Urban Transport
sayyed mohammad reza davoodi; masood ataee gharacheh; masoud mokhtari karchegani; Farhad javanmard
Abstract
An increase in the use of public transport offers one of the most convenient strategies for alleviation of the problems resulting from the excessive use of the private car (congestion, pollution, noise, etc.) in most urban areas. Rail transport systems provide a sustainable transport model in cities, ...
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An increase in the use of public transport offers one of the most convenient strategies for alleviation of the problems resulting from the excessive use of the private car (congestion, pollution, noise, etc.) in most urban areas. Rail transport systems provide a sustainable transport model in cities, with advantages including very high safety, passenger convenience and comfort, absence of traffic congestion, low energy consumption, proper speed, absence of fossil fuels, and low passenger transport costs. For improvement of public transport, it is necessary to develop appropriate tools for measuring and monitoring the quality of service. From among the variety of methods that are there for measurement of transport service quality, one based on customer perspective was adopted in the present research, aimed at segmentation and analysis of citizen expectation from urban railway in the city of Isfahan, Iran using the Kano, FAHP, and FTOPSIS models. For data collection in this applied descriptive-analytical study, a mixture of library and field investigation was conducted. Based on the library study, the theoretical framework of the research was formulated, and fifteen of the most important citizen expectations were identified. These included 1. proper waiting time for passengers to receive service, 2. Internet (WiFi) and mobile network access on the train, 3. use of other public transport systems next to the stations, 4. provision of information on the train, 5. attractive environmental graphics, 6. adaptation of the stations for the disabled, the blind, and cyclists, 7. convenient train spaces in terms of cleaning, cooling and heating, and air conditioning, 8. provision of transport service to passengers on holidays and during off-hours, 9. security at the stations, 10. appropriate location of the stations, 11. proper appearance and suitability of the staff, 12. availability of elevators and escalators at the stations, 13. train arrivals matching the timetable 14. availability of parking spaces at the stations, and 15. enhancement of passenger transport capacity. Based on the field method, the required data were collected using three questionnaires: Kano, paired comparison, and significance assessment. The research population was divided to two groups. The first group, answering the Kano questionnaire, included all the citizens taking Isfahan urban train. Morgan’s table was utilized for specification of sample size for the first group, based on which, sample size was set to 380, and the simple random sampling method was used. The second group, who answered the questionnaire for paired comparison between the items and that for significance assessment of the indicators, included experts engaged in the field of urban trains. Finally, the results of item ranking indicated that the item titled proper waiting time for passengers to receive service had priority over the other items. In urban public transport systems, it is very important to determine waiting time for passengers at the stations to benefit from the provided services. Proper scheduling that results in reduced waiting times can greatly affect user satisfaction, and can be essential for system management. Availability of a credible schedule allows passengers to adjust their arrival times at the stations, thereby experiencing shorter waiting times.
