21st century businesses are dynamic and change is the name of the game. To understand the changing market dynamic or consumer behavior the organization has to do a systematic study. A project work is a scientific and systematic study intended to catch the nerves of the problem or issue with the application of management concept and skills. This research was carried out in order to understand the customer’s perception and attitude towards local trains.
This research paper has been complied preliminary in partial fulfillment of the XV trimester curriculum requirement. Apart from theoretical concept of the topic, I have tried to include the findings and suggestions drawn out of the research.
Scope of project
This research paper likes to address the customer’s perception about daily commuting via local trains in Mumbai and thereby help us know the customers better and market practicalities.
Process:
Drafting questionnaire with a background of understanding passengers satisfaction level
Collection of data on passenger traffic on both weekdays and on weekends.
Narrowing down the real problems that the commuters are facing while travelling.
Key findings:-
By calculating the number of responses, I found that most of the people were satisfied with the timings of train services (Andheri – Churchagate route).
Majority of the commuters possessed monthly passes thereby indicating clearly that bulk of them were very much brand loyal.
I also found out that waiting at ticket counters is still one of the pain points though advancements like SMART card, Punch Tickets etc have been provided to ease out the ticketing process but still the problems remains pertaining.
Commuters are facing the problem of lack of ventilation, congested compartments (specifically during peak hours), luggage space, train information display are some of the aspects which are very uncomfortable for daily commuters.
Objective of the project
The main objective of this project was to find out the commuters satisfaction level of the services offered by Western and Central Railways in Mumbai.
Secondary objective
Do the commuters prefer the new ticket vending machines installed at various suburban stations?
How frequently commuters tend to complain against the deficiency in train services?
GENERAL INFORMATION
Indian Railways – 16th April, 1853 – The Beginning of social empowerment.
The first railway on Indian sub-continent ran between Bombay to Thane ( 21 mile).
The idea for developing a railway network to connect Bombay with Thane, Kalyan and with the Thal and Bhore Ghats first occurred to Mr. George Clark during a visit to Bhandup in 1843.He was a government official.
While the first passenger train ran between Howrah station & Hooghly, a distance of 24 miles,. In south the first line ran between Veyasarpandy and Walajah Road (Arcot), a distance of 63 miles. In the North a length of 119 miles of line was laid from Allahabad to Kanpur ..
These were the small beginnings which eventually led to the development of a railway lines network all over the country.
Indian railways is the largest rail network in Asia and the world’s second largest organization under one management. Indian Railways is a multi-gauge, multi-traction system covering the following:
Track Kilometres
Broad Gauge
(1676 mm)
Metre Gauge
(1000 mm)
Narrow Gauge (762/610 mm)
Total
86,526
18,529
3,651
108,706
Route Kilometres
Electrified
Total
16,001
63,028
7566 – locomotives
37,840 – Coaching vehicles
222,147 – Freight wagons
6853 – Stations
300 – Yards
2300 – Goodsheds
700 – Repair shops
1.54 million – Work force
Indian Railways runs around 11,000 trains everyday, of which 7,000 are passenger trains.
Mumbai Suburban Railways :
The Mumbai Suburban Railway system is part of the public transport system of Mumbai. It is managed and provided by the Indian Railways’ two zones – Western Railways and Central Railways. The Mumbai suburban railway carries more than 6.9 million commuters on a daily basis It has one of the highest passenger densities of any urban railway system in the world. The trains plying on its routes are commonly referred to as local trains or simply as locals by general population. Due to large geographical spread of the population and location of business areas, the rail network is the principal mode of mass transport in Mumbai.
List of stations
Western line
Within Mumbai: Churchgate, Marine Lines, Charni Road, Grant Road, Mumbai Central, Mahalaxmi, Lower Parel, Elphinstone Road, Dadar, Matunga Road, Mahim Junction, Bandra, Khar Road, Santacruz, Vile Parle, Andheri, Jogeshwari, Goregaon, Malad, Kandivali, Borivali, Dahisar
Outside Mumbai: Mira Road, Bhayandar, Naigaon, Vasai Road, Nala Sopara, Virar, Vaitarna, Saphale, Kelve Road, Palghar, Umroli, Boisar, Vangaon, Dahanu Road
Central (Main) line
Within Mumbai: Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly, Boribandar Victoria Terminus (VT)), Masjid Bunder, Sandhurst Road, Byculla, Chinchpokli, Currey Road, Parel, Dadar, Matunga, Sion, Kurla, Vidyavihar, Ghatkopar, Vikhroli, Kanjurmarg, Bhandup, Nahur, Mulund
Outside Mumbai: Thane, Kalwa, Mumbra, Diwa, Kopar, Dombivli, Thakurli, Kalyan
Harbour Line
Within Mumbai: Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Masjid, Sandhurst Road, Dockyard Road, Reay Road, Cotton Green, Sewri, Wadala road, Guru Tegh Bahadur Nagar, Chunabhatti, Kurla, Tilak Nagar, Chembur, Govandi, Mankhurd
Within Navi Mumbai: Vashi, Sanpada, Juinagar, Nerul, Seawoods-Darave, CBD Belapur, Kharghar, Mansarovar, Khandeshwar
Outside Navi Mumbai: Panvel
S.W.O.T Analysis
STRENGTH
Indian railways is a 100% Government of India owned organization
Exhaustive railway network across the country
Dedicated workforce
Strong financial backing
Service reliability
WEAKNESS
Conflict between railway unions and employees
Delay in getting approvals and funds for new proposals
OPPORTUNITIES
Strong possibility for railways to capture 90% of container traffic
With the airline industry facing severe crisis, Indian railways can en-cash on this opportunity
By offering air-conditioned coaches in the local trains, they can target the upper segment of the market
THREATS
The possible threats are from the taxi service
Weak infrastructure and no up-gradation of stations
Absence of passenger facility will drive away the customer to private modes of transport
Upcoming projects like Metro railways, monorail etc.
VISION:
To serve the customers with a smile and let them assure of excellent services.
GROWTH STRATEGY
“Fast innovation, Fast growth”
SLOGAN
“Serving customers with a smile”
Why the brand is recognized?
1. Monopoly in the market
Suburban railway network of 303 Km
35 stations
Daily ridership of 6.94 million daily and it constitutes more than half of the total daily passenger capacity of the Indian Railways itself
2. Customer loyalty
Ever increasing number of commuters taking suburban trains.
Availability of Light Refreshment stalls (VLR) at railway stations .
Book stalls
Customized ticket vending machines
Hassle free journey, free from any type of pollution.
3. Longevity
Provision of a fast and efficient transport service
Helps to establish new communities along the routes of railways
4. Overall market acceptance
Public have developed “patterns of behavior” (i.e. vicarious learning).
Local trains have become a part of commuters daily life
Efficiency in service has been at the forefront for market acceptance
5. Goodwill
Suburban trains are operating for the past decades
The services offered have always been praised for its on-time performance.
Research Methodology:
As Research methodology is the crux of all project and without a proper well-organized research plan, it is impossible to complete the project and subsequently to draw any conclusion out of the research. This project is based on a survey plan. The main objective of survey was to collect appropriate data, which work as a base for drawing conclusion and getting result. In totality the research methodology can be listed as follows:
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Step 1: Research design – this is a plan, conceptual structure, and strategy of investigation conceived as to obtain answers to research questions and to control variance. The type of research adopted for study is descriptive. The objective of such study is to answer the “who, what, when, where and how” of the subject under investigation. There is a general feeling that descriptive studies are factual and very simple. This is not necessarily true. Descriptive study can be complex, demanding a high degree of scientific skill on part of the researcher. Descriptive studies are well structured. An exploratory study needs to be flexible in its approach, but a descriptive study in contrast tends to be rigid and its approach cannot be changed every now and then therefore a great amount of thought was given while framing the research.
Step 2: Data collection methods: At this stage we need to identify and select which type of data is to be researched, how to organize a field survey etc.
Step 3: Analysis and interpretations
Step 4: Preparation of the final report – The report is based on the analysis and presented with the findings and suggestions. The sample of the questionnaires is attached with the report itself.
Sampling Methodology:
Sample unit – Professionals, Business man, Employees, Students
No. of questions in questionnaires for customer: 07
No. of question related to services offered: 05
No. of respondents during the research: 40
Questionnaire & Analysis
Q1. How long you’re using the local train service?
a) Less than a year
b) 1-5 years
c) >5 years
Analysis of Q.1
Inference
1. Majority of the commuters have been using the local service for 1-5 years.
2. It shows that the faith imposed with local by the commuters and people are loyal to local services.
Q.2. From which source station to destination do you commute?
From To
Analysis of Q.2
As the field survey was mainly focused on commuters in Andheri – Churchgate sector, so lot of them were daily commuters from the stations lying in between like Bandra, Mahim, Parel, Mahalaxmi, Marine lines etc
Q.3. According to you local train service between Andheri – Churchgate is
a) Excellent
b) Very good
c) Good
d) Fair
e) Poor
Analysis of Q.3
Overall majority of the commuters rated the services between Andheri – Churchgate sector as fair. And the next majority is of dissatisfied customers their primary reason for dissatisfaction is overcrowded compartments during peak hours. But then also consumers have rated it fair due to its timeliness and convenience compared to other transport modes.
Q. 4. You commute daily with
a) With a monthly pass
b) Buying tickets
c) Without ticket
Analysis of Q.4 –
Inference:
1. Maximum number of commuters prefers to travel by taking the monthly pass issued by the railways, as it proves to be lot cheaper than buying tickets daily.
2. Rest of them were buying tickets on daily or occasional basis, as they were occasional travelers.
Q.5.The level of satisfaction you get from local train services
a) Highly satisfied
b) Somewhat satisfied
c) Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied
d) Dissatisfied
e) Highly dissatisfied
Analysis of Q.5 –
1. As per our survey, majority of the commuters were dissatisfied, next majority were those commuters who were somewhat satisfied. But in totality dissatisfactions leads.
2. This analysis clearly indicates that, railways need do a lot of improvements in order to be up to the mark.
Q.6 Tick the appropriate column
SERVICE
Excellent
Good
Fair
Bad
Very bad
TIMING
Excellent
Good
Fair
Bad
Very bad
PRICE
Excellent
Good
Fair
Bad
Very bad
PERFORMANCE
Excellent
Good
Fair
Bad
Very bad
Analysis of Q.6 –
• Most of the commuters said that the service provided by railways is bad and majority of them feel service is bad or very bad.
• Timing aspect of trains was rated good by majority of the commuters.
• Majority of the commuters said that the performance of local trains is good and this conveys people are satisfied with the performance level.
• Almost all the commuters said that the pricing strategy is excellent by the railways.
Q.7. Which is the best way to commute in Mumbai City? (Rank your choice from the list)
Local trains
BEST – bus
Own vehicle
Taxi / cool cab / Private taxi (Meru etc)
Rickshaw
Cycle
Analysis of Q.7 –
Inference
1. Almost all of the commuters preferred local trains over any other means of transport.
2. Usually the buses are crowded and people throng local trains.
3. Surprisingly the third choice was “rickshaw” it refers that people prefer travelling via rickshaw, compared to their own vehicle. This remarkably depicts the consumer attitude towards traffic, parking, poor road infrastructure within Mumbai which forcefully have made them pro towards other modes of commuting.
Q.8 .State your opinion about
I) Cleanliness at the station premises:
Excellent
Very Good
Good
Fair
Poor
II) Availability of ticket counters
Excellent
Very Good
Good
Fair
Poor
III) Prompt services
Excellent
Very Good
Good
Fair
Poor
IV) Quality of refreshment stalls
Excellent
Very Good
Good
Fair
Poor
Analysis of Q.8 –
Inference:
• Majority of the commuters said the cleanliness at the station is poor.
• Whereas majority of them said that availability of ticket counters are good.
• Almost all of them rated the quality of refreshment stalls were poor or fair.
• Majority of commuters have rated the service promptness as good. This itself says a lot about the performance of local railways in Mumbai.
RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
Railways have been at the forefront in transporting people to their respective workplaces and to their leisure destinations. Moreover there are some lacunas which need to be addressed in order to establish world class infrastructure. Few recommendations:
• Efforts should be made to increase the number of ticket counters.
• The number of refreshment stalls has to increase, in order to cater to the growing needs of the commuters.
• The no. of coaches during peak hours has to increase.
• Railways can introduce AC compartments for 1st class commuters.
• Security and safety of commuters should be given utmost priority. Every station should have at least have 1 or more ambulance.
• Increase the number of stations between all the 3 railway lines, this will automatically de- congest the coaches to a great extent.
• Infrastructure at junction stations will have to be improved considerably to handle extra crowds for example, escalators on all bridges. With escalators, crossing of tracks by passengers will reduce considerably.
LIMITATIONS
Every study has certain limitations. In my study, also there were certain limitations, which I was not able to solve.
Since time available for this project was very less, the number of people interviewed was very meager, so there could be little variation in the results.
The sample size is also very small which represent my research on consumer behavior and this proves out to be a major constraint.
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