Browse > Article
http://dx.doi.org/10.7232/iems.2014.13.2.172

Improving Traffic Infrastructure in a Developing Country: An Investigation into the Usage of Public Bus Transport in Malaysia  

Soh, Keng Lin (School of Management, Universiti Sains Malaysia)
Wong, Wai Peng (School of Management, Universiti Sains Malaysia)
Chong, Chu Le (School of Management, Universiti Sains Malaysia)
Hiew, Yan Hwan (School of Management, Universiti Sains Malaysia)
Publication Information
Industrial Engineering and Management Systems / v.13, no.2, 2014 , pp. 172-184 More about this Journal
Abstract
Economic growth with rising household income has put more vehicles on the roads worsening traffic congestion, road accidents, and air and noise pollution. This situation is further aggravated by the potential working population who choose to drive to work instead of taking public transportation. Public bus transport (PBT) plays an important role in alleviating these problems. PBT is underutilized in Malaysia, and there is an opportunity to increase ridership without substantial investment. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the factors that influence the use of PBT in Malaysia. The data were collected using structured questionnaires from 400 respondents. The results of the analysis show that the twin factors consisting of perceived satisfaction of and perceived importance by users towards safety and comfort of facilities and services offered by PBT are significantly related to intention to use those services. The satisfaction of availability of season tickets, the importance of reliability of bus schedule and time table, and the importance of ticket pricing are also significant. By providing insights for both public bus operators and the government, this paper contributes to mitigate the underutilization of PBT in Malaysia and the consequences of putting more vehicles on the roads. From the theory perspective, this paper also contributes by extending the theory of reasoned-action to transportation studies.
Keywords
Public Bus Transport; Satisfaction; Importance; Intention; Malaysia;
Citations & Related Records
연도 인용수 순위
  • Reference
1 Hsu, L. R. (2009), Project cost models for mode choice between light rail and bus rapid transit systems, Proceedings of the Transportation Research Board 88th Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, article no. 09-0763.
2 Iseki, H. and Taylor, B. D. (2009), Not all transfers are created equal: towards a framework relating transfer connectivity to travel behavior, Transport Reviews, 29(6), 777-800.   DOI   ScienceOn
3 Kahn, M. E. (1998), A household level environmental Kuznets curve, Economics Letters, 59(2), 269-273.   DOI   ScienceOn
4 Kamba, A. N., Rahmat, R. A. O., and Ismail, A. (2007), Why do people use their cars: a case study in Malaysia, Journal of Social Sciences, 3(3), 117-122.   DOI
5 Bates, J., Polak, J., Jones, P., and Cook, A. (2001), The valuation of reliability for personal travel, Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 37(2), 191-229.   DOI   ScienceOn
6 Andaleeb, S. S., Haq, M., and Ahmed, R. I. (2007), Reforming innercity bus transportation in a developing country: a passenger-driven model, Journal of Public Transportation, 10(1), 1-25.
7 Ardila, A. (2007), How public transportation's past is haunting its future in Bogota, Colombia, Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2038, 9-15.   DOI
8 Ariff, M. M. (2011), High hopes for Malaysia's mega mass rapid transit (MRT), Available from: http://greaterkl.bernama.com/excnews.php?id=562431.
9 Belwal, R. and Belwal, S. (2010), Public transportation services in Oman: a study of public perceptions, Journal of Public Transportation, 13(4), 1-21.
10 Bouazara, M., Richard, M. J., and Rakheja, S. (2006), Safety and comfort analysis of a 3-D vehicle model with optimal non-linear active seat suspension, Journal of Terramechanics, 43(2), 97-118.   DOI   ScienceOn
11 Brah, S. A. and Lim, H. Y. (2006), The effects of technology and TQM on the performance of logistics companies, International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management, 36(3), 192-209.   DOI   ScienceOn
12 Choong, J. S. S. (2010), Conceptualization of perceived utilization of public bus transport service: empirical evidence for Malaysia transport sustainability, dissertation, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pulau Pinang.
13 Davis, F. D. (1989), Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology, MIS Quarterly, 13(3), 319-340.   DOI   ScienceOn
14 Duarte, F. and Rojas, F. (2012), Intermodal connectivity to BRT: a comparative analysis of Bogota and Curitiba, Journal of Public Transportation, 15(2), 1-18.
15 Fernandez, R. (1993), An expert system for the preliminary design and location of high-capacity bus-stops, Traffic Engineering and Control, 34(11), 533-539.
16 Af Wahlberg, A. E. (2003), Some methodological deficiencies in studies on traffic accident predictors, Accident Analysis and Prevention, 35(4), 473-486.   DOI   ScienceOn
17 Ajzen, I. (1985), From intentions to actions: a theory of planned behavior. In: Kuhl, J. and Beckman, J. (eds.), Action Control, Springer, Heidelberg, 11-39.
18 Ajzen, I. and Fishbein, M. (1980), Understanding Attitudes and Predicting Social Behavior, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliff, NJ.
19 Small, K. A. (1982), The scheduling of consumer activities:work trips, The American Economic Review, 72(3), 467-479.
20 Vance, C. and Balcombe, R. J. (1997), How to tell bus passengers what they need to know, In: Public Transport Planning and Operation: Proceedings of Seminar G held at the European Transport Forum Annual Meeting, Uxbridge, England, 231-242.
21 Teoh, S. (2011), Malaysian graduates struggle to get good jobs, says Straits Times, Available from:http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/malaysian-graduates-struggle-to-get-good-jobssays-straits-times.
22 Ward, N. J. (2000), Automation of task processes: an example of intelligent transportation systems, Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing and Service Industries, 10(4), 395-408.   DOI   ScienceOn
23 Zarkadoula, M., Zoidis, G., and Tritopoulou, E. (2007), Training urban bus drivers to promote smart driving:a note on a Greek eco-driving pilot program, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 12(6), 449-451.   DOI   ScienceOn
24 Wright, L. (2003), Bus Rapid Transit, Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), Eschborn.
25 Yan, W., Li, X., and Ding, T. (2009), Urban public transportation modes coupling study based on residents travelling, Proceedings of the 5th Advanced Forum on Transportation of China, Beijing, China, 181-186.
26 Young, T., Blustein, J., Finn, L., and Palta, M. (1997), Sleepiness, driving and accidents: sleep-disordered breathing and motor vehicle accidents in a population-based sample of employed adults, Sleep, 20(8), 608-613.   DOI
27 Zolfaghari, S., Azizi, N., and Jaber, M. Y. (2004), A model for holding strategy in public transit systems with real-time information, International Journal of Transport Management, 2(2), 99-110.   DOI   ScienceOn
28 Nunnally, J. C. (1967), Psychometric Theory, McGraw-Hill Education, New Delhi.
29 Mzee, P. K. and Chen, Y. (2010), Implementation of BRT system in developing countries as the best option in reducing emission the case study of Dart system in Dar es Salaam, Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Advanced Management Science, Chengdu, China, 532-537.
30 Neuherz, M., Patz, V., Pischner, T., and Keller, H. (2000), User acceptance and impacts of new multimodal traffic information services in BAYERNINFO, Proceedings of the 7th World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems, Turin, Italy.
31 Senbil, M., Kitamura, R., and Mohamad, J. (2009), Residential location, vehicle ownership and travel in Asia: a comparative analysis of Kei-Han-Shin and Kuala Lumpur metropolitan areas, Transportation, 36(3), 325-350.   DOI
32 New Straits Times (2012), Malaysia's per capita income rises, Available from: http://www.nst.com.my/latest/malaysia-s-per-capita-income-rises-1.46403.
33 Ohmae, K. (1995), The End of the Nation State: The Rise of Regional Economies, Free Press, New York, NY.
34 Padmanaban, R. P. S., Vanajakshi, L., and Subramanian, S. C. (2009), Automated delay identification for bus travel time prediction towards APTS applications, Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Emerging Trends in Engineering and Technology, Nagpur, India, 564-569.
35 Shek, K. W. and Chan, W. T. (2008), Combined comfort model of thermal comfort and air quality on buses in Hong Kong, Science of the Total Environment, 389(2-3), 277-282.   DOI   ScienceOn
36 Si, B. and Gao, Z. (2007), Optimal model for passenger transport pricing under the condition of market competition, Journal of Transportation Systems Engineering and Information Technology, 7(1), 72-78.   DOI   ScienceOn
37 Sim, L. L. (2009), Cabinet approves new bus, taxi fares, Available from: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/7/16/nation/20090716122039&sec=nation.
38 Simma, A. and Axhausen, K. W. (2001), Structures of commitment in mode use: a comparison of Switzerland, Germany and Great Britain, Transport Policy, 8(4), 279-288.   DOI   ScienceOn
39 Knudsen, T. and Bang B. (2007), Environmental consequences of better roads, Report no. STF50 A07034, SINTEF Technology and Society, Road and Transport Studies, Trondheim, Norway.
40 Kasipillai, J. and Chan, P. (2008), Travel demand management:lessons for Malaysia, Journal of Public Transportation, 11(3), 41-55.   DOI
41 King, M. F. (1997), The effects of alternative information availability on consumer decision strategies for professional services: a cross-cultural perspective, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 4(1), 1-11.   DOI   ScienceOn
42 Lee, S. E. and Littrell, M. A. (2005), Global e-tailing: US consumers' intention to shop for cultural products on the Internet, International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, 33(2), 133-147.   DOI   ScienceOn
43 Lester, J. (1991), Individual Differences in Incident Liability: Review of the Literature, Transport and Road Research Laboratory, Crowthorne, UK.
44 Li, Y., Wang, W., Wang, J., Zhang, X., Lin, W., and Yang, Y. (2011), Impact of air pollution control measures and weather conditions on asthma during the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, International Journal of Biometeorology, 55(4), 547-554.   DOI
45 Liou, S. R. (2009), Nurses' intention to leave: critically analyse the theory of reasoned action and organizational commitment model, Journal of Nursing Management, 17(1), 92-99.   DOI   ScienceOn
46 Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (2010), General road accident data in Malaysia (1995-2010), Available from: http://www.miros.gov.my/web/guest/road.
47 Maxton, G. P. and Wormald, J. (1995), Driving Over a Cliff? Business Lessons from the World's Car Industry, Economist Intelligence Unit, London.
48 Mohamad, J. and Kiggundu, A. T. (2007), The rise of the private car in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: assessing the policy options, IATSS Research, 31(1), 69-77.   DOI
49 Golob, T. F. (1990), The dynamics of household travel time expenditures and car ownership decisions, Transportation Research Part A: General, 24(6), 443-463.
50 Molin, E. J. and Timmermans, H. J. (2006), Traveler expectations and willingness-to-pay for Web-enabled public transport information services, Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, 14(2), 57-67.   DOI   ScienceOn
51 Fishbein, M. (1967), A behavior theory approach to the relations between beliefs about an object and the attitude toward the object. In: Readings in Attitude Theory and Measurement, John Wiley and Sons, New York, NY, 389-399.
52 Fosgerau, M. and Karlstrom, A. (2010), The value of reliability, Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, 44(1), 38-49.   DOI   ScienceOn
53 Green, M. (1995), Not a crisis, but action is needed, Available from: http://www.bmj.com/content/311/7002/401.
54 Guo, P. and Zipkin, P. (2009), The effects of the availability of waiting-time information on a balking queue, European Journal of Operational Research, 198(1), 199-209.   DOI   ScienceOn
55 Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., and Anderson, R. E. (2010), Multivariate Data Analysis (7th ed.), Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
56 Hamdouch, Y., Florian, M., Hearn, D. W., and Lawphongpanich, S. (2007), Congestion pricing for multimodal transportation systems, Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, 41(3), 275-291.   DOI   ScienceOn
57 Hsu, L. R. (2005), Capacity-based cost modeling for light rail and bus rapid transit systems, thesis, Florida International University, Miami, FL.
58 FitzRoy, F. and Smith, I. (1998), Public transport demand in Freiburg: why did patronage double in a decade? Transport Policy, 5(3), 163-173.   DOI   ScienceOn
59 United Nations Environment Programme. (2009), Sustainable Urban Energy Planning: A handbook for Cities and Towns in Developing Countries, United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), Nairobi.
60 Roberts, C. N. (2007), Applying the theory of planned behavior to the intent to quit smoking among pregnant women, dissertation, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Available from: http://gradworks.umi.com/32/53/3253070.html.
61 Kim, J. O. and Mueller, C. W. (1978), Factor Analysis: Statistical Methods and Practical Issues, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA.
62 Dargay, J. and Gately, D. (1999), Income's effect on car and vehicle ownership, worldwide: 1960-2015, Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 33(2), 101-138.   DOI   ScienceOn