Determination of service quality attributes based on user perception for paratransit services in developing country like India

摘要

In case of developing countries like India, there is an urgent need to regulate the paratransit system because it faces various issues related to operation, service quality and enforcement. Regulation of these services requires delivery of services as per users’ expectations. Thus, this research aims to identify the paratransit service quality parameters based on users’ perception in Kolkata focusing on Eastern Metropolitan Bypass corridor (Ultadanga to Kamalgazi). This study focuses on auto-rickshaws, as these are the most popular mode amongst all types of paratransit modes in the city. 17 qualitative and quantitative paratransit service quality attributes were selected for the study area. Various surveys were conducted in order to assess the user perception. This data has been then analyzed with the help of RIDIT technique to prioritize the selected attributes. Results indicate that customer service, safety and security, service hours, environmental sustainability and headway of service has been perceived as most important attributes by the users. This is followed by the assessment of service delivery levels which is a function of users’ expectation from the services. In this research, concept of Zone of Tolerance is utilized to assess service delivery levels which are bounded by the desired service level and minimum acceptable service level of paratransit service. The results demonstrated that the users’ expectation varies significantly amongst user groups for certain service attributes such as auto stop proximity, delay in total journey time, etc. while the differences were minimal for other attributes such as service hours, crowding level inside the auto-rickshaw, etc.