A STUDY ON PASSENGERS PERCEPTION AND SATISFACTION TOWARDS SERVICES OFFERED BY SOUTHERN RAILWAYS IN COIMBATORE JUNCTION

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1 A STUDY ON PASSENGERS PERCEPTION AND SATISFACTION TOWARDS SERVICES OFFERED BY SOUTHERN RAILWAYS IN COIMBATORE JUNCTION Dr.S.SARAVANAN 1 S.GANDHIMATHI 2 1 Professor, Department of Commerce with IT, Dr.N.G.P College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore 2 Assistant Professor, Part Time Research Scholar, Dr.N.G.P College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore ABSTRACT This paper is to identify the determinants of perception as well as on the satisfaction of railway transport commuters. The paper display the relationship between perception and customer satisfaction in a Railway transport service taking into account both on-board(inside of the train) and Off-board(outside of the train (platform)).we conclude that speed and punctuality are quality dimensions of greater importance for the railway transport services. The study explores satisfaction and their determinants. Keywords: Railway, Passengers, Perception, Satisfaction, Services PASSENGERS PERCEPTION& SATISFACTION Customer perception is defined as the way that customers usually view or feel about certain services. It can also be related to customer satisfaction which is the expectation of the customer towards the services. The customer expectations are fulfilled as called satisfaction. NEED FOR THE STUDY Consumer needs can be fulfilled based on their requirements and interest. In travelling agencies every company construing to satisfy the needs and their wants. The presence sceneries the consumers are giving more importance for easy convenient travelling. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Eboli and Mazzulla (2007) 17 measured customer satisfaction in the context of bus service on various factors including availability of shelter and benches at bus stops, cleanliness, overcrowding, information system, safety, personnel security, helpfulness of personnel, and physical condition of by stops. The report identifies the following elements at bus stations for efficient service shelter, waiting rooms and seating, doorways, stairways, escalators, signage and information displays, public address systems, and passenger amenities (including shelters, benches, vending machines, trash receptacles, lighting, phone booths, art, and landscaping). Power J. D. and Associates Reports (2007) 19 customer satisfaction with trasnportation companies was measured across seven factors transportation of belongings, loading service, unloading service, optional coverage, estimate process, packing service, and insurance/damage claims. This implies that the quality of basic facilities and other supporting facilities were used as criteria for satisfaction. Agrawal (2008) 20 identified employee behavior as the most important determinant of customers (passengers) satisfaction with Indian Railway services. The author defined five categories of measures 10 admin@icmrr.org

2 that wholly or partially reflect the passenger s point-of-view in transit services which are availability of transit service, service monitoring, travel time, safety and security, and maintenance and construction activity on passenger trips. In the literature, aspects such as reliability, frequency, travel time and fare level comfort and cleanliness network coverage /distance to stop and safety issues are all known to be important factors in customer evaluations of public transport service quality. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM In transportation context, passenger satisfaction is created by the comparison of pre-travel expectations and post-travel experiences. In simple words, when experiences of a passenger compared to the expectation results in feeling of gratification, the satisfaction is created. From the discussion it is understood that perception and satisfaction of passengers are caused by services. SAMPLE DESIGN Convenient sampling methods have been applied for the selection of sample from its universe in Coimbatore city. SCOPE OF THE STUDY A substantial proportion of all marketing research involves the direct study of people. The kinds of people studied are extremely varied including such individuals are housewife s, salaried, children s executives of large corporation and managers of small business.passangers perception and satisfaction from one of the foundation stones for research. The present study aims at assessing the consumer perception and their level of satisfaction in the travelled in train. It covers all class peoples are travelled for the purpose of usage modern stylist more comfortable rather highly sophistically travelling. METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION The questionnaire has been designed and used collect the needed primary data. Both open ended and close questions were used. OBJECTIVES To measure the passengers level of perceptions towards on-boards and off the board services offered by Southern Railways. To measure the passengers level of satisfaction towards on-boards and off the board services offered by Southern Railways. LIMITATIONS This study was only connected by Coimbatore junction across the trains. The findings conclusions are given based on the information provided by respondents PERIOD OF THE STUDY The study is confined to period is January 2014 to April TOOLS FOR ANALYSIS Ranking analysis ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION Passengers Perception towards Railway Service The construct of perceived value has been identified as one of the most important ingredients for gaining competitive advantage and the most important indicator of repurchase intentions has defined perceived value as the consumer s overall assessment of the utility of a product based on perceptions of what is received and what is given.perceived value represents the discrepancies between perceived benefit and perceived cost. Perceived value have been shown to have effect on satisfaction, customer loyalty, and other important outcomes. The factors that affect service quality of the system of railway 11 admin@icmrr.org

3 services in India include time, health, cleanliness, food, water availability, medical facilities and safety of passengers. This section of study draws an introspective analysis on the level of perception of the passengers towards the service offered by the Southern Railways. TABLE 1 - PASSENGERS LEVEL OF PERCEPTION TOWARDS THE SERVICE OFFERED BY THE SOUTHERN RAILWAYS Variables Sum Mean Rank Punctuality Frequency Speed Reliability Comfort Safety Train operation Sufficiency of seating space Lighting Fans Drinking water Clarity of announcements Accuracy of announcements Frequency of announcements Reservation chart display Affordability of refreshments Quality of refreshments Security of self Security of Luggage Behaviour of porters Management of Parking Time delivery of food Response of attender Availability of dustbins Price of snacks and drinking items Ticket availability Exit services Waiting room service quality Tours for long trip Amenities of platform Infrastructure of railway station Train fair Travel time Source Primary Data The above table represents the passengers level of perception towards the service offered by the Southern Railways of India. It has been inferred that, on an average of 3.95 passengers have stated that 12 admin@icmrr.org

4 the trains are very punctual as they properly arrive and depart from the junction, it is ranked in first position. Followed by, the sample subjects have a perception that the trains are the suitable means for long travel and it is rated in second place with an average score of similarly, the passengers have positive perception towards the service like frequency of trains, reservation chart display, speed of the train, travel time, clarity and accuracy of announcements offered by the Southern Railways. These variables are rated in third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth place with the mean score of 3.85, 3.76, 3.72, 3.66, 3.61 and 3.60, respectively. The passengers have also opined that they feel comfortable with the train travel and porters behavior, these variables are ranked in ninth place with an average score of From the above study it has been inferred that, the passengers are fair-minded with the platform services like availability of dustbins, sufficiency of lights and on various other amenities offered in the Southern Railway platform. These variables are ranked in eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth place with the mean score of 3.54, 3.53 and 3.52, respectively. On an average of 3.51 respondents have a perception that the amenities like sufficiency of seating space, parking services, infrastructure of railway station and train fair are reasonable in comparison to other mode of travel, these are rated in fourteenth position. Consequently, mean score of 3.48 the sample populations have an impact that the platform services like ticket availability, time delivery of food and affordability of refreshments are inadequate and are ranked in eighteenth place, respectively. Further, it has been clearly observed that, the respondents obtain negative perception towards the services like reliability, train operation, price of snacks and drinking items, security of luggage and frequency of announcements. These variables are placed in twenty first, twenty second, twenty third, twenty fourth and twenty fifth rank with an average score of 3.47, 3.46, 3.44, 3.41 and 3.39, accordingly. Similarly, the passengers does not acquire positive perception towards their personal safety, fans facilities and the quality of refreshments provide by the railways department and are rated in twenty sixth place with the mean score of Correspondingly, on an average of 3.36 sample subjects do not have positive impact on waiting room service quality and on the responsiveness of attender and is ranked in twenty ninth place. Followed by, the respondents have a perception that services like drinking water facilities, exit services and security services of Southern Railways are insufficient. These variables are ranked in thirty first, thirty second and thirty third position with an average score of 3.33, 3.23 and 3.20, respectively. Passengers Satisfaction towards Railway Services To achieve a high level of customer satisfaction, most researchers suggest that a high level of service quality should be delivered by the service provider as service quality is normally considered an antecedent of customer satisfaction. As service quality improves, the probability of customer satisfaction increases. In this section of the study the researcher has briefly summarized the passengers level of satisfaction towards the services offered by the Southern Railways of India admin@icmrr.org

5 TABLE 2- PASSENGERS LEVEL OF SATISFCATION TOWARDS THE SERVICE OFFERED BY THE SOUTHERN RAILWAYS Variable Sum Mean Rank Punctuality Frequency Speed Reliability Comfort Safety Train operation Sufficiency of seating space Lighting Fans Drinking water Clarity of announcements Accuracy of announcements Frequency of announcements Reservation chart display Affordability of refreshments Quality of refreshments Security of self Security of Luggage Behavior of porters Management of Parking Time delivery of food Response of attender Availability of dustbins Price of snacks and drinking items Ticket availability Exit services Waiting room service quality Tours for long trip Amenities of platform Infrastructure of railway station Train fair Travel time Source Primary Data The above table infers the passengers level of satisfaction towards the services offered by the Southern Railways of India. From the above empirical study it has been inferred that majority i.e., on an average of 4.06 respondents express high degree of satisfaction towards the speed of the train and is ranked in first position, respectively. Followed by, the passengers derive high level of satisfaction towards the services like punctuality of trains, platform services, travel time, train fair, frequency of trains and information update of Southern Railways. These variables are ranked in second, third, fourth, fifth, 14 admin@icmrr.org

6 sixth, and seventh place with the mean score of 3.91, 3.90, 3.87, 3.85, 3.84 and 3.71, respectively. Similarly, the sample subjects acquire moderate level of satisfaction towards the features like long train travel, reliability of services, ticket availability, cost of snacks and drinking items, accuracy of announcements, infrastructure of railway station, reservation chart display and time delivery of food. These variables are rated in eight, ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth place with the mean score of 3.70, 3.69, 3.67, 3.65, 3.64, 3.60, 3.58 and From the above data analysis it has been inferred that, on an average of 3.50 passengers have said that they feel comfortable and safe in train travel, it is rated in sixteenth position. Correspondingly, mean score of 3.47 respondents feel that the railway announcements regarding train schedules can be given with little more clarity so that they can avoid confusions and is ranked in eighteenth position. Similarly, on an average of 3.45 passengers expect better lighting arrangements and parking services and are ranked in nineteenth position. Further, the passengers are dissatisfied with the train operation responsiveness of attender. These variables are ranked twenty first and twenty second place with an average score of 3.43 and 3.42, accordingly. Further, it has been also inferred that on an average of 3.39 rail passengers are frustrated with the security services, dustbin availability and waiting room service quality inside the railway platforms and is rated in twenty third place. Followed by, on an average of 3.37 respondents complain that the drinking water facilities are not sufficient and is ranked in twenty sixth positions. Correspondingly, mean score of 3.35 passengers feel that the seating space and exit services of railway platforms are insufficient and is rated in twenty seventh place, respectively. similarly, the respondents; express high degree of dissatisfaction towards the affordability of refreshments, security of luggage, porters behavior, quality of refreshments and fan facility offered by the Southern Railways. These variables are ranked in twenty ninth, thirtieth, thirty first, thirty second, thirty third position with the mean score of 3.32, 3.31, 3.29, 3.28 and 3.21, accordingly. RESULTS AND FINDINGS Thus the elaborate data discussion infers that on an average of 3.95 passengers have stated that the trains are very punctual as they properly arrive and depart from the junction, it is ranked in first position. Thus the above study indicates that majority i.e., on an average of 4.06 respondents express high degree of satisfaction towards the speed of the train and is ranked in first position. CONCLUSION On the basis of the above study, the researcher conclude that majority of the respondents are highly satisfied with the service of railway transport. Now a day s population is increasing day by day and the rate also increase. So people select alternative method. In this time train travelled attract many people. Railway provide many services like Lighting, Fans, Drinking water, Food etc.train is more useful for those people who are moving in a busy schedule. This paper was concluded analysis the passengers expectations are punctual arrive in train but passengers are only get satisfied towards the speed because this gap was filled expected to be analysis in future studies. Most of the people think that train travelled is very punctual and it cannot be replaced any transport. In our study most of the people are satisfied speed of the train. In future railway transport will attract more passengers admin@icmrr.org

7 REFERENCES 1. Eboli, L., and G. Mazzulla (2007); Service quality attributes affecting customer satisfaction for bus transit. Journal of Public Transportation 10 (3), pp Power J. D. and Associates Reports (2007); Global Van Lines, Mayflower Transit and Two Men and a Truck rank highest in customer satisfaction with full-service moving companies. 3. Agarwal, R. (2008); Public Transportation and Customer Satisfaction. Global Business Review 9(2), pp Filipa Fonseca Sofia Pinto Carlos Brito service quality and customer satisfaction in public transports international journal for quality research short scientific paper (1.03) Vol.4, No. 2, Rahaman, R. K. and Rahaman, Md. A (2010); Service quality attributes affecting the satisfaction of railway passengers of selective route in southwestern part of Bangladesh, 1(5), pp admin@icmrr.org