mode of transport other than road transport can adequately and effectively

meet the demand of transport arising out of the growing economic, social, health, cultural and

religious needs of the villagers. Though Railway facilities are available, these are mainly

confined to certain part of the district and only limited number of the people can derive

benefit from this facility. Among different modes of transport bus transport occupies an

important place. About 80 per cent of inter - district trips and 66 per cent of the intra - district

trips are made by buses[7]

.

Passenger Roadways is capital intensive. The value of the capital goods namely the vehicle,

unlike other industrial capital goods and machinery, depreciate rapidly resulting in scrapping

of the vehicles within a period of 6 to 7 years. The value of a new ordinary passenger vehicle

is now around 16 to 20 lakhs. Given the high incidence of insurance premium, road and

passenger tax levied by various states and the staff emoluments, maintenance cost and given

the fact that most of the vehicles are underutilized, the margin is under severe pressure.

Furthermore, it is the absence of mandatory requirement to order readjustment of passenger

fare with reference to the increase or decrease in input cost.

4

1.5 TRANSPORT SCENARIO IN INDIA

Any attempt to develop the country or to improve the living standards of the people, must

begin with the development of villages. But, these villages are physically spread throughout

the length and breadth of the country, and no mode of transport other than road transport

using buses can adequately and effectively meet the demand of transport arising out of the

growing economic, social, health, cultural and religious needs of the villagers. Thus, an

attempt to improve the transport system in our country has to give the highest priority to bus

transport system. As said earlier, buses carry more than 80 per cent of public transport in

India and rail transport carries less than a third of public transport passengers.

India has nearly 2.55 million kilometers of roads: 1.45 million kilometers of surfaced roads

and more than 1 million kilometers of roads constructed of gravel, crushed stone, or earth.

More than two hundred and ten highways, just under 2000 kilometres in total length, are

rated as national highways, but they carry about 40 percent of the road traffic. The share of

transportation investments in total public investment declined during the period from the

early 1950s to the early 1980s; real public transportation investment also declined during

much of that period because of the need for funds in the rest of the economy. As a

consequence, by the early 1980s the transportation system was barely meeting the needs of

the nation or preparing for future economic growth. Many roads, for example, were breaking

up because of overuse and lack of maintenance.

Year Surfaced

(KMs)

Unsurfaced

(KMs)

Total

(KMs)

1994-95 1169854 939106 2108960

1995-96 1263364 1039151 2302515

1996-97 1363127 1035661 2398788

1997-98 1308420 1019936 2328356

1998-99 1355380 1041270 2396650

1999-00 1390598 1025480 2416078

2000-01 1414547 1032120 2446667

2001-02 1420489 1062855 2483344

2002-03 1426430 1093591 2520021

5

2003-04 1450379 1100231 2550610

Table 1.2 Road length of India 1995-2004

Source: Various records of National Statistics, Department of Road Transports,

Government of India.

To improve road transportation, significant efforts were initiated in the 1980s to build roads

to link major highways, to widen existing roads from single to double lanes, and to construct

major bridges. These road-building achievements represent an impressive expansion from the

1950s. However, even though a total of 400,000 kilometres of roads of all kinds have been

laid, more than 25 per cent of villages still have no road link, and about 60 percent have no

all-weather road link. These statistics, however, mask important regional variations. Almost

all villages in Kerala, Haryana, and Punjab are served by all-weather roads. By contrast, only

15 per cent of villages in Orissa and 21 per cent in Rajasthan are connected with all-weather

roads[9]

. The quality of roads, including major highways, is poor by international standards.

The central and state governments and some transport companies share responsibilities for

road building and maintaining roads. The Ministry of State for Surface Transport administers

the national highway system, and the public works departments of the respective states

maintain state highways and other state roads. Municipalities, Districts, and Gram Panchayats

maintain minor roads. Still other roads, about 22,000 kilometers in total in 1991, are under

the jurisdiction of the Border Roads Development Board, a central government organization

established in 1960 to facilitate economic development and defence preparedness, especially

in the north and north east.

1.6 GROWTH OF VEHICLES IN INDIA

There has been a rapid growth in the number of total vehicles registered in the last five

decades, which are about 68 million registered vehicles as on 31 March 2004[10]

.

Along with the rise in vehicle population, the increased mobility demand is reflected in rising

utilization rates of private vehicles. The problem has been accentuated by the gradual

reduction in the share of public transport in India reflected in the declining share of buses in

the total vehicle fleet in the country, where the proportion of buses registered has declined

from over 5.03 per cent in 1951 to just over 0.75 per cent in 2003-04.

6

The rapid increase in the number of motor vehicles in India calls for urgent measures to deal

with the resultant congestion and pollution. In particular, encouraging a greater use of public

transport instead of personal vehicles and thereby checking the trend of increasing shift

towards the use of personal vehicles is the key to addressing the problem of congestion and

pollution. However, unless the quality of public transport services improves substantially, the

trend of increasing preference for personal vehicles would continue. This calls for a complete

change in the mindset of the operators. Hence, it is extremely important that the provision of

public transport services be restructured to ensure service delivery that matches consumers‟

expectations.

1.7 ROLE OF PRIVATE SECTOR IN PASSENGER TRANSPORTATION

Private operators too play an equally vital role in passenger transportation. They account for

more than 80 per cent of total number of buses in India. Profit is the prime motive of any

business establishment and the private bus operators are no exception. They are being

criticised for making abnormal profit by indulging in unfair practices such as overloading,

deviating from the regular routes, not up to the destination and indulging in unhealthy

competition among themselves as well as with the public sector buses. At the same time they

are also noted for their personalized service to the passengers, which is reflected in

concessions to the regular travellers, not claiming fare for children, entertaining passengers

with luggage, two-sided DVD, audio etc., Thus, both public and private sectors are

contributing to the development of passenger transport in their own way.

1.8 PROFILE OF STATE TRANSPORT UNDERTAKINGS

The Planning Commission publishes an annual study of the performance of STUs covering

various aspects, both physical and financial. There were, in all, 67 STUs in India, of which 21

were functioning as statutory corporations, 27 were incorporated as government companies,

eight were run as departmental enterprises and 11 were being run as municipal undertakings.

Their combined fleet strength, as at 31 March, 2004 was 117324, of which 53 per cent were

Leyland buses and 41 per cent were Tata buses. Of the fleet, 35.6 per cent were with the

STUs. The total distance covered by the STUs, during the year 2003-04, was 126486.72

7

crores, and nearly 7,73,000 people were employed in these undertakings, as of 31 March

2004. In 2003-04 they carried on an average 346.54 crores of passengers daily.

While Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir,

Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, West Bengal,

Orissa, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, wanted to set up public corporations, Tamil Nadu

wanted government companies to handle road transport activity. Some union territories and

north-eastern states organized the activity departmentally. The city transport services in some

major towns are being run as municipal undertakings. The company was preferred to other

forms in order to mobilize institutional finance. The Tamil Nadu Government set up all its 16

corporations in the form of government companies.

Presently, there are 67 State Road Transport Undertakings in India. The State Road Transport

Undertakings do not enjoy a complete monopoly in the passenger bus transport. In terms of

vehicle ownership, they account for only about 19 per cent. While there is total

nationalization of stage-carriage operations in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and

Haryana and a huge presence in Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, SRTUs play an insignificant

role in states such as Bihar and Orissa. SRTUs concentrated on providing passenger bus

services to the rural interior and backward areas, while private operators concentrated mainly

on high-density profitable routes.

8

1.9 ROAD TRANSPORT IN KARNATAKA:

Fig 1.1: Map of India showing Karnataka

Karnataka is one of the major states in India and situated on the western edge of the Deccan

Plateau. It has for its neighbours Maharashtra and Goa on the north, Andra Pradesh on the

east, Tamil Nadu and Kerala on the south, and on the west it opens out to the Arabian Sea. It

has an area of 191,791 sq km. Bangalore, nicknamed as the Silicon Valley of India, is the

Capital of this southern state. Figure 1 provides the location of the state of Karnataka in India.

The map of Karnataka with the administrative details is shown in Figure 2. The state is

divided into 27 districts and is well connected by Roads, Railways, Airways and Waterways.

Motorable roads are 150,000 km in length.

Road transport services are provided by both public sector (operating through Karnataka

State Road Transport Corporation, KSRTC) and the private sector in the state of Karnataka.

The jurisdiction of KSRTC spreads over 14 districts of Karnataka. In some districts, both

KSRTC and private operators have a presence. In some other districts, only KSRTC operates

the bus services.

9

Fig 1.2: Map of state Karnataka

1.10 KARNATAKA STATE ROAD TRANSPORT CORPORATION:

Availability of adequate, safe and comfortable passenger Transport facility is a very

important index of economic development of any Country. Public Transport provides the

vital connectivity to far flung areas in a developing society. The Karnataka State Road

Transport Corporation was established in August,1961 under the provisions of Road

Transport Corporation Act 1950 with the objective of providing “adequate, efficient,

economic and properly coordinated road transport services”. In this endeavour, the KSRTC

has positioned itself with a name for reliability and safety.

Three corporations viz BMTC, Bangalore from 15-08-1997, NWKRTC, Hubli from 01-11-

1997, NEKRTC, Gulbarga from 01-10-2000 were carved out, on a regional basis.

10

This report analysed the performance of public bus transport in Karnataka and explored the

factors that affect their efficiency. Following the Road Transport Corporation Act of 1950,

most states in India established State Road Transport Corporations to provide public bus

services in their respective states. By early 1990s, most of the State Transport Undertakings

(STUs) had become large monopolistic operations that incurred huge losses.

Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is the state owned road transportation

company in Karnataka. KSRTC was set up in the year 1961 under the provisions of Road

Transport Corporation Act, 1950. It is wholly owned by the Government of Karnataka. The

Government of India is also a shareholder in this corporation.

Till August 1997, KSRTC had fleet of 10,400 buses, operating about 9500 schedules. In

August 1997, the KSRTC was divided and new corporation by the name Bangalore

Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC). In November 1997, another new road

transportation corporation called North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation

(NWKRTC) was formed to cater to the transportation needs of north Western parts of

Karnataka. Recently, the North Eastern Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NEKRTC)

was also formed with its corporate office in Gulbarga. The company runs a fleet of buses of

all types like ordinary, semi-luxury, deluxe, and air-conditioned Volvo “Airavath” buses. The

KSRTC operates services within Karnataka as well as far flung destinations such as

Trivandrum, Mumbai, and Vijayawada, among others. The KSRTC runs different type of

buses to suit every section of the society.

KSRTC services almost all villages in Karnataka. At present, 92% villages are served by

KSRTC (6743 out of 7298). KSRTC operates 6463 schedules in a day covering an effective

distance of 23.74 lakh km with a total fleet of 7011 buses. It transports, on an average, 24.57

lakh passengers per day.

Official names of bus services offered by KSRTC :

Minibuses, City and suburban services, Karnataka Sarige, Airavath, Volvo,

Meghadoot AC, Semi Deluxe services, Rajahamsa, Semi Deluxe services, Mofussil, Mayura

AC, Sheetal AC, Ambari AC, Mercedes-Benz Bus, Multi Axle ,Mercedes-Benz Bus,

Airavath Club Class.

1.11 MANGALORE AND ITS ROAD TRANSPORTATION:

Mangalore is the chief port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located about 350

kilometres west of the state capital, Bangalore. Mangalore lies between the Arabian Sea and

the Western Ghats mountain ranges, and is the administrative headquarters of the Dakshina

Kannada (formerly South Canara) district in the south western Karnataka. Mangalore has a

11

population of 398,745 per the 2001 census of India. The urban area has a population of

538,560, while the metropolitan area has a population of 419,306 (2001). Mangalore‟s

location makes it accessible via all forms of transport. The transport systems in Mangalore

include private buses, KSRTC buses, trains and taxis. Four National Highways pass through

Mangalore. NH-17, which runs from Panvel (Maharashtra) to Edapally Junction (Kerala),

passes through Mangalore in north-south direction, while NH-48 runs eastward to Bangalore.

NH-13 runs north-east from Mangalore to Sholapur and NH-234 connects Mangalore to

Villupuram.

KSRTC operates long distance bus services from Mangalore to other parts of the state.

KSRTC offers 50-60 buses per day from Bangalore to Mangalore, starting from morning 5

A.M to night 11.40.P.M.The private players who run bus services from Mangalore are

Dakshina Kannada Bus Operators Association (DKBOA) and the Canara Bus Operators

Association (CBOA). These buses usually ply from the Mangalore Bus station.

Other private buses like VRL, Sugama Travels, Sea Bird, HN travels, SRS travels, Durgamba

Travels, Canara Travels offers different types (A/C, Non A/C, Sleeper, Seater, Semi Sleeper

)buses from Bangalore to Mangalore on daily basis. They offer only night buses and there are

around 45-50 buses per day.

Rail connectivity in Mangalore was established in 1907. The city has two railway stations-

Mangalore Central and Mangalore Junction. A metre gauge railway track, built through the

Western Ghats, connects Mangalore with Hassan. The broad gauge track connecting

Mangalore to Bangalore via Hassan was opened to freight traffic in May 2006 and passenger

traffic in December 2007.

Yashvanthpur-Kannur Express train connects from Bangalore to Mangalore. This train leaves

Bangalore at 8.30 P.M and reaches Mangalore by 8.40 A.M.

Mangalore International Airport is second airport in Karnataka to operate flights to

International destinations. It is located 15 kilometres north-east of the city centre. Jet-

Konnect and King-Fisher airlines offer flights from Bangalore to Mangalore and vice-versa

on daily basis carrying 60-70 passengers per flight.

12

1.12 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:

Keeping in mind that both KSRTC and private operators operate in the South Canara

region, this study broadly aims at improving services offered by KSRTC. This in turn

can, increases the demand and the market share of KSRTC in the region. Towards this

aim, the study has following research objectives.

1) To analyse the current performance of KSRTC in South Canara district.

2) To develop a demand framework using SERVQUAL dimensions.

3) Determine the gap between perceptions and expectations of customers

4) To suggest strategies to bridge the gap between customer‟s perceptions and

expectations, this can result in increase in demand and improvement of market share.

We discuss in chapter 5 how each of these objectives is achieved.

1.13 SUMMARY:

This chapter provides an introduction to transportation in India. It emphasizes the role of

public transport in providing connectivity to far flung areas in a developing country.

Because of their flexibility and access to rural areas, public bus transport has a distinct

edge over other modes. Private bus operators are also operating in certain regions

providing connectivity. In South Canara region, road transports are provided by both

State Road Transport Undertakings (KSRTC) and private operators.

1.14 NOTES AND REFERENCES:

1. Patankar.P.G, „Quality in ROAD Passenger Transport‟ JTM, November 1986, Pune: CIRT,

pp. 5-13.

2. Parasuraman, Zeithamal.V.A, and Berry.L.L. (1988), “SERVQUAL: A Multiple item scale

for measuring consumer perceptions of service Quality”, Journal of Retailing, 64(1),

spring, pp.212-240.

3. Singh S. K. (2001), "A note on Technological Progress in Selected STUs”- Indian Journal

of Transport Management, 25(5): 413-429.

4. Singh S. K. (2000), "Estimating the Level of Rail and Road based Passenger Mobility in

India" Indian Journal of Transport Management, 24(12): 771-781.

5. Planning Commission, Government of India.

6. Office of the Registrar General of India, Census Data-2001.

13

7. Sudharsanam Padam, “Public-Private Participation in State Transport”, Indian Journal of

Transport Management, Vol.24, No.7, pp 467- 468, 2000.

8. Various records of National Statistics, Department of Road Transports, Government of

India.

9. The India Infrastructure Report, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, 2005

10. Statistics on Motor Vehicles Growth in India, 2005, Ministry of Surface Transports,

Government of India.

11. Performance Statistics of STUs for the years 1994-95 to 2003-04, Pune: CIRT.

12. Various publications of CIRT, Pune from 1994-95 to 2003-04

13. Performance Statistics of STUs for the years 1994-95 to 2003-04, Pune: CIRT.

14. Various records of National Statistics, Department of Road Transports, Government of

India.

15. Kerlinger, F.N., Foundations of Behavioural Research, Surjeet Publications, Delhi, 1978,

pp.300-301.

16. Naresh K. Malhotra (2001): Marketing Research – An Applied Orientation, Addison

Wesley Longman, India, p.148.

17. Gunaseelan. John G, Public Sector Road Corporation: A comparative Study with private

sector-A case study on Pattukottai Azagiri Transport Corporation, Ph D thesis, Madras

University, 1998.

14

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE SURVEY

2.1 BACKGROUND FOR THE STUDY:

Public bus transport is of great importance in India. Not only is an efficient public bus system

important for meeting the mobility needs in this rapidly growing economy, but a higher share

of bus transport would also have a positive impact on pollution, and also on energy demand

(by reducing the pressure on private transport vehicles).

Appropriate policy initiative in developing countries can help to increase the mobility in

general and rural mobility in particular.

Today a three-fourth of transit ridership is carried by buses. The buses of today are usually

modern and operate at reasonably good travel speeds, depending upon traffic conditions,

number of stops and preferential treatment. Passenger‟s mode of choice depends on various

factors.

Current study focuses on following subjects during its approach to find the demand for travel

in public bus transport:

1. Demand for Public Transport

2. Service quality

3. Commuters Behaviour

2.2 DEMAND FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORT:

Romilly (2001) defines demand as passenger journeys per person, with the regressors

being bus fares and motoring costs, real personal disposable income, and service frequency

proxied by vehicle kilometres per person.

Similarly, Bresson et al. (2003) estimates demand as a function of fares, service supply, and

income using separate panels of 46 countries.

The main objective of this paper is to identify factors that influence public bus transit demand

from the perspective of the bus service industry. Hence, the definition of demand needs to

reflect actual market transactions. Using passenger kilometres as an output measure allows

transit demand to be related to a supply measure and can then be used to analyse public

transit market.1

15

In terms of independent variable, the previous studies show that the empirical estimation of a

demand function is determined by monetary and non-monetary variables. Monetary variables

include the price of the product, prices of available alternatives, and wealth or income levels.

Non-monetary variables include non price product attributes such as quality and other

characteristics, and consumer‟s tastes. Consumer tastes are represented by non-income

characteristics of households such as demographic or cultural attributes such as occupation,

lifestyle, age and gender (Wabe (1969); Kemp (1973)).

De Borger and kertens (2000); De Borger et al. (2002) list the factors which cause variations

in productivity and in efficiency among public transport operators: ownership and size of the

operators, network characteristics and environmental factors outside the control of bus

operation, subsidies and contractual arrangements, and competition policy and regulations.

The demand for transport services is highly qualitative and differentiated. There is a whole

range of specific demands for transport which are differentiated by time of day, day of week,

journey purpose, type of cargo, importance of speed and frequency and so on. A transport

service without the attributes matching this differentiated demand may well be useless.

Transport demand and supply have very strong dynamic elements and it is derived.

To estimate demand and to analyse the data, various models are available. There are

different models for different purposes. Some types of approaches are:

a) Trip Generation modelling to analyse the trip frequency.

b) Trip Distribution modelling to estimate the total number of trips emanating from a zone

and those attracted to each zone.

c) Modal split model to find factors influencing the choice of mode and application of mode

choice models over the whole of the population results in trips split by mode.

d) Discrete choice models are used when individuals have to select an option from finite set

of alternatives.2

The discrete choice models postulate that: the probability of individuals choosing a given

option is a function of their socio-economic characteristics and the relative attractiveness of

the option.2

16

There are numerous functional forms that have been used in the literature to estimate

aggregate transit demand, namely, Multinominal logit model (MNL), Hierarchical logit

model with nests, Multinominal probit model. 2

Multinominal logit model (MNL) is the simplest and most popular practical discrete choice

model. This model satisfies the axiom of independence of irrelevant alternatives which can be

stated as: where any two alternatives have a non-zero probability of being chosen, the ratio of

one probability over the other is unaffected by the presence or absence of any additional

alternative in the choice set (Luce and Suppes 1965).2

Extremely simple covariance matrix of MNL gives rise to problems in either of the following

cases: when alternatives are not independent (i.e. there are groups of alternatives more similar

than others, such as public transport vs. the private vehicles). When there are taste variations

among individuals, we cannot use mean-value models such as the MNL.2

The structure of Hierarchical logit model (HL) is characterised by grouping all subsets of

correlated (or more similar) options in hierarchies or nests. Each nest, in turn, is represented

by a composite alternative which competes with the others available to the individual.2

Some limitations of HL include; It cannot cope with taste variations among individuals. It can

only handle as many interdependencies among options as nests have been specified in the

structure; furthermore, alternatives in one nest cannot be correlated with alternatives in

another nest.2

In Multinominal Probit model variance may be different and error terms may be correlated in

any fashion. The problem is of course, that this generality does not allow us to write the

model in simple form; therefore to solve it numerically we need approximations.2

In the current project we have come up with a conceptual framework to analyse the demand

for travel. This model considers individual‟s taste, their background, income and other

relevant information and finally analyse the data using conceptual framework. The

conceptual framework considers various services offered by the transport company and

measures the quality of service using a test instrument and survey. The overall service quality

of all the services offered to commuters leads to commuters satisfaction which can result in

increase in demand.

17

2.3 SERVICE QUALITY:

Kotler3 explains service as, any activity or benefit that one party can offer to another that is

essentially intangible and does not result in ownership of anything.3

According to Gronroos4 services are objects of transaction offered by firms and institutes that

generally offer service or that consider themselves as service organs.

Shoestack 5 views services as fulfilling certain wants and states that “services are those

separately identifiable, essentially intangible activities, which provide want-satisfaction and

are not necessarily tied to the sale of a product or another service. To produce a service may

or may not require the use of tangible goods. However when such use is required, there is no

transfer of title (permanent ownership) to these tangible goods”.

Service quality is more difficult to measure than quality of goods. It is based on customer‟s

perception. It is always the difference between the outcome of the service and what the

customer expected prior to the service.

If the customer perceives he/she received poor service, then the decision about the future

patronage will be based on that perception. Service firms must understand the concept of

service quality from the view point of customer, not from the viewpoint of the service or

service provider.6

Service quality (Parasuraman et al. 1988; Gronroos 1984) is defined as a comparison between

customer expectation and perception of service.

Parasuraman, Zeithamal and Berry proposed a conceptual framework of service quality based

on the interpretation of qualitative data from extensive explanatory research performed in

four service businesses (Akbaba, 2006:176). Landrum et al. (2007: 105) simplifies the

definition of service quality as a comparison between consumer‟s expectations and their

perceptions of the service they actually receive.

Service possesses four inherent characteristics which are not found in goods. They are

intangibility, perishability, inseparability, and variability7. These characteristics create unique

challenges for services. To attract new customers and to keep current customers coming back,

service firms must find ways to meet these challenges.

Measuring the quality of service is as essential as offering it. When evaluating quality of

service, consumers examine five dimensions: tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance

and empathy.8

Service quality is measured by a test instrument called SERVQUAL. 9

SERVQUAL is one of the main research instruments for measuring quality in service

industries and it is developed by Parasuraman, Zeithamal and Berry (1985; 1988). The model

18

contains 22 items for assessing customer perception and expectations regarding the quality of

service.

The SERVQUAL instrument was based on the premise that service quality is the difference

between customers‟ expectations and their evaluation of the service they received. The first

part of the questionnaire asks customers to indicate the level of service they would expect

from a firm in a particular industry. The second part of questionnaire asks customers to

evaluate the service performed by a specific service firm. Gap theory is the method for

calculating service quality that involves subtracting a customer‟s perceived level of service

received from what was expected.10

Though SERVQUAL is a standard test instrument, it has a few potential problems.

SERVQUAL is generic in nature11

. Since it is not industry specific, it does not measure

variables that may be important to a particular industry. But in the current project the

SERVQUAL questions have been customised to transport scenario to fulfil the project‟s

requirements. Hence the problem has been overcome.

Measuring consumer expectations after a service has been provided will bias consumers‟

responses.12

Therefore in this paper SERVQUAL has been modified to apply to specific

industry. Additional variables are added which are relevant and important to commuters. The

final comparison is done between ideal transport and current transport which is being used.

Thus quality of service has been determined.

A survey of commuters is important to measure the level of services offered by the transport

industry. By this, one can offer better service and fetch better market share, which will boost

up demand.

2.4 COMMUTER’S BEHAVIOUR:

According to David and Albert, consumer behaviour is seen to involve a mental decision

process as well as physical activity. The actual act of purchase is just one stage in a series of

mental and physical activities that occur during a period of time.

The customer behaviour can also be defined as the decision process and physical activity

individuals engage in, when evaluating, acquiring, using, or disposing of goods and

services.13

Viewing customer behaviour in such a broad context suggests it is actually a subset of human

behaviour. It can be studied in two levels.

19

1. MICRO PERSPECTIVE: Understanding consumers for the purpose of helping the

organisation to accomplish its objective.

2. SOCIETAL PERSPECTIVE: On the aggregate level we know consumers collectively

influence economic and social conditions within society.13

It is increasingly evident that Government provision of public services can benefit

significantly from understanding of the consumers or users of these services.

The effectiveness of any service will be influenced by the extent to which they are based on

an adequate understanding of customers. This requires knowledge of people‟s attitude,

beliefs, perceptions and habits as well as how they tend to behave in variety of

circumstances.13

Factors that have been identified as the most important general influence on consumer‟s

behaviour are:

1. External environmental variables influencing behaviour.

2. Individual determinants of behaviour

3. Customer‟s decision process.

External environment variables involve cultures, subculture, social class, social group, family

and personal influences.

Individual determinant variables involve behaviour by internal influences such as learning,

personality, attitudes, information processing, motives and memory.

The major steps in decision process are that problem recognition, information search,

evaluation, purchasing process, post purchasing behaviour.13

Thus customer behaviour analysis helps firms know, how to please the king (customer) and

directly impact company revenues. In the long run one is not possible without the other.

The current project‟s survey questionnaire includes socio-economic, demographic, travel

habits, personal queries about commuters. This helps the transport firms to know more about

commuters‟ behaviour and their choices. Thus firms can improve the level of service offered.

After studying state of the art literature regarding demand for public transport, quality of

service and commuters‟ behaviour and the demand for KSRTC buses in Bangalore-

Mangalore route is analysed with the help of conceptual framework. This will be discussed in

detail in forthcoming chapters.

20

2.5 PREVIOUS RESEARCHES ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT AND CUSTOMER

SATISFACTION:

Several studies regarding satisfaction and dissatisfaction in public transport has been

conducted to develop and create attractive public transport with better services.

For instance, Stradling et al. conducted a survey by sending self-completion questionnaire in

eight areas of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland. From 68 items that were measured as “things

that I dislike” or “things that discourage me from using the bus in Edinburgh”, eight

underlying factors were reported. One factor was labelled as “feeling unsafe while travelling

at night and feeling unsafe while waiting for buses”. Other factors were labelled as

“preferences of walking and cycling”, “problem with service provision like no direct route”,

“unwanted arousal” (i.e. intrusions and interruptions such as inconvenience journey because

of overcrowded passengers, other passenger smoking habit, other annoyed people behaviour

on the bus), “preference of car use”, “cost”, “disability and discomfort”, and “low self image”

because of travelling with public transport.14

UK Department for transport (2003) has also conducted studies regarding customer need in

public transport. High frequency of service, services that are reliable and fares that offer

value for money are revealed as important needs of UK public transport users.

Fujii et al. (2001) conducted an investigation in Osaka (Japan) during a temporary closure of

freeway that connected between Osaka and Sakai city. The survey was distributed at three

tollgates from 6.00 am to 8.30 am. An important finding was that the closure of the freeway

increased public transport use. Second, it was also found that the expected commute time by

public transport overestimated by automobile commuters. Third, after experiences of public

transport the overestimates of commute time were corrected. And finally, people who

corrected their commute time continued to use public transport when the freeway was

reopen.15

Van Vugt et al. (1996) conducted an investigation of the motivational factors underlying the

decision to commute by private vehicle and public transportation. 192 employees of

publishing company participated and filled out a questionnaire containing questions relating

to social value orientation, the commuting situation and series of post experimental questions.

The findings provided strong evidence for the conclusion that individuals prefer options

yielding shorter travel time as well as an alternative with high frequency of public transport.16

21

Fellesson and Friman (2008) conducted a transnational comparison of customers‟ public

transport perceived service satisfaction in eight cities (Stockholm, Barcelona, Copenhagen,

Geneva, Helsinki, Vienna, Berlin, Manchester and Oslo) in Europe. The result showed four

general factors: system such as traffic supply, reliability and information; bus and bus stand

design that makes the customer comfortable and enjoy the travel experience; staff skill,

knowledge and attitude toward customer; and safety not only both in bus and bus stand but

also safe from traffic accident. Furthermore, it was concluded that differences in public

transport technology and infrastructure may cause differences in individual item loadings.

Eboli and Mazulla (2007) investigated service quality attributes important for customer

satisfaction with a bus transit service in Cosenza, Italia. Respondent were asked to rate the

importance and satisfaction with 16 service quality attributes (bus stop availability, route

characteristic, frequency, reliability, bus stop furniture, bus overcrowding, cleanliness, cost,

information, promotion, safety on board, personal security, personnel, complains,

environment protection and bus stop maintenance). The result shows that the latent important

for global customer satisfaction is service planning which is reflected in reliability,

frequency, information, promotion, personnel and complaint.17

Friman et al. (Friman et al. 2001) conducted a mail survey to investigate factors affecting

customer satisfaction in public transport service in Sweden. The results showed that overall

cumulative satisfaction related to attribute specific cumulative satisfaction and remembered

frequencies of negative critical incidents (i.e. the driver behaves unexpectedly bad or the bus

is leaving before schedule departure time).18

Safety issues were found by Smith and Clark (2000) as a constraint for people to choose

public transport as travel mode of choice. Pick pocketing, overcharging facilitates by

overcrowding and lack of supervisor is important factors.

Adreassen (1995) conducted a survey among public transport users in Norway. As a result, he

argued that in order to keep market share, public transport should provide service for

different type of customers. Differentiation of service will lead to increasing customer

satisfaction because of higher degree of congruence between supply and demand. Most

important factors to work with are travel time, fare level and design of public transport.

22

The research conducted by Tammana V.Ramanayya, Vishnuprasad Nagadevara and

Shyamala Roy (2007) on “Impact of employee motivation on passenger satisfaction levels – a

case study in the state of Karnataka (India)” reveals that public transport is better than private

transport and it is true with respect to all four service quality dimensions. They had

considered comfort and convenience, schedule and operations, crew behaviour, cost and other

aspects as four dimensions of service quality.

To summarize, knowledge from previous research shows that public transport is still an

alternative as a travel mode for many people. In order to keep current passenger, public

transport has to improve the service to accommodate wide range of customer need and

expectations.

2.6 SUMMARY:

In this chapter, we have discussed several studies and research done

with respect to demand estimation, service quality and customer‟s

behaviour.

Literature review has been covered with respect to Service (Kotler) and

Service Quality dimensions (SERVQUAL) (Parasuraman, et.al).

The study identifies some of the factors that influence the customers‟

behaviour, they are:

o External environmental variables influencing behaviour

o Individual determinants of behaviour

o Customer‟s decision process.

Studies with respect to satisfaction and dissatisfaction in public

transport and measures taken to develop and create attractive public

transport have been reviewed. It includes- survey by UK Department

for transport (2003), study on motivational factors by Van Vugt et.al

(1996), and study on service quality attributes by Eboli and Mazulla

(2007).

Previous research shows that public transport is still an alternative

travel mode. By concentrating on service quality attributes, public

transport can continue to play a vital role in providing connectivity and

contribute to economic growth.

23

2.6 REFERENCES:

1. Deb. K., Filippini.M, Public bus transport demand elasticities in India, an article.

2. Modelling Transport ; Juan De Dios Ortuzar, Luis G. Willumsen, 3rd

ed, et.al (pp

123,163,199,220-247).

3. Kotler, Philip, Marketing Management, 11th

ed., Prentice-Hall of India, New Delhi,

2002, pp 443-468.

4. Gronroos, C., Service Marketing: Theories and definitions, in Strategic Management

and Marketing in the service sector, Chartwell Bratt, Kent, 1983, pp 17-27.

5. Shostack, G.L., Breaking Free from Product marketing, Journal of Marketing, 41,

April 1977, pp 73-80.

6. Kenneth E. Clow, David L. Kurtz, Services Marketing, 2e, 2003, pp 84-85.

7. Valarie A.Zeitaml, Parasuraman. A. and Leonard L, “Problems and strategies in

Service Marketing”, Journal of Marketing 49(1985): pp 33-46.

8. Parasuraman, Zeithamal and Berry, “A conceptual model of service quality and its

implication for future research”, pp 41-50.

9. Parasuraman. A., Zeithamal and Berry, “SERVQUAL: A Multiple Item Scale for

measuring consumer perception of service quality”.

10. Kenneth E. Clow, David. L. Kurtz, Services Marketing, 2e,(2003); pp 86-87.

11. Kenneth E. Clow, Kevin Mason and Dub Ashton, “An Empirical Analysis of

Relevant Importance of Service Quality Dimensions”, Marketing : Towards the

twenty-first century, R.L. King, ed, Proceeding of Southern Marketing Association

(1991), 394-399.

12. Kenneth E. Clow and Douglas W. Vorhies, “Building a competitive Advantage for

Service Firms: Measurement of Consumer Expectations of Service Quality”, Journal

of Service Marketing 7 (no.1, 1993): 22-32.

13. David L. Loudon and Albert J. Della Bitta, “Consumer Behaviour: Concepts and

Application” et.al, 4ed, pp (5-9, 17-20, 21-27).

14. Simon Anderson and Stephen G Stradling, “Attitudes to car and modal shift in

Scotland” et.al. National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) Scotland Transport

Research Institute, Napier University.

15. Sathoshi Fujii and Ayako Taniguchi,” Travel Feedback Programs: Communicative

Mobility Management Measures for Changing Travel Behaviour” et. al.

24

16. Mark Van Vugt, Paul A.M.Van Lange and Ree M.Meertens, “Commuting by car or

by public transportation? A social dilemma analysis of travel mode judgements” et. al.

17. Laura Eboli and Gabriella Mazzula, “Service Quality attributes affecting Customer

Satisfaction for Bus Transit” et.al. University of Calabria.

18. Margareta Friman and Markus Fellesson, “Service Supply and Customer Satisfaction

in Public Transportation: The Quality Paradox” et.al. Karlstad University, Sweden.

25

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

3.1 BACKGROUND FOR THE STUDY:

In this chapter, we present a design frame work for research undertaken.

Kerlinger defines a research design as “the plan structure and strategy of investigation

purporting to answer research questions and control variance”15

.

Research design indicates a plan of action to be carried out in connection with a

proposed research work. The process of research design includes the selection of the

research problem, the presentation of the problem, the formulation of hypotheses, conceptual

clarity, methodology, and data collection, testing of the hypotheses, interpretation,

presentation and the like. The design of research evolved by the researcher is to answer the

research questions with utmost validity, objectivity, accuracy and economy. In the research

process the researcher visualizes and implements a specific plan in order to generate relevant

empirical evidence. A research design suggests the appropriate directions for making

observation and conducting analysis of data.

Accordingly the research design can precisely indicate the observation to be made by

the researcher and attribute variables in the research study. It also suggests what techniques

are to be applied to visualize a number of possible conclusions to be drawn from the

statistical analysis.

3.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

In a developing economy like India, road passenger transport deserves a high priority, as it

forms the backbone of the passenger mobility system and is the principal carrier across the

country. Even after five and a half decades of nationalisation, passenger mobility suffers both

in quantum and quality because the supply of road passenger transport facilities is not

keeping pace with the rising demand.

In a transport system, there are three actors – the major actor being the user of the system- the

passenger - whose points of view must be considered. (The other two players are the

Transport Operators and the Government). The user of the system is the first to realise the

26

system‟s quality. It is, therefore, apparent that productivity and efficiency of the operator-

KSRTC, Bangalore-Mangalore division in this case - must be synchronized with the

satisfaction of the user.

Hence, the present study focuses on the operational performance of the Karnataka State

Roadways Transport Corporation with reference to Bangalore-Mangalore division. The study

analyses customers‟ expectations and perceptions, satisfaction level and suggests strategies to

improve the services offered by KSRTC.

3.3 NEED FOR THE STUDY:

The transformation of the country from an agrarian to an industrial economy, and the ensuing

increase in the mobility of the population, has placed great demands on the passenger road

transport system. State Road Transport Units (SRTUs) are not in a position to generate

adequate financial resources, which has resulted in inadequate services and slow expansion.

There is, therefore, a need for the improving the efficiency of the STUs from within and from

outside. SRTUs were created with the objective of supporting social and economic

development by offering cheaper travel, linking the hinterland with urban centres, subsidized

service to the poor and students, better passenger amenities and well organized maintenance.

Most of these social objectives were given priority in spite of their negative impact on

SRTUs‟ financial health. Although there are acknowledged weaknesses in their working,

SRTUs in general are providing better services to meet the travel needs in backward regions

and for the under-privileged sections of the society.

However, the SRTU may not be aware of the feelings, attitudes and behaviour of the prized

customers. In more precise terms, SRTU should know who are the valued customers, what

are their expectations and attitudes towards Public transport system.

Interacting with the feelings, attitudes and behaviour of the customer is an extremely complex

process. One of the ways for achieving this is by conducting a thorough market research and

analysing the information provided by the customers.

The study was conducted on the operations of KSRTC in Bangalore-Mangalore route. Only

the passengers who travel from Bangalore to Mangalore and vice versa were selected for the

27

study. The passengers basically differed according to their socio-economic conditions, which

could affect the perception and expectation of the services offered by KSRTC. In such a

context, the study was undertaken to reveal the factors leading to and also affecting the

satisfaction of the passengers with regard to the quality of service being provided, attitude of

the service personnel, problems encountered and various changes expected while availing the

services. The defects and difficulties, once exposed will help KSRTC to meet the challenges

in the transport industry. The study also observes that the transport services provided by the

KSRTC play a vital role in the development of the country too.

3.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The present study covers only the samples drawn from the population in Bangalore –

Mangalore route who travel by bus – either government operated or private operated bus

services. The physical and financial performance of KSRTC operating in Bangalore-

Mangalore route is also analysed for a period of 4 years from 2006-07 to 20010-11.

3.5 FRAMEWORK OF THE STUDY

The passenger road transport service industry spreads across broad areas ranging from long

distance service, town service, mofussil services, etc. Depending upon the level of

sophistication, the prices charged also vary. The size of business varies as much as the nature

of the service itself. In various sectors of the service industry, the dimensions for success

differ.

Understanding the satisfaction level of the customers both in quantity and quality of each

sector is important as it forms the basis of evaluation of the service industry itself. The

satisfaction of the customers may be measured from two different angles.

By quantity, the performance of the service industry per unit can be measured, while quality

aims at customer satisfaction. Both service and its quality determine the satisfaction level of

the customers. The maximum satisfaction of the customers is the ultimate aim of all the

service providers. In less technical terms, this definition is translated to mean that

Satisfaction is the customers‟ evaluation of a product or service in terms of whether that

product or service has met their needs and expectations.

28

The attempt in this study is to take up the performance evaluation of the public sector

undertaking – KSRTC and to evaluate customer satisfaction by studying the quality of

services offered and service attributes which stand as the basis in a service oriented sector

like that of passenger transport sector. Understanding the service dimensions has a major

implication on the performance of organization and its services because it helps the

organization to take a re-look at the service mix based on its strength and to identify the gaps.

Here we use SERVQUAL instrument for identifying the gap.

The study aims to address the following objectives:

1) To analyse the current performance of KSRTC in South Canara district.

2) To develop a demand framework using SERVQUAL dimensions.

3) To determine the gap between perceptions and expectations of customers.

4) To suggest strategies to bridge the gap between customer‟s perceptions and

expectations, which can result in, increase in demand and improvement in market

share.

We discuss in chapter-5, how each of these objectives are addressed.

3.6 PILOT STUDY

After tentatively finalizing the title of the research study the researcher had a detailed

discussion with different persons who are involved in passenger transportation to find out the

feasibility of conducting the research study. The officials of the passenger transport

department both at Bangalore and Mangalore were also consulted. A pilot study was

conducted in order to arrive at the right focus. A pilot study is in fact the replica and rehearsal

of the main survey. Pilot survey brings out weaknesses (if any) of the questionnaires and of

survey techniques.

3.7 RESEARCH DESIGN

Since, the present study is interested in finding out the satisfaction level of the passengers and

the operational performance of the public sector undertaking namely KSRTC operating in

Bangalore-Mangalore route in terms of the qualitative and quantitative aspects of passenger

transportation, it is exploratory in nature. In the present study, the secondary data of KSTRC

29

pertaining to the last five years have been analysed to reveal the operational performance.

So, it is quantitative in nature. At the same time by analysing the attitude of the passengers

and their satisfaction level towards various dimensions of the service offered by the both

private and public bus services, the qualitative aspect is also examined. The structured data

collection includes a large number of representative cases, with analysis of data and

generalization of results.

3.7.1 Nature and Collection of Data

The researcher has used SERVQUAL instrument for this study. Data for the study were

collected both from primary and secondary sources. Details collected through the

SERVQUAL instrument formed the primary data. The secondary data are drawn from

various journals and annual reports of STU, Ministry of Surface Transport, Government of

India, Central Institute of Road transport, (CIRT) and Association of State Road Transport

Undertakings (ASRTU), New Delhi.

3.7.2 Selection of Indicators:

This refers to the development of indicators, which are scales, or other devices by which the

respondent‟s knowledge, opinion, expectation etc. are measured. Scaling is a procedure for

attempting to determine quantitative measures of subjective abstract concepts. Likert scale is

one of the most widely used scale based on judgement method using agree / disagree format.

Likert scale consists of number of statements, which express either a favourable or an

unfavourable response towards the given object to which the respondents were asked to react.

The respondent indicates his/her agreement or disagreement with each statement in the

instrument. Each response is given a numerical score and the scores are totalled or averaged

to measure the rating of the services offered with respect to the particular variable.

Some of the limitations of Likert scale are – it examines, whether respondents are more or

less favourable to a topic but cannot tell how much more or less they are. In spite of these

limitations, the Likert type summated scale is regarded as the most useful method. The

following assumptions are made while considering the usage of Likert scale as an

approximation of the interval scale in the current research.

All pairs of adjacent levels are equidistant and all questions use the same Likert scale.

For all the statements given, a high value indicates a high performance and low value

indicate a low performance.

30

A low value for any statement does not indicate a high performance anywhere.

As mentioned above the data is collected using Likert scale. The statements are based on five

aspects of service market tangibility, responsibility, responsiveness, assurance and empathy.

The response for each item falls in the scale 1 to 5 as given below:

The respondent who

Strongly agree to a statement gives a score of 5

Just agree to a statement gives a score of 4

Has a neutral opinion i.e. neither agree nor disagree gives a score of 3

Just disagree with the statement gives a score of 2

Strongly disagree with the statement gives a score of 1

This way the questionnaire has been developed and it is attached in appendix-1.

3.7.3 Framework of Analysis

After the data collection was over, the collected data were analyzed using suitable statistical

techniques such as Mean, Chi-square test, Factor analysis and Regression Analysis. Statistical

Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS 0.17) has been used for the analysis. These are discussed

in detail in Chapter 4.

3.8 METHODOLOGY:

The research study makes use of SERVQUAL instrument. The proposed conceptual

framework is as shown in fig 3.1 below.

Fig 3.1: Conceptual Framework

Tangibles

Empathy

Reliability

Responsiveness

Assurance

Service

Quality

Customer

Satisfaction

Demand for the

Service

31

The framework is based on the SERVQUAL instrument and is used to determine the

satisfaction level of customers and its effect on demand.

The service quality is determined through five dimensions of SERVQUAL. The SERVQUAL

approach to the measurement of service quality has attracted considerable attention since it

was first introduced by Parasuram et al. “The approach starts from the assumption that the

level of service quality experienced by customers is critically determined by the gap between

their expectations of the service and their perceptions of what they actually receive from a

specific service provider” (Donnelly and Dalrymple, 1996).

The SERVQUAL model proposes five dimensions upon which customers evaluate service

quality. These are:

Tangibles – the physical facilities offered by bus service and appearance of materials

available in bus

Reliability – the ability to perform the service accurately and dependably

Responsiveness – the willingness to help customers and provide prompt service

Assurance – the competence of the system and its security, credibility and courtesy

Empathy – the case of access, approachability and effort taken to understand customers‟

requirement.

The gap between perception and expectations of services provided by KSRTC in Bangalore-

Mangalore route is derived. Data is collected from commuters travelling between Bangalore

and Mangalore, they are drawn from different socio-economic group and varying ages.

3.9 SUMMARY:

In this chapter, we have discussed the research methodology adopted for the study.

Research design starting with the problem identification followed by the scope of the study,

pilot study and designing a framework for the study has been detail. Development of the

research framework helps to create an action plan for further work.

The Research makes an attempt to study the practical problems and has come up with a

conceptual framework, based on the SERVQUAL instrument.

The study was undertaken to reveal the factors affecting the service quality of public bus

transport (KSRTC) in Karnataka with special reference to Bangalore-Mangalore route. Data

for the study were collected both from primary and secondary sources. This data will then be

used as an input to the conceptual framework. Analysis will be carried out based on the data

collected and conclusions are drawn.

32

3.10 REFERENCES:

1. Patankar.P.G, „Quality in Road Passenger Transport‟ JTM, November 1986, Pune:

CIRT, pp. 5-13.

2. Berry. L.L, Parasuraman, and Zeithamal.V.A (1988), “SERVQUAL: A Multiple Item

Scale for Measuring Consumer Perceptions of Service Quality”, Journal of Retailing,

64(1), spring, pp.212-240.

3. Singh S. K. (2001), "A note on Technological Progress in Selected STUs”- Indian

Journal of Transport Management, 25(5): 413-429.

4. Singh S. K. (2000), "Estimating the Level of Rail and Road based Passenger Mobility

in India" Indian Journal of Transport Management, 4(12): 771-781.

5. Planning Commission, Government of India.

6. Office of the Registrar General of India, Census Data-2001.

7. Sudharsanam Padam, “Public-Private Participation in State Transport”, Indian Journal

of Transport Management, Vol.24, No.7, pp 467- 468.

8. Various records of National Statistics, Department of Road Transports,

Government of India.

9. The India Infrastructure Report, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, 2005

10. Statistics on Motor Vehicles Growth in India, 2005, Ministry of Surface

Transports, Government of India.

11. Performance Statistics of STUs for the years 1994-95 to 2003-04, Pune: CIRT.

12. Various publications of CIRT, Pune from 1994-95 to 2003-04

13. Performance Statistics of STUs for the years 1994-95 to 2003-04, Pune: CIRT.

33

14. Various records of National Statistics, Department of Road Transports,

Government of India.

15. Kerlinger, F.N., Foundations of Behavioural Research, Surjeet Publications, Delhi,

1978, pp.300-301.

16. Naresh K. Malhotra (2001): Marketing Research–An Applied

Orientation, Addison Wesley Longman, India, p.148.

17. Gunaseelan. John G, Public Sector Road Corporation: A comparative

Study with private sector-A case study on Pattukottai Azagiri Transport Corporation,

Ph D thesis, Madras University, 1998.

34

CHAPTER 4: DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

4.1 DATA COLLECTION:

The study focuses on Bangalore-Mangalore bus transport. Data was collected from a sample

of commuters and employees through structured questionnaire. Current project considers

only inter districts buses between Bangalore and Mangalore i.e. intra city services are kept

outside the purview of the current study. A random sample of 40-50% of the total schedules

operated was selected and studied for a couple of days each, from July-September 2011. The

sample was selected such that both ordinary and deluxe bus services were included. The

sample includes a minimum of ten commuters on each schedule from both private operators

and KSRTC.

Data with respect to the extent of service provided by the operators as well as various quality

indicators were collected through a structured questionnaire. Data from the employees of the

bus operators including, the drivers and conductors were collected verbally.

Measured data for a management research are obtained in three ways:

Administering a standard instrument already developed, tested and validated by

others.

Administering an instrument that is specially developed for the purpose which is to be

tested and validated.

Record already measured data.

The current research adopts the first way, i.e. adopting the standard instrument called

SERVQUAL to collect the data.

4.1.1 Questionnaire Development:

The research requires collection of primary data from the commuters. Primary data is the data

specially collected in a research afresh and for the first time and thus happen to be original in

character. There are number of methods available for primary data collection and the

questionnaire method is adopted here. Questionnaire is the instrument used for data collection

in survey research for large samples. Impersonal and standard format is used in getting data

35

objectively. Information, facts, attitudes, motivation and knowledge are captured easily by

questionnaires.

SERVQUAL instrument has been used as a scale to measure the service quality and it has

five service quality dimensions. They are:

Tangibles dimensions: Refers to the SERVQUAL assessment of a firm‟s ability to

manage its tangibles.

Reliability dimensions: Refers to the SERVQUAL assessment of a firm‟s consistency

and dependability in service performance.

Responsiveness dimensions: Refers to the SERVQUAL assessment of a firm‟s

commitment to providing its service in a timely manner.

Assurance dimensions: Refers to the SERVQUAL assessment of a firm‟s

competence, courtesy to its customers, and security of its operations.

Empathy dimensions: Refers to the SERVQUAL assessment of a firm‟s ability to put

itself in its customer‟s place.

SERVQUAL VARIABLES ITEMS

Tangibles dimensions 5

Reliability dimensions 4

Responsiveness dimensions 4

Assurance dimensions 4

Empathy dimensions 5

TOTAL 22

Table 4.1: SERVQUAL Dimensions

Table 4.1 shows that, there are totally 22 questions under SERVQUAL. Questionnaire is

given in appendix-1

The questionnaire is targeted towards public/private bus commuters of Bangalore-Mangalore

routes. The objectives of the questionnaire, the methodology of response required etc. are

spelt out in the beginning with a request for cooperation.

36

The first part of the questionnaire starts with the basic demographic information regarding the

commuters, viz. gender, age, monthly income, qualification, marital status, occupation, level

of education, location of their residence.

The second part of the questionnaire collects information like frequency and purpose of

travel, way of collecting service information, number of individuals accompanying a

traveller, previous travel experience etc.

The third part of questionnaire collects the expectations of the commuters from the bus

service before their travel and the perceptions of the commuters towards the bus service in

which they are travelling. Both expectations and perceptions measures five dimensions of

service quality, like tangibles, responsiveness, reliability, assurance, empathy. A set of

statements with respect to the above mentioned five dimensions are measured.

The questionnaire is developed in both English and regional language Kannada to increase

the response rate.

As mentioned earlier the responses are collected using Likert scale. Each dimension of

tangibles, responsiveness, reliability, assurance, empathy is having a number of items ranging

4-5. The response for each item falls in the scale 1 to 5 as given below:

The respondent who

Strongly agree to a statement gives a score of 5

Just agree to a statement gives a score of 4

Has a neutral opinion i.e. neither agree nor disagree gives score of 3

Just disagree with the statement gives the score of 2

Strongly disagree with the statement gives the score of 1

This way the questionnaire has been developed (Appendix-1). The data is collected by

personally interacting with commuters and also online via internet. The questionnaire

measures the perceptions and expectations of commuters who are travelling from Bangalore

to Mangalore and vice versa. The first and second part of the questionnaire is used for

preliminary descriptive statistical analysis of the commuters‟ demographic and travel

information.

Response rate is an important factor for getting sufficient data. To enhance the response rate

following additional actions were also initiated:

37

The survey was tailor made for intended respondents and it was made user friendly.

The questionnaire was focusing on essential questions with pleasing appearance and

layout.

The survey was administered by personal visit or through email or both.

The communication was personalized and the confidentiality was ensured.

Different means of distribution and collection was adopted.

A sense of commitment was expressed and respondents were motivated by describing

the benefits they are going to get out of the research work.

4.1.2 Different modes of transport between Bangalore and Mangalore:

Road transportation has been the main transportation between Bangalore and Mangalore for

long. Apart from road transport service there are rail service and airline service. Graph 4.1

shows the different modes of transportation between Bangalore and Mangalore.

Fig 4.1: Different types of transportation between Bangalore-Mangalore

Figure 4.1 shows different modes of transport and its operating fleet strength.

It is clear from the above figure that, the road transportation is the common mode of transport

between Bangalore-Mangalore. So, it is important to focus on offering better bus services to

all class of people. KSRTC runs more than fifty buses each day and it has four different

classes of buses to cater to the ever increasing demand. Similarly, private bus operators too

38

run around 45 buses each day. Hence the competition is to capture more market share. When

there is huge competition, passengers prefer buses which give good value for money, i.e. the

one which offers better service. So it is important for KSRTC to study the passenger‟s

expectations and perceptions, to deliver good service.

4.2 DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION:

The data collected from passengers is analysed using a tool called Statistical Package for

Social Science (SPSS). SPSS is a computer program used for survey authoring and

deployment (IBM SPSS Data Collection), data mining (IBM SPSS Modeler), text analytics,

statistical analysis, and collaboration and deployment (batch and automated scoring services).

In addition to statistical analysis, data management (case selection, file reshaping, creating

derived data) and data documentation (a metadata dictionary is stored in the data file) are

features of the base software.

Statistics included in the base software are:

Descriptive statistics: Cross tabulation, Frequencies, Descriptive, Explore, Descriptive

Ratio Statistics

Bivariate statistics: Means, t-test, ANOVA, Correlation (Bivariate, partial, distances),

Nonparametric tests

Prediction for numerical outcomes: Linear regression

Prediction for identifying groups: Factor analysis, cluster analysis (two-step, K-

means, hierarchical), Discriminant Analysis etc.

Data collected through personal and online surveys are analysed and are discussed as below.

Demographic information and travel characteristics of respondents are studied using

descriptive statistics analysis. They are used to describe the basic features of the data in a

study. The statistics provide the simple summaries about the sample and the measures .They

are used to present quantitative descriptions.

39

Demographic profile of commuters are given in Table 4.2

Table 4.2: Demographic Profile of Commuters (N=175)

Variables Frequency Percentage

Gender Male 140 80.0

Female 35 20.0

Age Group 18-28 years 101 57.7

29-39 years 33 18.9

40-50 years 20 11.4

>51 years 21 12.0

Occupation Government Employee 11 6.3

Private Employee 88 50.3

Self Employed 31 17.7

Student 25 14.3

Retired 14 8.0

Others/ Unemployed 6 3.4

Marital Status Unmarried 87 49.7

Married 85 48.6

Widow/Widower 3 1.7

Separated 0 0.0

Monthly Income <Rs 5000 23 13.1

Rs 5001-10000 27 15.4

Rs 10001-15000 32 18.3

Rs15001-20000 14 8.0

>Rs20000 79 45.1

Level of Education High School/PUC 32 18.3

Degree 67 38.3

Master Degree 63 36.0

Doctorate 11 6.3

Others 2 1.1

Location of

residence

Urban 114 65.1

Semi urban 20 11.4

Rural 41 23.4

40

Commuter‟s travel characteristics are given in table 4.3 below,

Frequency of travel Once in a month 24 13.7

Twice a month 28 16.0

More than twice a month 30 17.1

Once in 2 months 31 17.7

Rarely/Occasionally 62 35.4

Purpose of travel Resident 50 28.6

Business 39 22.3

Student 3 1.7

Tourist 29 16.6

To visit relatives and

friends

35 20.0

Others 19 10.9

Awareness through Family and friends 91 52.0

News paper and magazines 10 5.7

TV 1 0.6

websites 45 25.7

Others 28 16.0

Number of

individuals

accompanying

Alone 88 50.3

Family/friends of 1/2/3 74 42.3

More than 3 13 7.4

Previous Travel

experience

Used same bus service 84 48.0

Used different bus services 91 52.0

Type of buses Private buses volvo 35 20.0

KSRTC volvo(AC) 99 56.6

KSRTC Rajahamsa 16 9.1

KSRTC ordinary 25 14.3

Table 4.3: Travel Characteristics of respondents

Few highlights from the demographic information are given below:

Survey sample size is 175

Males account for most respondents (80.0%)

More than one half of the respondents are in the age group 18-28 years (57.7%).

50.3% respondents are private employees

About 45.1% of respondents have a monthly income of more than 20,000

41

38.3% of respondents are degree holders and 36.0% of respondents are Master degree

holders

Government buses account for most frequent mode of travel (69.7%)

35.4% of respondents are occasional travellers. Most of the respondents are either

residents (28.6%) or business travellers (22.3)

52.0% of respondents gained awareness about bus services through family and

friends

More than one half of the respondents (50.3%) travel alone

52.0% of respondents are not loyal to their bus service i.e. they change their bus

service frequently

65.1% of respondents are urban residents

4.2.1 Reliability Analysis

Reliability is an assessment of the degree of consistency between multiple measurements of a

variable. There are two forms of reliability: test-retest method and internal consistency

method (Joseph F. Hair, et al, 2007). Internal consistency method is most commonly used. In

our study also we have made use of internal consistency method.

The most popular test of inter consistency reliability is Cronbach‟s alpha which is used for

multipoint scaled items.

Cronbach alpha is a reliability coefficient that assesses the consistency of the entire scale.

The generally agreed upon lower limit for Cronbach alpha is 0.70 although it may decrease to

0.60 in exploratory research (Joseph F. Hair, et al, 2007).

The Cronbach‟s alpha model of reliability is applied which measures how closely related a

set of questions are in a questionnaire.

42

Table 4.4 below provides the Cronbach‟s alpha for perception, expectation questions.

Table 4.4: Reliability Statistics

The alpha coefficient for 22 items on perception is 0.925 and that of expectation is 0.959,

suggesting that the items have relatively high internal consistency and are highly reliable.

(Note: Reliability coefficient of 0.7 or higher is considered “acceptable” in most social

science research situations).

4.2.2 Gaps between Expectation and Perception:

Table 4.5 below shows the gap between expectations and perceptions of commuters,

DIMENSION STATEMENT EXPECTATION SCORE PERCEPTION SCORE GAP SCORE

TANGIBLES TA1 4.0800 3.3943 -0.6857

TA2 4.0571 3.3371 -0.7200

TA3 4.0514 3.2514 -0.8000

TA4 4.1029 3.7143 -0.3886

RELIABILITY RL1 4.0914 3.4343 -0.6571

RL2 3.9371 3.4743 -0.4629

RL3 4.0800 3.4857 -0.5943

RL4 3.9486 3.5714 -0.3771

RL5 3.9429 3.4286 -0.5143

RESPONSIVENESS RS1 4.0057 3.5943 -0.4114

RS2 4.0000 3.5143 -0.4857

RS3 4.0114 3.3657 -0.6457

RS4 4.0743 3.3943 -0.6800

ASSURANCE AS1 3.9829 3.5886 -0.3943

AS2 4.1257 3.6971 -0.4286

AS3 3.9714 3.5886 -0.3829

AS4 3.9714 3.6000 -0.3714

EMPATHY EM1 4.0343 3.5943 -0.4400

EM2 4.0171 3.6343 -0.3829

EM3 3.9371 3.3086 -0.6286

EM4 4.0286 3.3257 -0.7029

EM5 3.9314 3.2343 -0.6971

Table 4.5: Summary of gaps between expectations and perceptions

Type Of Items Cronbach‟s Alpha N of items

Perception 0.925 22

Expectation 0.959 22

43

Expectations and perceptions were both collected using 5-point Likert scale whereby the

higher numbers indicate higher level of expectation or perception. In general, customer

expectation exceeded the perceived level of service shown by the perception scores. This

resulted in a negative gap score (Perception – Expectation). According to Parasuraman et al.,

(1988, p.30) it is however common for customer‟s expectation to exceed the actual service

perceived and this signifies that there is always need for improvement.

The items rated highest for actual service perceived were:

Materials associated with bus service are visually appealing (3.71)

Customer feel safe in his transaction (3.70) and

Operating hours are convenient (3.63)

Least perceived were:

Employees understand customer‟s specific needs and

Inside environment of bus is clean and hygienic

The gap scores are generally difference between the perception and expectation scores and it

measures service quality and hence customer satisfaction. The more perceptions are close to

expectations, the higher the level of perceived quality.

The largest gap scores were:

Clean and hygienic bus environment (-0.8000)

Physical facilities offered by bus are appealing (-0.7200) and

Employees have passengers‟ best interest at heart (-0.7029)

For ensuring validity further data reduction has been carried out using factor analysis.

4.2.3 Factor Analysis:

Factor analysis provides two distinct, but interrelated outcomes: data summarization and data

reduction. Factor Analysis is used to identify the under lying factors or variables, that

explains the pattern of correlation within a set of observed variables. It is often used in data

44

reduction to identify a small number of latent variables that explain most of the variance that

is observed in a much larger number of manifest variables.

Table 4.6 gives the KMO and Bartlett‟s test for sampling adequacy for our questionnaire.

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin

Measure of Sampling

Adequacy.

0.896

Bartlett's Test of

Sphericity

Approx. Chi-Square 1816.135

Degree of freedom 231

Sig.(p value) 0.000

Table 4.6 KMO and Bartlett’s test of sphericity

The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy and Bartlett‟s test of

sphericity assess whether there are patterns of correlations in the data that indicates that factor

analysis is suitable.

The KMO values ranges from 0-1, with higher values indicating greater suitability. Ideally it

should be greater than 0.7. According to Table 4.6, KMO measure of sampling adequacy is

0.896 and it is greater than 0.7. Therefore it indicates greater suitability for factor Analysis.

According to Table 4.6, Bartlett‟s is significant [Chi-Square (231) = 1816.135 and P value <

0.001] and therefore it seems that the factor analysis is suitable for this data set.

Initially the factor analysis extracts as many factors as there are variables. In this analysis the

factors were restricted to extract factors that had Eigen values above 1. So it extracted only

five variables.

The analysis is based on the Common Factor Model, which proposes that each observed

responses (22 items of SERVQUAL model) is influenced by underlying common factors

(factors 1,2,3,4,5). This factor is defined as a natural affinity for a group (Wat et al., 2002,

p.329). The strength of link between each factor and each measure varies in that a factor

could influence some dimensions more than others. Scores below 0.40 indicate a weak

loading and are therefore of little or no significance.

45

Factor loadings are the weights and correlation between each variable and the factor. The

higher the load, the more important it is in defining the factor‟s dimensionality. A negative

value indicates an inverse impact on the factor.

Rotated Component Matrix below gives information about six variables after rotation. The

table 4.7 below explains Rotated Component Matrix.

Component

1 2 3 4 5

Bus is modern looking

and well maintained

(PT1)

.625

Physical facilities

offered by bus are

appealing(PT2)

.756

Inside of bus is clean

and hygienic(PT3) .795

Bus employees are neat

and clean. (PT4) .812

Bus service insists on

error free records and

transaction(PR1)

.468

Employees of bus show

sincere interest in

solving problems.(PR2) .519

Bus service is

dependable and works

right at first time(PR3) .494

Bus service is provided,

at the time it is

scheduled to do so(PR4) .620

When bus services

promises to do

something at certain

time, it does so(PR5)

.778

Employees tell exactly

when services will be

performed(PRp1) .564

Employees of the bus

gives Prompt

service(PRp2)

.484

Employees are always

willing to help

passengers(PRp3)

.602

Employees are never too

busy to responds to

passenger‟s

requests(PRp4)

.627

Employees of bus instills

confidence(PA1) .505

passengers feel safe in

their transaction with

bus service(PA2) .459

46

Employees of bus are

consistently polite and

good to

passengers.(PA3)

.692

Employees have the

knowledge to answer

passenger queries(PA4) .750

Employees gives

individual attention

(women, children,

seniors and

handicapped)(PE1)

.707

Operating hours

convenient to

passengers(PE2)

.684

employees give personal

attention(PE3) .435

employees has their best

interest at heart(PE4) .633

employees of bus

understand specific

needs of

passengers(PE5)

.515

Table 4.7 Rotated component matrix

The above table shows the factor loadings for each item in relation to the various factors.

These values in the table show the weight and correlation each item has to factor or

component. All values below 0.4 are cut off from this table because they are not significant

for the analysis.

4.2.4 Inferential Analysis on Sample:

Differences between two groups in the mean scores of variables studied using Student T test

is discussed in this section. Also ANOVA, Chi-square test, Paired-T test, Correlation and

Regression analysis are used for analysis.

Hypothesis 1:

NULL HYPOTHESIS: There is no significant difference between private bus and KSRTC

Volvo bus with respect to perception level of customers.

ALTERNATE HYPOTHESIS: There is significant difference between private bus and

KSRTC Volvo bus with respect to perception level of customers.

47

Table 4.8 below gives the t-test results,

Satisfaction level

Bus type N Mean Std.Dev Std.Err

Private Bus 35 3.80 .47 7.99E-02

KSRTC Volvo 99 4.24 .62 6.27E-02

Satisfaction Level

t df Sig(2-tailed)

Mean diff

Std.Err 95% confidence Interval of the difference Lower Upper

Equal Variance assumed

-3.820 132 .000 -.44 .12 -.67 -.21

Equal variance not assumed

-4.355 78.47 .000 -.44 .10 -.64 -.24

Table 4.8: Student T test result

T-tests are used to determine the significant differences between two sets of scores. Table 4.8

shows the relation between private and KSRTC Volvo buses with respect to commuter‟s

perception. Since the t value is less than critical value, the null hypothesis is accepted. Hence,

concluded that there is no significant difference between private and KSRTC Volvo buses

with respect to perception level of commuters towards bus service.

Hypothesis 2:

NULL HYPOTHESIS: There is no significant influence of income levels of the commuters

with respect to satisfaction level of bus service.

ALTERNATE HYPOTHESIS: There is significant influence of income levels of commuters

with respect to satisfaction level of bus service.

48

Table 4.9 shows the level of significant relation between income level and satisfaction level.

Income Level (Rs) Mean SD F value P value

5001-10000 64.81a 8.69

25.966

0.000 Less than Rs 5000 70.17b 10.77

15001- 20000 78.21c 6.63

Above 20000 80.20c 7.24

10001-15000 81.18c 6.59

Note: Different alphabet between age group denotes significant at 5% level using Duncan

multiple Range test.

Table 4.9: ANOVA test result

ANOVA is used when we want to compare means of more than two groups or levels of an

independent variable. It is also used for finding significant relation between various variables.

Table 4.9 above shows the F value and P value. Since P value is less than 0.05, the null

hypothesis is rejected at 5% level of significance. Therefore, it can be concluded that there is

significant influence of income levels of the commuters with respect to satisfaction level of

bus services. Based on, the Duncan Multiple range test, people with the income level between

Rs 5000-10000 shows lower satisfaction in the bus service.

Hypothesis 3:

NULL HYPOTHESIS: There is no association between different bus types and satisfaction

level of bus services.

ALTERNATE HYPOTHESIS: There is association between different bus types and

satisfaction level of bus services.

49

Table 4.10 shows the relation between different bus types and satisfaction level

Preference of

buses

Satisfaction level Total Chi-square

Value

P value

Low Average High

Private Bus

2

(5.71)

[4.54]

27

(77.14)

[31.76]

6

(17.14)

[13.04]

35

166.801

0.000

KSRTC Volvo

1

(2.27)

[1.01]

58

(58.58)

[68.23]

40

(40.4)

[86.95]

99

KSRTC Rajahamsa

16

(30.90)

[36.36]

0

0

16

KSRTC ordinary

25

(22.22)

[56.81]

0 0

25

Total 44 85 46 175

Note: The value within ( ) refers to the Row Percentage and value within [ ] refers to Column

Percentage.

Table 4.10 Chi-square test result

Chi square is used for finding significant relations. It is used to determine if categorical data

shows dependency or the two classifications are independent.

Table 4.10 shows significant value and chi square. Since P value is less than 0.05, the null

hypothesis is rejected at 5 percent level of significance. Hence we can conclude that there is

association between preference of buses and satisfaction level of bus service. Based on the

row and column percentage it can be concluded that respondents who travel in KSRTC

ordinary bus show low level of satisfaction and that of KSRTC Volvo bus shows high level of

satisfaction.

50

4.2.5 Correlation Analysis

Correlation coefficient is a measure of the degree of linear relationship between two

variables. Bivariate correlation signifies the correlation between two continuous variables and

is the most common measure of linear relationships. The possible values in this correlation

range from -1 to +1. The value indicates the strength in the relationship and sign indicates the

direction.

Bivariate relation is undertaken between the respondents. It was hypothesized that a

relationship exists between gap score and satisfaction level. The results from table 4.11 show

that, there exists a positive relation between satisfaction level and gap between perceptions‟

and expectations‟ five dimensions.

Satisfaction

level GAPTSL GAPRSL GAPRPSL GAPASL GAPESL

Satisfaction level

Pearson Correlation 1 .569(**) .470(**) .342(**) .262(**) .374(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) . .000 .000 .000 .000 .000

N 175 175 175 175 175 175

GAPTSL Pearson Correlation .569(**) 1 .609(**) .598(**) .424(**) .607(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 . .000 .000 .000 .000

N 175 175 175 175 175 175

GAPRSL Pearson Correlation .470(**) .609(**) 1 .717(**) .449(**) .674(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 . .000 .000 .000

N 175 175 175 175 175 175

GAPRPSL Pearson Correlation .342(**) .598(**) .717(**) 1 .551(**) .724(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 . .000 .000

N 175 175 175 175 175 175

GAPASL Pearson Correlation .262(**) .424(**) .449(**) .551(**) 1 .621(**)

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000 . .000

N 175 175 175 175 175 175

GAPESL Pearson Correlation .374(**) .607(**) .674(**) .724(**) .621(**) 1

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .

N 175 175 175 175 175 175

Table 4.11 Correlation Analysis result

Table 4.11 illustrates the inter-correlation among the gaps of five dimensions of service

quality and satisfaction levels.

From the above table we can see the Pearson correlation values for

Satisfaction level vs. tangibility gap (0.569)

Satisfaction level vs. reliability gap(0.470)

51

Satisfaction level vs. responsiveness gap(0.342)

Satisfaction level vs. assurance gap(0.262)

Satisfaction level vs. empathy gap(0.374)

The P values or significant values are <0.05 and statistics in the table 4.11 indicates the

moderate correlation among these variables.

Hence we can predict that though there are gaps between service expected by commuters and

service offered by bus operators (including private and public), people are moderately

satisfied with the bus transport.

4.2.6 Regression Analysis:

Regression is the determination of statistical relationship between two or more variables. In

simple regression two variables are used. One variable (independent) is the cause of the

behaviour of another one (dependent). When there are more than two independent variables

the analysis concerning relationship is known as multiple correlations and the equation

describing such relationship is called as the multiple regression equation.

Regression analysis is concerned with the derivation of an appropriate mathematical

expression derived for finding values of a dependent variable on the basis of independent

variable. It is thus designed to examine the relationship of a variable Y to a set of other

variables X1, X2, X3………….Xn. the most commonly used linear equation in Y=b1 X1 + b2

X2 +……+ bn Xn + b0

Here Y is the dependent variable, which is to be found.

X1 , X2 ,… and Xn are the known variables with which predictions are to be made and b1, b2

,….bn are coefficient of the variables.

Coefficient of multiple determinations (R2) is the square of the multiple correlation

coefficients and indicates the proportion of variation in dependent variable explained by the

entire set of independent variables. The reliability of estimates is tested using t and F tests on

R2.

52

In this study, the dependent variable is level of satisfaction of commuters with respect to bus

service and independent variables are Tangibility, Reliability, Responsibility, Assurance,

Empathy factors.

Dependent variable: Passengers preference for a particular bus type (Demand for bus) (Y)

Independent variables : Tangibility (X1), Reliability (X2), Responsiveness (X3), Assurance

(X4), Empathy (X4)

Table 4.12: Regression Analysis results

The coefficient of determination R2 measures the degree of relationship between the actual

values and the predicted values of the passenger transportation evaluation. Because the

predicted values are obtained by tangibility (X1),reliability (X2), responsibility (X3),

assurance (X4), empathy (X5).

R R Square Adjusted R Square

.727 .529 .515

Model Sum of

Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

1 Regression

76.920 5 15.384 37.905 .000(a)

Residual 68.589 169 .406

Total 145.509 174

Model

Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized Coefficients

t Sig. B Std. Error Beta

1 (Constant) 5.307 .500 10.618 .000

Total satisfaction level for tangibility

.107 .026 .346 4.074 .000

Total satisfaction level for reliability

.106 .030 .312 3.496 .001

Total satisfaction level for responsibility

.089 .045 .175 1.992 .048

Total satisfaction level for assurance

.167 .041 .294 4.121 .000

Total satisfaction level for Empathy

-.059 .035 -.159 -1.707 .090

53

The coefficient of determination R-square measures the goodness-of-fit of the estimated

sample regression plane (SRP) in terms of the proportion of the variation in the dependent

variables explained by the fitted sample regression equation. Thus, the value for R square is

0.53 simply means that about 53% of variation in five dimensions of service quality will

significantly affect the passenger‟s preference for a particular type of bus.

From above table 4.12, we can see that tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance

dimensions of service quality have P value<0.05, hence, they are significant. Whereas,

empathy has P value > 0.05, therefore it is not so significant.

4.3 SUMMARY:

In this chapter we discuss the method adopted to collect data and the procedures to

analyse the collected data.

The study developed a structured questionnaire to capture the perceptions and

expectations of the commuters. This questionnaire is based on the standard

SERVQUAL instrument. The data collected from commuters is analysed using a tool

called Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS).

The collected data are analysed as below:

Demographic information and travel characteristics of respondents are studied

using descriptive statistics analysis.

Consistency of the data is verified through reliability test.

Gap analysis is conducted to find the gap in the service quality.

Factor analysis is applied to reduce the variables and gain factor loadings

Inferential analysis such as student T test, ANOVA, Chi-square test,

correlation analysis, regression analysis are applied on primary data and

different hypothesis were tested.

This analysis has helped us to draw important conclusions and relations between

service quality attributes and satisfaction level of commuters.

54

CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSIONS AND RESULTS

5.1 BACKGROUND FOR THE RESEARCH:

Main purpose of this research was to study the services offered by KSRTC in South- Canara

district. The study got necessitated, since the private operators are also operating in the same

region. In the light of this competition, the study as mentioned earlier had specific objectives,

which are again listed here. In this chapter, we consider the results obtained from our study of

data and its analysis and see how each of these objectives has been addressed.

Objectives of the research study:

1. To develop a frame work for demand using SERVQUAL dimensions

2. To analyse the current performance of KSRTC in South Canara region.

3. Using SERVQUAL dimensions determine the gap between perceptions and

expectations AND study the preferences of respondents

4. Suggest strategies to bridge the gap b/w customer perception and expectation which

can result in better demand management and increased market share.

Each of these objectives are discussed in the following sections.

5.2 DEMAND FRAMEWORK DEVELOPMENT USING SERVQUAL

DIMENSIONS:

In chapter 3, through a systematic approach to research design, conceptual framework was

developed with the help of SERVQUAL instrument and it was used for the measurement of

service quality.

Figure 5.1 below describes the demand frame work on the basis of which the objectives of

the research have been achieved. In this framework, the market demand for the bus service

has been modelled as a function of customer satisfaction and operational performance of the

transport operators.

55

The framework for demand is shown below in fig. 5.1,

4.1.1 Fig 5.1: Demand framework

5.2.1 Level of customer satisfaction:

Encouraging the greater use of public transport is important. However, unless the quality of

public transport services improves substantially, the trend of not using public buses will

continue. This calls for the complete change in the mindset of operators. Hence, it is

extremely important that the provision of public transport services be structured to ensure

service delivery that matches customer expectations.

The study conducted in Bangalore-Mangalore route reveals the satisfaction level of

commuters. The survey questionnaire considered five dimensions of SERVQUAL namely

tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy to find the level of satisfaction

of customers towards the services offered by the bus operators.

The quality in public transport stems from the ability of the respective operators to manage

and further develop their services. Even more and more relevant operators and associated

bodies worldwide employ Quality Control Programs in order to assess and improve the

services provided to the passengers (Yannis Tyrinopoulos, Georgia Aifadopoulou). Such

programs provide operators strategic tools that enable them to be closer to passengers and

adjust the transportation service to their needs and requirements, while the knowledge gained

from these programs feed with valuable data and facilitate their decision making process

(Tyrinopoulos, et al., 2004).

Level of customer

Satisfaction

Operational

performance of

transport operators

Service productivity of the

Transport operators

Market Demand

56

5.2.2 Operational performance of transport operators:

To a large extent the bottom line indicator of performance of passenger road transport is the

operating cost per passenger or passenger-km. Level of services offered such as travel time,

reliability, safety, comfort and security are also important.

The main factors that affect bus costs are listed below. They include:

Empty running and idle time due to seasonal variations in demand

Demand pattern, which varies in time and place and constrains scheduling

possibilities

Quality of service offered, such as availability of seats, predictability of services,

comfort and whether or not special features such as air conditioning are provided

Extent of competition, related to type of regulation and amount of collusion among

operators

Standard of buses, in terms of design and condition, which affects speed, availability

and consumption rates of fuel, spares and other inputs

Vehicle utilization depends partly on the bus availability, amount of idle time when there is

low passenger demand or when operations are curtailed and on average journey speed.

Through efficient fleet management the proportion of fleet out of action due to repairs and

maintenance could be less than 15%. Utilization also depends on the scheduling technique: if

the bus operates a timetabled service it is likely to achieve a higher distance operated than if

it is dispatched only when full after waiting in queue of other buses.

Level of service offered by buses can be assessed from quantitative measures such as:

Passenger travel times including waiting time, predictability of departure and arrival times,

rate of bus breakdown, availability of special features such as comfortable chairs, air

conditioning, toilets, video and good facilities for passengers at bus stations.

5.2.3 Service productivity of transport operators:

The customer satisfaction and operator performance are linked with service productivity of

transport operators.

Unhappy customers are less likely to come back to same operator and more likely to

search for better operator.

57

Satisfied customers are loyal

Increase in customer satisfaction leads to increase in demand for the operator, which

leads to service productivity

Customer satisfaction leads to customer retention hence demand is sustained

Thus increase in customer satisfaction and better operator performance results in

increase in service productivity and it in turn increase the demand.

Discussion of conceptual framework and validation:

In order to arrive at the satisfaction levels that are required for arriving at the demand as

explained in chapter -3(fig 3.1), SERVQUAL instrument is used to develop our conceptual

framework.

The conceptual framework in chapter-3 explains how five dimensions of SERVQUAL will

help to find the service quality, how this service quality is directly linked with customer

satisfaction and how satisfied customer will boost the demand.

As per the hypothesis of our framework, higher satisfaction level about the operator will in

turn imply that better service is provided by the operator and this will in turn lead to

increased demand.

This hypothesis is validated from the primary research conducted as part of this study.

For example: Analysis of the data collected in the survey indicates a positive correlation

between the satisfaction level and preference for bus types.

The primary research showed that there is a significant relation between five dimensions of

service quality and demand for particular type of bus (preference for bus type). Regression

analysis was conducted to study the relation between these two quantities.

The result of regression analysis is as given below:

R R2

ADUSTED R2

0.818 0.670

0.637

Table 5.1: Regression results

The high value of R2

shows that there is a significant relation between five dimensions of

SERVQUAL and the demand for particular bus type.

58

It in turn says that, if the customer is satisfied by the bus service then he will be loyal to a

particular type of bus.

The survey shows that satisfaction levels for KSRTC Volvo are quite high. On a scale of 0-5,

80% of the respondents indicated a score >=4. Also, 75% of the respondents indicated during

the survey that they prefer KSRTC over private buses when they had a choice. From our

framework it should follow that this high level of satisfaction and preference for Volvo

should translate to more demand and hence profitability for KSRTC‟s Volvo service. This is

indeed found to be the case as per the data available for KSRTC (Table 5.2) which shows that

Volvo service is operating profitably in the years 2006-2009 and in current year 2010-2011.

5.3 CURRENT PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF KSRTC IN SOUTH CANARA

REGION:

The performance of KSRTCs services were analysed in two ways.

1. Data collected from the primary research described in chapter-4 was interpreted to

understand the implications of the commuter‟s responses with respect to service quality.

2. Data was also obtained from KSRTC for the years 2006 -2011(Table 5.2). This was also

analysed to understand some of the aspects pertaining to the performance of KSRTC during

this timeframe.

5.3.1 Analysis from the primary research:

AIRAVAT is a premium bus with many facilities. Earlier when AIRAVAT was introduced

passengers were not willing to travel in this bus, main reason was cost was high. It is

hypothesized that higher rates of education, occupation and income are few reasons for high

demand and use of public transport.

The responses collected from the survey showed that people with income level more than

15,000 per month, those who have completed graduation and private employees often prefer

this premium service. Commuters are getting attracted towards this service day by day. So

there is a need for KSRTC to upgrade all its bus services. KSRTC can capitalise the market

by introducing premium bus service like air-conditioned bus with sleeper seats or air-

conditioned-semi-sleeper buses.

59

Though AIRAVAT is considered as premium bus and most of the customers are satisfied

with its service it too has some drawbacks. KSRTC must look into these areas to keep a

check on these.

Some of the complaints lodged by passengers against AIRAVAT are:

Unhygienic blankets, bed-bugs problem in bus, ticket fraud and double charge problems,

unethical behaviours showed by bus staff, unfair means of collecting money without

offering ticket especially to villagers, not following the prescribed bus route and

schedule, number of accidents have increased over the years due to negligent driving and

poor road conditions and ill conditioned buses with poor equipments

The other types of bus offered by KSRTC are Rajahamsa and Karnataka Sarige.

Rajahamsa is semi deluxe bus. Survey results showed that commuters are not satisfied with

this bus services.

Discussions with commuters and employees highlighted some of the reasons behind their

dissatisfaction. Some of the reasons were:

Old bus fleet, unhygienic bus interiors, appearance and physical facilities offered by bus

is not appealing, journey duration is high, ill maintained buses, rise in accidents due to

rash driving and poor maintained buses, not equipped with necessary tools and stops for

food at unhygienic places.

Increase in supply of buses, reduction in crowding on buses, and reduction in waiting times,

low cost are some of the factors that attract the passengers toward bus transport.

Some of the key findings of the primary research show that:

Passengers of KSRTC‟s premium bus Airavat are satisfied with the bus service as it

offers air-condition, comfort, less travel time and good service. KSRTC offers both

day and night service.

Passengers of private buses (VRL and SRS) are satisfied with the bus service as VRL

and SRS offers air-conditioned sleeper and semi-sleeper buses respectively. But they

offer only night service.

Passengers of Rajahamsa (Semi-deluxe) are not satisfied because of old fleet and ill

maintained buses.

60

Passengers of Sarige are not satisfied because of the journey duration, old fleet and ill

maintained buses.

5.3.2 Analysis of KSRTC’s data for the years 2006 till 2011:

This study also investigated the performance of KSRTC over past three to four years. The

trend analysis showed that despite increasing losses and complaints, public service operator

has increased the size of their fleet. Increase in travel demand led to introduction of premium

service like air-conditioned, suspension buses.

The Table 5.2 below gives fleet strength of all three types of KSRTC bus, it also provides

profit and loss information, number of passengers travelled per year, number trips performed,

seating capacity, net revenue, number of accidents, number of complaint lodged and number

of break downs.

Year Destination Effective

Kms

Avg

time

(hrs)

Fleet

Stren

gth

Type of

Buses

No of

trip

Seating

Capacity

Total

Pax Net Revenue

Cost

incured

(Rs/Km)

Profit/

Loss

(Rs/Km)

No of

Breakdo

ws

No of

compl

aints

No of

accident

s

06-07

MNG-BNG-

MNG 13044562 9.30 51 EX 48 56 1086240 227349169 16,25 1,18 24 12 15

06-07

MNG-BNG-

MNG 14527270 9.00 58 RH 54 44 1005210 272070050 19,17 -0,44 27 13 14

06-07

MNG-BNG-

MNG 4795416 8.30 17 VLV 16 44 327040 152213263 30,69 1,05 8 5 2

07-08

MNG-BNG-

MNG 9023391 9.30 73 EX 68 56 1638120 153430879 16,49 0,51 34 17 17

07-08

MNG-BNG-

MNG 9278433 9.00 71 RH 66 44 1421310 186367755 20,01 0,08 33 16 21

07-08

MNG-BNG-

MNG 4667195 8.30 34 VLV 32 44 782560 159590056 33,49 0,7 16 9 5

08-09

MNG-BNG-

MNG 9721387 9.30 71 EX 66 56 1421310 171737350 17,68 -0,01 33 16 34

08-09

MNG-BNG-

MNG 9249430 9.00 68 RH 64 44 1144640 192337416 21,35 -0,56 32 13 19

08-09

MNG-BNG-

MNG 6423600 8.30 43 VLV 40 44 934400 224086989 34,64 0,24 20 22 9

09-10

MNG-BNG-

MNG 8573977 9.30 86 EX 80 56 1810400 150036861 17,34 0,16 40 16 21

09-10

MNG-BNG-

MNG 10517387 9.00 83 RH 78 44 1793610 214288220 20,91 -0,54 39 21 16

09-10

MNG-BNG-

MNG 7385063 8,30 51 VLV 48 44 1173840 255767498 35,86 -1,23 24 14 8

10-11 MNG-BNG- 10485933 9,30 88 EX 82 56 2125030 198785625 21,68 -2,72 41 36 29

61

Table 5.2: KSRTC data for the year 2006-11

The above statistics shows the performance of KSRTC in Bangalore-Mangalore route.

During the year 2006-07, the Rajahamsa seemed prominent bus type within KSRTC.

Rajahamsa is a non-air-conditioned bus and it is a deluxe bus with well cushioned

seats. Express bus too had good fleet strength of 51. Express bus is non-air-

conditioned semi-deluxe bus, with ordinary seats and low amenities. Volvo buses

were new to public during 2006-07 and were considered as expensive bus with

premium service and air-condition. During this period, premium bus service made just

16 trips and fetched profit. This led to introduction of more number of Volvo buses

during 2007-08. During this period KSRTC introduced 17 more buses and the total

number of premium buses became 34.

In 2007-08 Express buses had highest fleet strength (73) compared to other two. But

profit decreased by 50% when compared to previous year‟s performance.

Rajahamsa‟s fleet strength was increased to 71, and it recovered from previous year‟s

loss. Because at this time Rajahamsa was targeting upper middle class and middle

class people. During this period Volvo started making an impact and it targeted upper

middle class people. Volvo bus made profit. But number of breakdowns increased,

this resulted in decreased profit when compared to its performance in the previous

year. Breakdowns may be the result of bad roads, bad driving, and low maintenance.

In 2008-09 Express buses fleet decreased by 2 and Rajahamsa‟s fleet decreased by 3.

They both made loss because of increase in breakdowns and accidents. Volvo‟s fleet

was increased to 43 and it made profit. That shows that people became more open to

premium service offered by Volvo.

In 2009-10 Express bus and Rajahamsa buses fleet were increased to 86 and 83

respectively. Express came out of loss because it reduced its incurring cost and made

profit. Even though Rajahamsa‟s fleet was increased its net revenue remained low, so

it incurred loss. Surprisingly Volvo hit loss for the first time, may be because of the

MNG

10-11

MNG-BNG-

MNG 11244292 9,00 86 RH 80 44 2044000 247298470 23,66 -1,67 40 21 20

10-11

MNG-BNG-

MNG 9059483 8,30 77 VLV 72 44 1944720 347298316 37,65 0,69 36 23 17

62

increase in breakdowns. The loss may be because of improper scheduling and wrong

estimation of demand and idling of buses.

In 2010-11Express bus and Rajahamsa buses fleet were increased slightly. Both of

them are running under loss. They have not been able to attract customers. People

who cannot afford premium bus service are compelled to travel by ill maintained

Rajahamsa and Sarige. They are left with no option. Passengers of Rajahamsa are

middle class people. They can be charged slightly more to offer better services even

in Rajahamsa buses. Passengers of Sarige are lower middle class, so they cannot

withstand the increase in cost. Volvo‟s fleet strength increased by 25.This helped

Volvo to capture market and attract passengers. It is providing better service with

good amenities.

5.4 COMPARISON OF SERVICE QUALITY BETWEEN BUS TYPES:

In this section the performance of the different types of bus services are compared on three

factors

A. Priority of survey respondents for the attributes of buses

B. Comparison of gap in service quality among different bus services based on

SERVQUAL dimensions

C. Comparison of bus services based on transport attributes like cost, scheduling etc.

5.4.1 Preferences of respondents:

There are four groups of passengers in India, the high income group, who will not use public

transport regardless of the quality of service, the very low income group who often cannot

afford even the bus fares, the low income group who will use public transport regardless of

the quality of service and the middle income group who can afford a private mode, but will

use the bus if the services are reliable and attractive. The middle income group is thus the

group that usually willing to pay a higher fare for a limited stop bus or an air-conditioned bus.

Attracting passengers to these premium services might also help to keep the fares lower on

the ordinary buses.

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Passengers travelling in Bangalore-Mangalore route prioritize the service attributes as shown

in below fig 5.2.

Fig. 5.2: Priority of passengers

The fig 5.2 shows the passenger‟s priorities among the different transport attributes.

This survey was conducted among commuters travelling between Bangalore and Mangalore

and vice versa and also among general public who reside in these cities.

The commuters were asked to tick top 6 preferences among seventeen attributes which were

mentioned in the questionnaire. The result shows that people‟s top priority is comfort,

followed by safety, cleanliness, bus timing, seat, punctuality and cost. As most of the

respondents belong to income level above 10,000 per month, they prefer comfort over cost. A

study exclusively conducted among ordinary bus (Karnataka Sarige) passengers shows cost

in the top five priorities.

It also shows that passengers of premium buses expect comfort and safety over cost. But the

passengers of ordinary bus keep cost as one of the top criteria to choose the mode of travel.

5.4.2 Comparison of service quality gaps:

\The customer satisfaction gap is determined by finding the difference between passengers‟

perception and expectation from the bus operators. The study reveals the gap among five

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dimensions of SERVQUAL. In this section, the analysis focuses on the mean gap scores on

the expectations & perceptions scale for each of five dimensions and its variation among

different types of buses.

Table 5.3 shows the perceptions, expectations and gap scores for different types of buses.

Tangibility Reliability Responsiveness Assurance Empathy

Perceptions

Private bus 3.59 3.60 3.58 3.51 3.47

KSRTC Volvo

3.76 3.74 3.67 3.77 3.66

KSRTC

Rajahamsa 2.69 2.96 2.84 3.52 2.86

KSRTC Sarige 2.33 2.62 2.89 3.23 2.75

Tangibility Reliability Responsiveness Assurance Empathy

Mean gap- private 0.51 0.43 0.46 0.59 0.49

Mean gap- Volvo 0.36 0.30 0.38 0.27 0.40

Mean gap- Rajahamsa 1.39 1.05 1.09 0.36 1.10

Mean gap- Sarige 1.49 1.18

1.02 0.65 1.06

Table 5.3 Service quality gaps for different types of buses

Tangibility Reliability Responsiveness Assurance Empathy

Expectations

Private bus 4.11 4.03 4.04 4.10 3.95

KSRTC Volvo 4.12 4.04 4.06 4.04 4.06

KSRTC Rajahamsa 4.08 4.01 3.94 3.88 3.96

KSRTC Sarige 3.82 3.80 3.91 3.88 3.82

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From above table 5.3, we can see that,

The average gap between expectation and perception in private bus is 0.5.

The average gap between expectation and perception in Volvo is 0.34

The average gap between expectation and perception in Rajahamsa is 1.0.

The average gap between expectation and perception in Sarige is 1.08.

The service quality dimensions are used to study the perceptions and expectations of

customers with respect to different types of buses. For example, if the perception value is

higher than the expectation value, it can be concluded that the service is satisfactory or ideal.

However, if the expectation value is lower than the perception value, the service quality is

regarded as unsatisfactory. So, balancing customer‟s expectations and perceptions and

closing the gap between them, are essential if a bus operator is to provide high quality

services.

The gap between expectations and perceptions for different types of buses are described

below.

CASE 1: Comparison of expectations and perceptions in private buses

The fig 5.3 below compares the expectations and perceptions for private bus using five

dimensions of service quality.

Fig 5.3: Comparison of service quality gaps in private bus

NOTE: scale 0.5units

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It is clear from the graph shown in fig 5.3 that there are gaps among tangibility (0.51),

reliability (0.43), responsiveness (0.46), assurance (0.59) and empathy (0.49). From table 5.3

we found average gap for private bus is 0.5.

Private buses have been able to keep the gap minimum. Survey result reveals that passengers‟

satisfaction rate >=3. So, passenger‟ level of satisfaction of private buses varies from average

to satisfactory. From the graph it is observed that private buses are reliable and their rate of

response is satisfactory. Furthermore, it is seen that service quality gap is moderate in private

bus and it is more likely that passengers prefer this type of bus.

CASE 2: Comparison of expectations and perceptions in KSRTC Volvo

The fig 5.4 below compares the expectations and perceptions for KSRTC Volvo bus using

five dimensions of service quality.

Note: scale 0.5 units

Fig 5.4 comparison of service quality gaps in KSRTC Volvo bus

It is clear from the graph shown in fig 5.4 that there are gaps among tangibility (0.36),

reliability (0.30), responsiveness (0.38), assurance (0.27) and empathy (0.40). From table 5.3

we found average gap for KSRTC Volvo bus is 0.34.

It is observed from the graph that KSRTC Volvo is doing excellent and it has been able

render good services to passengers. Survey results shows that passengers rate of satisfaction

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>=4. That means people‟s perception towards Volvo buses range between highly satisfactory

to satisfactory. Volvo bus‟ assurance and reliability rate are high. There are very few

differences among service quality dimensions i.e. all 5 dimensions seem to have a steady

level of perception

CASE 3: Comparison of expectations and perceptions in KSRTC Rajahamsa buses

NOTE: Scale 0.5 units

Fig 5.5 Comparison of service quality gaps in KSRTC Rajahamsa bus

It is clear from the graph shown in fig 5.5 that there are gaps among tangibility (1.39),

reliability (1.05), responsiveness (1.09), assurance (0.36) and empathy (1.10). From table 5.3

we found average gap for KSRTC Rajahamsa bus is 1.0.

It is obvious from the graph that passengers look for modern, well maintained buses with

better physical facilities. That is because the tangibility gap in Rajahamsa is high. Survey

results reveal that passengers rate of satisfaction <3. That shows KSRTC Rajahamsa is not

performing up to passengers expectation. Moreover, level of empathy, response, reliability

are also low, hence the gap is more.

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CASE 4: Comparison of expectations and perceptions in KSRTC Sarige

The fig 5.6 below compares the expectations and perceptions for KSRTC Sarige bus using

five dimensions of service quality.

Note: scale 0.5 units

Fig 5.6 Comparison of service quality gaps in KSRTC Sarige bus

It is clear from the graph shown in fig 5.6 that there are gaps among tangibility (1.49),

reliability (1.18), responsiveness (1.02), assurance (0.65) and empathy (1.06). From table 5.3

we found average gap for KSRTC Sarige bus is 1.08.

It is clear from above statistics that tangibility and reliability gaps are high. That is,

passengers prefer modern and well maintained buses over old buses. Sarige‟s service delivery

is considered to be poor and unreliable. Employee‟s responsiveness and empathy are

perceived to be low. Assurance is not varying much from private to Sarige.

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CASE 5: Comparison of expectations and perceptions among different types of buses

The fig 5.7 gives the gap between customer‟s expectation and perception for different types

of buses. In essence, it gives service quality gaps.

Note- scale 0.5

Fig 5.7 Comparison of service quality gaps among different types of buses

It is obvious from the graph 5.7 that expectations are higher than perceptions for all types of

buses.

Tangibility dimension varies drastically from Volvo to Sarige. That is, the appearance and

maintenance of the bus varies from high to low among Volvo, Private, Rajahamsa and Sarige

respectively. Tangibility is the most important critical factor that distinguishes the service

quality amongst the buses.

Reliability is another dimension which changes significantly from Volvo, Private, Rajahamsa

and Sarige. Volvo buses are found to be most reliable followed by private buses. From table

5.2 we can see that both Rajahamsa and Sarige‟ rate of breakdown and accidents are more in

current year. May be this is one of the reasons to perceive their reliability as low. Reliability

ranks second in terms of importance for determining the service quality perception.

70

Responsiveness is third dimension which is almost same for private and KSRTC Volvo. From

the above graph (fig 5.7) it is seen that both Rajahamsa and Sarige employees‟ rate of

response is low.

Assurance is fourth dimension, which is not showing much variation. From the above graph

5.7, it is seen that there is no significant changes across different buses. So the level of

assurance has remained almost same for all buses. Assurance is not seen to be a critical

factor influencing the preference of bust type among the passengers

Empathy is the fifth dimension, which is almost same for private buses and KSRTC Volvo.

From the above graph 5.7, we could see the level of empathy is low for both Rajahamsa and

Sarige. Table 5.3 shows that empathy gap is high in Sarige(1.08) when compared to other

type of buses.

5.4.3 Comparison between public and private buses in terms of transport attributes:

When service is offered by numerous providers, the providers have to compete for customers

and attract them by offering better services at lower prices. Such competition is expected to

encourage innovations. The private operators were in fact competing with the public operator

(KSRTC) as well as with other private operators. There is more competition between

operators in Bangalore and Mangalore. The public bus operator‟s (KSRTC) overall quality of

premium bus services has improved since KSRTC started hiring premium buses like Volvo

and Mercedes Benz etc.

However, in contradiction to theoretical expectations, competition from private buses need

not ensure operators of an improvement in their production efficiency.

The competition in Bangalore and Mangalore bus route is not true market competition where

supply and prices depend on demand. Bus transportation caters to those who cannot afford

other means of transportation and also to middle class people who uses bus only if it is

attractive and reliable.

Offers by KSRTC to attract passengers:

If a passenger book tickets online, then KSRTC offers him discount, such as: discount on

return journey tickets, discount on group bookings, special promotional fares (less than

regular fares), special services to pilgrimage/tourist places and casual contract services.

Offering discounts and promotional fare helps bus operators to attract customers. During

non peak seasons, KSRTC must look into different ways to sustain its profit. Above

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mentioned services are not available in other private buses, hence KSRTC must fetch the

market through attractive offers during non peak seasons.

Table 5.4 explains, some of the differences between public and private buses operating in

Bangalore-Mangalore route.

Table 5.4: Attributes of Transportation

The differences shown in the table 5.4 are discussed below:

Items KSRTC Private Buses

To and From and

vice versa

Bangalore<-- - >Mangalore Bangalore< - - > Mangalore

Travel via Hassan , Sakaleshpura,

(Kundapur, surathkal)

Hassan, Sakaleshpura

Vehicle types Air-conditioned semi sleeper–

Airavat

Non A/C seater –Rajahamsa

Ordinary seater- Sarige

Sleeper A/C

Sleeper Non A/C

Semi sleeper

Fare AC sleeper- (650-670)

Airavat (A/C semi sleeper)-

(570-589)

Rajahamsa (Non A/C seater)-

(470-485)

Sarige(ordinary)-(250-276)

Sleeper A/C-(500-580)

Sleeper Non A/C-(400-450)

Semi sleeper-(300-380)

Time table Day and night service Only during night

Fare collection Conductor and online POS and online

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CASE 1: Difference in scheduling:

Major difference which we find from table 5.4 is that, KSRTC offers both day and night

services, whereas private operators run only night buses.

KSRTC is running almost 50-60 buses per day (both day and night) during non-peak seasons.

Whereas, private operators run almost 40-50 buses (only night service) each day. So it is

important for KSRTC to maintain its revenue by scheduling its buses carefully. It is preferred

to study the demand and schedule buses according to it, i.e. supply side should match demand

side. Most of the private operators fail to fill all seats every day because of the heavy

competition among private and public buses.

The railways and airlines will also contribute to competition. There is one train every

alternate night from Bangalore to Mangalore and there are two flights every day which flies

from Bangalore to Mangalore and vice-versa.

CASE 2: Cost Comparison

Table 5.4 clearly shows the differences in travel fare from bus to bus. It is clear from table

5.8 that KSRTC Volvo buses serve well than any other type of bus. And customer‟s

perceptions are close to expectations in case of KSRTC Volvo. KSRTC Volvo (Airavat) is an

air-conditioned seater/semi sleeper bus.

When we compare both KSRTC‟ air-conditioned semi sleeper with private‟s air-conditioned

semi sleeper, we could see a significant difference in terms of cost. We found private A/C

semi sleepers are almost 200-270 rupees cheaper than KSRTC Volvo.

Though our survey results from fig 5.3 reveals that higher middle class people (in our case

people with monthly income >15,000) prefer comfort over cost, people do care for their

money. So there is a natural tendency for people to go for private air-conditioned bus if it is

available. It is observed from table 5.4 that there are only KSRTC buses during day time, so

KSRTC can fetch day travellers but during night it certainly faces competition.

When we observe the cost of Rajahamsa (Non A/C seater) and private non A/C sleeper buses,

we could sense the risk of losing Rajahamsa passengers to private non A/C sleeper buses.

The difference in ticket fare is almost 100-170 rupees. So night travellers may shift to private

buses because of this cost difference.

73

We can clearly say that middle class people, who are the target group of Rajahamsa, will

move to private buses if the level of Rajahamsa is not upgraded.

Table 5.4 shows an ordinary category of bus called KSRTC Sarige. The target group of this

bus is lower middle class people. Sarige passengers are unlikely to go to private buses

because of the cost difference. So Sarige passengers will continue to use the bus even if

service does not improve much as there is no convenient option.

But in this case, the risk is that, people can take train. Train offers different coaches with

varied facilities. It starts from basic coach (General) with low amenities with fare around 100,

and second class seater with fare around 120 and air-conditioned coach with fare around 420

rupees. When we compare KSRTC Sarige bus fare with that of second class train fare, we

could see almost 100-130 rupees difference.

However, since only one train is available, people who take day time Sarige buses still have

no other better option and will continue to use KSRTC i.e. if no other low cost transportation

is available.

So, regular revision of fares, better cost management and investments made to improve the

quality of vehicles or to purchase new vehicles can improve overall efficiency. It is preferred

to analyse the situation in the context of economic and financial returns.

5.5 STRATEGIES TO BRIDGE THE GAP B/W CUSTOMER PERCEPTION AND

EXPECTATION WHICH CAN RESULT IN INCREASED MARKET SHARE:

In section 5.4.2 the gap between perception and expectation of service quality in bus transport

was analysed. In this section the focus is measure that can bridge the service quality gap.

Factor 1: Tangibility

Tangibility is first quality dimension related to physical facilities offered by bus, cleanliness

and maintenance of bus, modern appearance of bus and professional look of bus employees.

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As per the statistics discussed in table 5.3, tangibility is consider to be an important

dimension while studying customer‟s expectation and perception. From fig 5.7, tangibility

varies significantly across all types of buses. Tangibility gap is highest in KSRTC Sarige.

Well maintained and modern looking buses often attract people. Since Bangalore-Mangalore

journey time is long, it is clear that passengers prefer for well maintained buses. Cleanliness

of interior, seats and windows often adds to service quality. Employee‟s appearance is

expected to be professional, since they are the service providers and will have direct contact

with all passengers.

Factor 2: Reliability

Reliability dimension of service quality refers to delivering services as promised,

dependability in handling customer problems, performing services right at the first time,

providing services at promised time, keeping customers informed about services offered.

Statistics from table 5.3 shows that the reliability gap is high in KSRTC Sarige. From graph

5.7 we can see that the reliability varies across all bus types and it is highest in KSRTC

Volvo and lowest in Sarige. Passengers prefer reliable services, so in order to improve

demand for Sarige, reliability gap should be bridged. Trained bus employees can handle

customers‟ concerns. Sarige is expected to deliver service at promised time.

Factor 3: Responsiveness

Responsiveness is another service quality dimension which explains the timely information

of service performance, promptness of service, willingness to help and quick assistance to

customer queries.

From Above statistics in table 5.3 it is shown that responsiveness gap is more in Rajahamsa.

Graph in fig 5.7 shows that the responsiveness quality is high in both private and KSRTC

Volvo. But it is low and almost same in Rajahamsa and Sarige.

Communication between service providers and customers play an important role in deciding

the rate of responsiveness. Responsiveness gap can be filled by active employees, who have

willingness to assist customers quickly and help customer resolve their problems. Rajahamsa

can attract customers by providing satisfactory services. Training employees to be more

responsive to the passengers is a low investment process to bridge this gap. It is likely that

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trained employees can handle customer queries better and help them to deliver prompt

service.

Factor 4: Assurance

Assurance is another service quality dimension. It explains employees‟ knowledge and

courtesy and ability of the bus operator and its employees to inspire trust and confidence.

Assurance in bus industry can be explained by passengers‟ confidence on bus employees,

secure travel and transaction, polite and knowledgeable employees.

From fig 5.2 it is seen that safety is one of the top preferences by customers. So, it is bus

operators‟ top priority to provide safe and secure bus journey and transaction. Assurance

dimension of service quality is due to the behaviours of employees in communicating their

credibility and instil trust in customer.

From the graph 5.7 we can see that variation in assurance across different types of bus is

small. It can be said that all bus operators are providing almost same state of assurance

service. The passengers across all segments of buses have similar perception about the level

of assurance provided by the bus services. Hence putting additional efforts to improve this

dimension might not have very significant benefits to KSRTC against private bus services.

Factor 5: Empathy

Empathy can be explained as giving individual attention to customers, giving special

attention to women, children and handicapped, employees with their best interest at heart,

understanding customers‟ specific needs and convenient operating hours.

The basic target of the dimension is to afford more facilities for the current or potential

customers and enhances the service quality, through personalized services.

From statistics provided in table 5.3 shows that empathy gap is high in Rajahamsa. Better

interaction with customers and increased awareness about special requirements of certain

passengers like, giving special attention to women, children and handicapped can help

reduce this gap. A study of the supply & demand to ensure appropriate scheduling to meet

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the convenience of a majority of the passengers can also improve the perception of

reliability. This is also an exercise that does not involve significant investment but can

improve the perception of service quality quite significantly.

5.5.1 Recommendations and suggestions

Based on verbal interviews with bus staff and commuters, some of the potential problems

were identified. In this section suggestions to rectify some of those problems are proposed.

Many of these are not directly within the control of KSRTC as a service provider. However,

as a govt. service provider, KSRTC could influence decisions in some of the below topics

which can improve the public transportation industry as a whole and in turn benefit KSRTC

also.

Ensuring security during travel:

From fig 5.3 (Preferences of passengers) shows secure travel is one of the top priorities of all

passengers. So regulations must be able to ensure a safety and avoid the problem of

dangerous driving practices. Some of the factors that need to be considered are the following:

Licensing: licensing should be done with care to avoid unsafe and illegal practices

and numerous accidents often involving injuries and fatalities (Deb 2002; Agarwal

2006).

Speed Monitors: Buses have to be constantly monitored. The numerous accidents

involving buses and accusations of speeding and drunken driving can be avoided by

installing speed monitors in both public and private buses.

Advertising:

Survey results highlighted the impact of advertisements and promotional measure. People

often surf online to book a bus ticket or to know about fare and bus scheduling. Investment in

promoting buses through advertisements and highlighting the launch of promotional

measures in media can be tried out.

Level of service quality of public transport are also affected by external factors such as poor

roads, adverse climate, traffic jams etc.

Some of the reasons for the poor quality of service offered by the transport operators:

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Age of vehicles: Age of vehicle fleet is also an important factor as old vehicles require more

maintenance and consume more fuel per distance travelled. (Mashelkar Committee Report,

2006)

Poor road surfaces: Potholes and wavy road features (resulting from faulty construction and

maintenance), rutting due to constant movement of iron ore filled truck; all contribute to poor

road quality. Bad quality roads put extra stress on engine, cause more fuel consumption and

result in wear and tear. In addition engine produce higher emissions while accelerating,

decelerating and climbing so any feature that encourage these actions also encourage

emissions. (Press Trust of India, 2002)

Technology and transportation often go hand in hand. Adopting reliable technology will help

the bus operators to enhance their operational performance. Though initial investment looks

expensive, using these technologies and instruments offer better management of

transportation. Some of the technologies which are currently used by transport systems in

developed nations are mentioned for the benefit of KSRTC.

Automatic Vehicle Location

Automatic vehicle location (AVL) capabilities enable passenger transport operators to

monitor the real-time movements and performance of any vehicles equipped with GPS-

enabled mobile data terminals (MDTs).

Using an intuitive web interface, operators can view the movements of any vehicle, or group

of vehicles, being automatically updated on a map view. The progress of each vehicle along

its route can also be viewed in a user-friendly logical route view, with details of on-schedule

performance.

The benefits to these AVL and associated reporting capabilities include:

Improved operational performance

Improved availability of data for scheduling and planning

Improved ability to meet reporting requirements

Improved schedule adherence

Greater predictability of services

Increased customer satisfaction with reduced customer complaints

Improved communications

Faster response time to any problem encountered by the drivers

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Increased driver and passenger security

Real Time Passenger Information (RTPI)

When buses are equipped with GPS-enabled in-vehicle hardware, operator‟s can publish real-

time departure and arrival times based on the live movements of buses. This makes it easy for

customers to access this information in a number of ways:

A range of hardware devices are available for displaying RTPI at stop locations,

depots and on on-board any vehicle.

Operators can quickly customize and install a departure board plug-in for their

website

Passengers can access RTPI via SMS and emails

Passengers can phone a fully automated interactive voice response (IVR) system

Passengers can access reliable RTPI both before and throughout a journey, no matter where

they are located.

Back Office Management:

Advanced technology provides transport operators with easy-to-use web application for

easily managing and updating stop, route, schedule and ticketing information.

Operators can quickly import all of this information from an external file or use an intuitive

web interface to rapidly define operator‟s entire network.

Accessibility:

All transit buses should provide easy access to get into and out of bus for mobility impaired

passengers. Buses must be equipped with a lift or ramp making it possible for persons with

wheel chairs or persons who are otherwise mobility impaired to use the bus system. Once

onboard, there should be secured areas where wheelchairs can be securely fastened for the

ride.

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5.6 SUMMARY:

In this chapter we have addressed objectives and also discussed the outcomes of our study.

Some of the findings are summarized as below,

According to conceptual framework developed, increase in customer satisfaction and

better operator performance results in increase in service productivity and it in turn

increase the demand.

Service quality gaps were studied. Tangibility gaps are found to be varying drastically

from premium bus to ordinary bus. Offering well maintained buses will help to close

this gap. Reliability gaps too vary from top end to bottom end of bus types. Accurate

and dependable service from bus operators can bridge this gap. Responsiveness gap is

found to be high in Rajahamsa. It can be brought down by offering prompt service

and willingness of employees to help their customers. Assurance quality found to be

same for almost all bus types; it can be bridged by competence of the system and its

security and courtesy. Empathy gaps are high for both Rajahamsa and Sarige, it can

be reduced by easing the accessibility, approachability and increased efforts taken by

employees to understand customer requirements.

Scheduling analysis says, through efficient fleet management the proportion of fleet

out of action due to repairs and maintenance can be reduced. It is preferred to analyse

the economic and financial returns before introducing new buses to the existing fleet.

Cost analysis says regular revision of fares, better cost management and investments

made to improve the quality of vehicles or to purchase new vehicles can improve

overall efficiency of KSRTC. Thus objectives are addressed efficiently.

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5.7 LIMITATIONS:

The study was conducted among the commuters of bus only in Bangalore Mangalore

route.

All the respondents were asked to answer all the questions and as some information

had to be recalled from memory, there could be some memory bias.

The variables taken for the study are limited to the significant variables in the pilot

study.

The passenger satisfaction study was conducted during a limited period, which is

from July 2011 to September 2011, and as such the findings may not be applicable to

other periods, and other States in India

Study considered only two major private operators while comparing public and

private buses.

Study considered only prominent bus types.

The study does not take into account the cost revenue analysis with reference to

different categories of buses operated by KSRTC.

5.8 FUTURE SCOPE FOR RESEARCH:

The study can be replicated to other routes, where there is competition

between public and private bus operators.