The Performance Of Passenger’s Satisfication In Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation
*Dr. R. Chinnaraj,
*Assistant Professor And Head, Department Of Commerce (Ca),
Sun Arts And Science College, Keeranoor, Thiruvannamalai- 606755, Tamil Nadu, India.
Abstract
Tamil Nadu Is In The Forefront Of The Indian Subcontinent In Providing An Efficient Transport Service To The People. Transport Facilities Are A Basic Ingredient In A Modern Society For Bringing People Together And For The Improvement Of The Society. The Tamil Nadu Government, With Its Transport Corporation, Provides Various Types Of Service Like Metro, Mousse, Express, Etc., To Bring The People Together. Whether It Rains Or Shines, Efficient And Safe Transport Operation Is Continued In All Parts Of Tamil Nadu By The State Transport Undertakings. The Transport Department Is Having Under Its Control 18 State Transport Undertaking Including Tamil Nadu Transport Development Finance Corporation, Pallavan Transport Consultancy Services Ltd. Institute Of Road Transport, Chennai And Motor Vehicles Maintenance Department.
The Transport Department Is Also The Nodal Agency In The State Government In Respect Of Projects Implemented By The Southern Railway, Postal And Telecommunication Department And The Civil Aviation Department Of The Government Of India, Within The State Of Tamil Nadu.
Key Words: Transport Service, Tnstc, Finance Corporation.
Introduction
It Is A Fact That No Bus Transport Business Can Exist Without Passengers. In Every Bus Transport Service Related Businesses, There Is A Need To Develop Relationship With The Passengers And With The Service Providers To Satisfy Passengers’ Day-To-Day Service Quality Requirements. The Owners Of The Different Bus Transport Industries Compete With Each Other To Offer Maximum Satisfaction To Passengers. Thus Passengers’
Satisfaction, A Business Term Is A Measure Of How Services Are Supplied By An Industry To Meet Passengers’ Expectation.
Passengers’ Satisfaction Is An Indefinite And Conceptual Term, The Meaning Of Which Will Vary From Person To Person And Services To Services. Measurement Of Passengers’ Satisfaction Is Too Difficult Since It Is Related To The Psychological State Of Mind. An Attempt Is Made In This Study To Have Better Understanding Of Passenger Attitude And The Level Of Passengers’ Satisfaction Towards Services Provided By Both Public And Private Sector Bus Transport Industries. In Addition To This, A Brief Report Is Made About The Existing Services, Delivery Of Services, How Far The Passengers Avail Those Services And The Reasons If Any For Their Preference Of Particular Industrial Services.
Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation- An Overview
Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation Is The Government Public Transport Bus Operator Of Tamil Nadu, India. It Operates Buses On Intra And Interstate Bus Routes. It Also Operates On City Routes. In The 2007-2008 Budgets It Was Announced That 5000 New Buses Would Be Added To The Corporations Within 5 Years. Tnstc Is The Second Largest Transport Corporation In India And Is Well Known For Its Route Coverage To Almost Every Remote Area In Tamil Nadu. Tnstc Bus Fare Is Lowest In The Country. Tamil
Nadu State Transport Corporation Was The First In India To Introduce Excellent Paintings In Buses. The School Students Get A Pass To Travel In The Corporation’s Buses At Free Of Cost From Their School To Their Homes.
These Passes Are Issued By The Government Of Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation Operates Buses Of Various Classes To Cater To Different Sections Of The Public.
❖ General Buses, The Largest In Its Capacity, Ply On Inter District, Inter Village Routes And Cater To A Majority Of The Passengers.
❖ Video Coaches (Super Deluxe) Are Operated Between District Headquarters And To Places Of Tourist And Pilgrimage Importance.
❖ Ultra Deluxe Coaches Are Operated From Various Important Commercial Centers Of Tamil Nadu To Chennai, Bangalore, And Thiruvananthapuram Also Amongst The Centers. These Are The Non-Ac Luxury Coaches Of Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation. These Have Recliner Seats With Larger Leg-Room, Personal Fans And Light.
❖ Ac Video Coaches Are Operated From Chennai To Commercial Centers Like Madurai, Trichy, Thanjavur, Bangalore Etc. These Have Recliner Cushion Seats With Personal Ac Vents And Lights. Mineral Water Is Available At Free Of Cost During The Journey. The Last Two Types Of Coaches Are Also Operated By State Express Transport Corporation (Setc). Due To The Sharing Of Market Of These Services And Low Fares, Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation Has Reported Losses In Recent Times. Tamil Nadu Transport Corporation Has Its Own Coach Building Units And It Uses Ashok Leyland Buses. Tamil Nadu State Development Finance Corporation Was Established In 1972 To Collect Deposits From The Public In Order To Fund Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation.
Significance Of The Study
Movement Of The People From One Place To Another Place And The Increase In Population Resulted In Heavy Demand For Quick, Efficient Transport Services. Under These Circumstances, There Is Every Possibility For Deterioration Of The Quality Of Services Provided By Transport Industries Because Of Healthy Competition. The Importance Of The Study Is To Find Out Answer For The Question, How Far The Public Sector Transport Industries Are Able To Withstand The Competition Extended By Their Powerful Counterpart (Public Sector).
Scope Of The Study
The Study Title Passenger Satisfaction With The Performance Of Tamilnadu State Transport Corporation Encompasses The Service From Tamilnadu State Transport Corporation. To Know The Passenger Behaviors Problem Faced By The Passengers Regarding Overcrowding, Corporation, Crew, Co-Passengers And Satisfaction Level.
Thiruvannamalai District, The Researcher Selected All The Passenger Of The Thiruvannamalai District.
Review Of Literature
Aworemi Et Al. (2008) Conducted Research On Public Transport And System And
Suggested That Socio-Economic Factors Play An Important Role. In Addition, Further Studies Were Also Conducted By Many Researchers And All Of Them Found That The Customers Expect Quality Service Either From Private Or From Public Organizations. If They Improve Quality Then Passengers Will Be Satisfied, And The Same Would Be Helpful In Gaining Reputation And Also To Earn Profit For Their Business. Many Researchers Found That, In Transportation Sector, Service Quality Plays An Important Role With The Following Elements Such As Stability, Capacity, And Security. Feedbacks From Passengers Are Also Important To Enhance Service Quality And To Provide What The Customers Want.
Anderson Et Al., (2007) Dissatisfaction Of The Customers Regarding Services Leads To Failure In Operation. As Per This Study, The Main Reason For Operation Related Failure Is Delay Of Transportation Which Leads To Dissatisfaction. They Also Observed That The Customers Have The Tendency To Blame The Service Provider For Everything That Happens, Even If The Failure In Service Has An Effect On External Factors. It Is Observed That Communication Between The Customers And Working Personnel Has A Major Impact, And Create Satisfaction. The Study Also Revealed That The Operation Related Failures Also Reduce The Level Of Contact Between Them. Therefore, The Result Of Lack Of Contact Leads The Customers To Become Biased Against The Workforce Of A Public Transportation.
Dziekan And Kottenhoff (2007) Found That At The Bus Stop, Information Displays Influence Customer Satisfaction. In Addition, It Has The Optimistic Psychological Effects And Decreases Uncertainty And Stress As Customers Know The Actual Departure Time.
Information Displays Also Increases The Sense Of Security Among Customers Especially At Night. Finally, The Displayed Information Increases The Comfort Of Customers When They Make A Trip. It Also Increases, Creates Regulated Travel Behavior Among The Passengers And Passengers Can Also Use Their Waiting Time Constructively And For Their Effective Travelling. In Addition To All The Above Findings, It Also Aids Transit Customers To Get Information On The Mode Of Transport.
Gopal And Cline (2007) Stated That On One Hand, The Importance Of ‘Customer Relationship Management’ In Public Transportation Is The Key Factor For Customers’
Decisions. Customer Relationship Management Is An Important Technique Help To The Management To Evaluate Their Customers’ Behavior, And To Provide Quality Services. The Study Also Insists On The Behavior Of Working Personnel And Specifically The Bus Drivers’ Behavior, Service Frequency, Reliability Of The Service Provider, Time Consumption And Mainly Waiting Time To Be The Most Essential Factors Affecting Customer Satisfaction.
Statement Of The Problem
In The Modern Period, Public Bus Transport Services, Being The Most Indispensable, Help The People For Mobility. Every Human Being Or A Passenger Wants To Avail Better And Comfortable Travel. Bus Transport Service Industries In Tamil Nadu To Test The Belief Of The People And To Find Out The Factors Responsible For Such Kind Of Opinion.
Objectives
➢ To Study The General Performance Of Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation In Tiruvannamalai.
➢ To Identify The Problem Faced By Passenger During Their Travel.
Research Methodology
The Methodology Part Of The Study Consist Of
➢ Selection Of Sample
➢ Formation Of The Interview Schedule
➢ Collection Of Data
➢ Consolidation Of Data
➢ Analysis Of Data
In The Primary Stage, The Selected Sample Was Thiruvannamalai District Convenience Sampling Method Was Adopted For The Purpose Of Selection Of Sample Units By The Researcher.
Selection Of Sample
Out Of The Total Population In The Sample Units 100 Respondents Were Selected From Thiruvannamalai District. The Respondents Are The Passengers.
Formation Of The Interview Schedule
In The Second Stage Of Methodology Is Related To The Formation Of Interview Schedule To Obtain Necessary Particulars Pertaining To The Study. One Interview Schedule Has Been Framed To Collect Information From The Respondents.
Collection Of Data (Methods Of Data Collection)
With The Aid Of Interview Schedule Primary And Secondary Data Are Collected In The Respective Related Offices And Websites, The Researcher Also Collected Necessary Particulars From Various Documents And Record Which Were Maintained.
Tools For Analysis
Observational Design And Ex-Post-Facto Research Design Was Followed In The Study. The Following Tools Were Applied To Analyses The Data. Simple Percentage Analysis, Measures Of Central Tendency, Measures Of Dispersion (Standard Deviation) Limitations Of The Study
➢ This Study Is Restricted To 100 Samples Questionnaire. Samples Are Taken Only From The Respondents Of Thiruvannamalai District Due To Time And Financial Constraints.
➢ The Researcher Focuses And Collects The Data Only From The Respondents Who Are Able To Understand And To Give Their Answers For The Questions Asked For This Research Work.
Services Available To The Public
❖ Free Passes To Students Studying Up To Standard Xii
❖ Free Pass To Physically Challenged Person
❖ Free Pass To Mentally Retarded And Blinded Persons
❖ Free Pass To Freedom Fighters And Their Legal Heirs/ Language Stir Participants And Cancer Patients
❖ Luggage Fare
❖ Breakdown Service
❖ Theft / Attack / Damage To Buses
❖ Accidents Involving State Transport Buses
❖ Procedure Adopted For Settling Award Amount In Accident Compensation Claims
❖ Lost Property Enquiries
Findings Of The Study Duration Of Journey
The Above Table Reveals That Duration Wise Of Respondents Out Of 100 Respondents 34respondents Are Belong To The 21-40 Minutes Category, 33 Respondents Are Below 20 Minutes Category, 18 Respondents Are 41-60 Minutes Category, And Remaining 15 Respondents Are Above 60 Minutes. Most Of The Respondents Are 21-40 Minutes.
Bus Fare
The Above Table Reveals That Bus Fare Wise Distribution Of Respondents Out Of 100 Respondents 34respondents Are Belong To The Rs11- Rs30 Category,30 Respondents Are Below Rs10 Category, 29 Respondents Are Rs31-Rs60 Category, And Remaining 7 Respondents Are Above Rs61 Category. Most Of The Respondents Are Rs11-Rs30 Category.
Purpose Of Travel
The Above Table Reveals That Purpose Of Travel Respondent. Out Of 100 Respondents. 30 Respondents Are Belong To The Education Category, 22 Respondents Are Social Category, 15 Respondents Are Employment Category, 14 Respondents Are Shopping Category,12 Respondents Are Business Category,5 Respondents Are Medical Category, And Remaining 2 Respondents Are Other Category. Most Of The Respondents Are Education Category.
Preference Of Bus In Passanger
The Above Table Reveals That Preference Of Bus In Passenger’s Respondent. Out Of 100 Respondents. 57 Respondents Are Centre Of The Study Category, 20 Respondents Are Suburbs Respondents Are Category, 16respondents Are Out Skirts Of City Category, And Remaining 7 Respondents Are Other Category. Most Of The Respondents Are Centre Of The Study.
Special Buses For Students Senior Citizens
The Above Table Reveals That Special Buses For Student’s Senior Citizens Respondents. Out Of 100 Respondents. 61 Respondents Are Belong To The Yes Category
And Remaining 39 Respondents Are No Category. Most Of The Respondents Are No Category.
Overcrowded In Peak Hours Of Travel
The Above Table Reveals That Overcrowded In Peak Hours Of Travel Of Respondents. Out Of 100 Respondents. 44 Respondents Are Belong To The Always Category, 25 Respondents Are Sometimes Category, 23 Respondents Are Rarely Category, And Remaining 8 Respondents Are Never Category. Most Of The Respondents Are Always Category.
Behavioral Conduct Of Tnstc Driver And Conductors Us
The Above Table Reveals That Behavioral Conduct Of Ktc Driver And Conductors Us Of Respondents. Out Of 100 Respondents. 61 Respondents Are Belong To The Good Category And Remaining 31 Respondents Are Needs Improvement Category. Most Of The Respondents Are Good Category.
Problem During Their Travel
The Above Table Reveals That Problem During Their Travel Of Respondents. Out Of 100 Respondents. 85 Respondents Are Belong To The Yes Category And Remaining 15 Respondents Are No Category. Most Of The Respondents Are Yes Category.
Problem Doyou Faced Of Respondents
The Above Table Reveals That Problem Do You Faced Of Respondents. Out
Of 85 Respondents. 40 Respondents Are Belong To The Overcrowding Category, 17 Respondents Are Regard With Corporation Category, 16respondents Are Co-Passengers Category And Remaining 12 Respondents Are Crow Category. Most Of The Respondents Are Overcrowding Category.
Problems Faced By The Relating To Co-Passenger
The Above Table Reveals That Problems Faced By The Relating To Co-Passenger Respondent. Out Of The 16 Respondents. 8 Respondents Are Belong To The Smoking Inside The Bus Category, 3 Respondents Are Quarrels Among The Passengers Category, 3 Respondents Are Ladies With Crying Category, And Remaining 2 Respondents Are Spitting And Vomiting In The Bus Category. Most Of The Respondents Are Smoking Inside The Bus.
Factor By The Relating To Co-Passengers
The Above Table Reveals That Factor Of The Relating To Co-Passengers Of The Respondents. Out Of The 100 Respondents. 3.79 As Gives The Iii Rank Are Passenger Comforts, 4.1 As Gives The Ii Rank Are Punctuality And Regularity, 4.17 As Gives The I Rank Are Safety And Reliability, 3.43 As Gives The Iv Rank Are Satisfaction With Crew, 3.42 As Gives The V Rank Are Social Responsibility, And 2.9 As Gives The Vi Rank Are
Quality Of Driving Comfort In Seating On Bus. Most Of The 4.17 As Gives The I Rank Are Safety And Reliability.
Satisfied Are You With The City Bus Service Schedule
The Above Table Shows That The Satisfied Are You With The City Bus Service Schedule Of The Respondents. Out Of The 100 Respondents. The Overall Weighted Average Score Is 2.99. So The Satisfied Are You With The City Bus Service Schedule Of The Respondents Level In Somewhat Satisfied.
Level Of Satisfaction
The Above Table Reveals That Level Of Satisfaction Of The Respondents. Out Of The 100 Respondents. 3.13 As Give The Iii Rank Are Travel Time, 2.89 As Gives The Vi Rank Are Punctuality, 3.05 As Gives The Iv Rank Are Price, 3.02 As Gives The V Rank Are Information, 2.63 As Gives The Viii Rank Are Cleanliness, 3.15 As Gives The Ii Rank Are Staff Behavior, 2.56 As Give The X Rank Are Bus Comport, 3.24 As Gives The I Rank Are Seat Available, 2.72 As Gives The Vii Rank Are Bus Stop Security, 2.61 As Gives The Ix Rank Are Safe From Accident, 2.16 As Gives The Xi Rank Are Into Bus Stop. Most Of The 3.24 As Gives The I Rank Are Seat Available.
Conclusion
It Is Too Difficult To Any Service Sector To Satisfy Its Customers And It Is A Known Fact, That Everyone Is Aware That It Is A Complex Task Or Process To Satisfy The Different Categories Of Bus Passengers And Other Kind Of Transport Sectors Too. But It Is Mandatory For The Transport Sectors To Satisfy Their Passengers To Retain Them And Make Them To Avail The Bus Transport Services Of A Particular Service Provider For A Long Time And To Continue Its Services For The Next Generation And Also For Their Future Survival. But All These Objectives Will Be Achieved If The Service Providers Are Able To Find Or Identify The Attitude , Psychology , Pre-Travel Expectation And Post- Travel Opinion Of The Passengers Who Prefer Any Service Provider At Their Convenience . It Is Also Necessary For The Bus Transport Service Providers To Identify Taste, Preferences, Usage Pattern, Different Levels Of Age, Level Of Income Of The Passengers To Assess Their Expectation Level. But Generally The Passengers ‘Needs And Desires Are Based On Attitude, Psychological Behavior, Pre-Travel Expectation And Post-Travel Opinion.
Hence, The Researcher Tries To Identify The Change In The Behavior, Psychology, Expectation And Decision Making Process Of Passengers After Their Travel With A Specific Service Provider For A Comfortable Travel With Facilities And Services. It Is A General View Among The Passengers That The Service Quality In A Private Sector Is Better Than The Public Sector Bus Transport Services. But The Public Sector Works With Service Motive, And The Local Government Is Operating Their Subsidiary Public Transportation Units In All The Districts To Give Adequate Facilities At Reasonable Rate To The Larger Population Size. Recently, The Tamil Nadu Government Increased The Existing Bus Fare.
From Their Point Of View It Is Necessary To Increase The Fare As The Same Was Not Increased For Many Years. On The Other Side, Factors Such As Passengers’ Age, Earning
Capacity, Income, Sex And Segmentation Among The Passengers , Usage Period And Usage Pattern Towards Personal, Official And Business Purposes Are Also Important Influencing Factors In Bus Transport Business.
In General , It Is Important That The Hike In Bus Fare Should Equalize The Given Level Of Service With The Required Quality, And If It Is Exercised, Then It Will Enable The Commuters Or Passengers To Get Primary Level Satisfaction. Surely, It Will Make The Passengers To Select A Particular Service Provider. So, The Value For Money Or The Money The Passengers Spent For Their Travel Should Get Enough Service And Quality During Their Travel. So, The Service Providers Should Frame And Adopt Pre-Determined Set Of Plans With Regard To Their Services To Increase The Standard Of Quality In Their Bus Transport Related Services In All Aspects Which Are Connected With Passengers’
Travel. The Same Will Definitely Increase The Level Of Satisfaction Among The Bus Passengers.
Finally , It Is Concluded By The Researcher That The Effective Time Management System , Service Efficiency , Supervision , Comfort And Safety , Transport Frequency , Level Of Comfort , Reliability , Convenience , Reasonable Hike In Bus Fare , Optimum Level Of Response From Service Personnel’s , Proper Maintenance Of Buses, Effective Grievance Redressed Forum Are Important Factors. Periodical Concentration And Regular Follow Up Of These Factors Will Enable The Bus Transport Sectors To Increase Their Capacity For Survival With The Maximum Passenger Satisfaction And Service Quality And Also To Succeed To A Larger Extant In Their Business.
References
1. Aworemi Et Al., 2008, ’International Journal Of Economics And Management Sciences’,Vol. 1, No. 9
2. Anderson, W S, Baggett, L S & Widener, S K 2007, ‘The Impact Of Service Operations Failures On Customer Satisfaction: Evidence On How Failures And Their Source Affect What Matters To Customers’, Viewed 20 August 2008
3. Dziekan, K, & Kottenhoff, K 2007, ‘Dynamic At-Stop Real-Time Information Displays For Public Transport: Effects On Customers’, Transportation Research Part A: Policy And Practice, Vol. 41 No. 6, Pp. 489–501
4. Gopal, G & Cline, S 2007, ‘Driving Towards Sustainable Profitability:
Transportation Service Providers And Customer Relationship Management. Supply Chain Management’ , An International Journal, Vol. 12, No. 2, Pp.85-87
