A STUDY ON SATISFACTION LEVEL OF PEOPLE TRAVELLING IN FIRST CLASS COMPARTMENTS

A STUDY ON SATISFACTION LEVEL OF PEOPLE TRAVELLING IN FIRST CLASS COMPARTMENTS

A STUDY ON SATISFACTION LEVEL OF PEOPLE TRAVELLING IN FIRST CLASS COMPARTMENTS2014

A PROJECT REPORT ONA STUDY ON SATISFACTION LEVEL OF PEOPLE TRAVELLING IN FIRST CLASS RAILWAY COMPARTMENT

SUBMITTED BY:

Mr. DHARMENDA YADAVMs. MRUDULA PUTHRANMs. OLIVIA PEREIRAMr. ROHIT NAIKMr. ROHIT SHETTY

FYPGDM2014-2015

SUBMITTED TO:PROF. PRATIKSHA PATIL

BUNTS SANGHA MUMBAIUMA KRISHNA SHETTY INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES AND RESEARCHShashi Manmohan Shetty Higher Education Complex,Buntara Bhavana Marg, Kurla (East), Mumbai 400070

INDEXSR.NOPARTICULARS

1.EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

2.OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

3.SCOPE OF THE STUDY

4.LIMITATIONS

5.RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

6.DATA SOURCES

7.INTRODUCTION

8.THE ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE OF LOCAL TRAINS

9.PROBLEMS OF LOCAL TRAIN COMMUTERS

10.FIELD SURVEY

11.PURPOSE OF THE FIELD SURVEY

12.DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

13.FINDINGS

14.RECOMMENDATIONS

15.CONCLUSION

DECLARATION

BUNTS SANGHA MUMBAIUMA KRISHNA SHETTY INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES AND RESEARCHShashi Manmohan Shetty Higher Education Complex,Buntara Bhavana Marg, Kurla (East), Mumbai 400070.

We students of UMA KRISHNA SHETTY INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES AND RESEARCH of FYPGDM, Semester II, hereby declare that we have completed the project on A study on satisfaction level of people travelling in first class railway compartment in academic year 2014-15.The information submitted is true and original to the best of our knowledge.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

We, hereby acknowledge all those who directly or indirectly helped us draft the project report. It would not have been possible for us to complete the task without their help and guidance.First of all we would like to thank our subject head Prof. Pratiksha Patil who gave us the opportunity to do this project work. She conveyed to us the important instructions from time to time and gave us guidance for completing the project.This project has been a learning experience and it gives us immense pleasure in expressing our gratitude to Uma Krishna Shetty Institute of Management Studies and Research for giving us the opportunity to do a project that was challenging as well as rewarding. This project helped us to understand the tools used and to analyze them.Last but not the least we are thankful to the AICTE for offering the project in the syllabus. We also mention a hearty gratitude towards our family and other faculties and friends who supported us to go ahead with the project.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Mumbai is the financial and commercial capital of India. Mumbai wouldnt have achieved this without the lifeline of the city its local trains. For any large densely populated urban area, the local trains are essential for a speedy cross-over of a large population over long distances. Lakhs of people travel regularly and commute by local trains over varying distances ranging from 10 to 60 kilometer a day.

The Mumbai local railway network branches out through three main lines Central, Western and the Harbour, each connecting a distinct part of the city to another.. It may be considered as one of the best example of strategic management in transport. Most commuters use this means of transport to reach the places of their job, profession, business and educational purposes. Most travellers commuting on a daily basis hold season passes that makes the local train travel even more cost-efficient. The paper brings out the main findings of a field survey on Mumbai Local trains first class compartments daily travellers that was conducted to have a greater insight into the socio-economic role played by this major public transport system in the widespread expansion and economic progress of the city.

The field survey tried to capture the various aspects of suburban local train travellers of first class compartments in terms of number of family members travelling by the local trains, the purpose of their travel, average distances covered and number of hours spent per day, number of years travelled by the local trains, extent of socialization that takes place among the regular commuters, the safety and security aspects and provisions for any kind of emergencies that arise in the regular train travel.Around 50 randomly selected respondents were covered in the field survey.

The recent initiatives to ease out the pressure on the suburban local trains and the possibilities of alternative measure for the satisfaction of the first class compartments travellers for the regular commuters of Mumbai have been analysed in this project.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY:1) To study why people prefer to travel in first class railway compartments.2) To know the percentage of people satisfied and dissatisfied with the first class railway compartments.3) To know the reasons for satisfaction and dissatisfaction.4) To know the scope of improvement in first class compartments.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY:1) The study will help to know why people prefer travelling in first class.2) Since, so many improvements have been made in the Indian Railways in the past few years and more are being made people satisfaction level and their dissatisfaction level would be known.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY:1) Some of the respondents were not so responsive.2) Possibility of error in data collection because many of the respondents may have not given actual answers to the questionnaire.3) Some respondents were reluctant to divulge personal information which can affect the validity of all responses.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:1) This report is based on primary as well as secondary data, however primary data collection was given more importance since it is over hearing factor in attitude studies.2) One of the most important users of research methodology is that it helps in identifying the problem, collecting, anlayzing the required information data and providing an alternative solution to the problem.3) It also helps in collecting the vital information that is required by the top management to assist them for the better decision making both day to day decisions and critical ones.

DATA SOURCES:1) Research is totally based on primary data. Secondary data can be used only for the references.2) Research has been done by collecting primary data collection and primary data has been collected by interacting with various people.3) The secondary data has been collected through various websites.

INTRODUCTION

Mumbai is the financial capital in India. It is situated in the state of Maharashtra and isconnected internally and externally by roadways, railways and airways. Mumbai is an island city in which 88% of the people travel by the local trains.

The first train in Mumbai ran from Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) to Thane on 16 April 1863. It covered a distance of about 34 kilometers and took about 1 hour and 15 minutes. The Mumbai railway is about 150 years old and it caters to the transport requirement of a populationof about 22 million every day.

The Mumbai Suburban Railway branches out into three lines, the Central, Western and the Harbour. The Central local train network connects Mumbai CST in South Mumbai to distant suburbs of Kasara and Karjat, Khopoli. The Western railway, covers the areas from Churchgate to Virar , carries about 2.6 million Passengers per day which is almost 33% of the total suburban Railway traffic. The Harbour line runs between CST and Panvel and CST- Andheri.

The south Mumbai Fort area is the down town of the city and all the major Government offices, Secretariats, bank headquarters, corporate offices are located in that area. Due to extremely high real estate prices, people have no option but to stay in the distant suburbs of Mumbai and travel long distances to reach their work places in south Mumbai daily.

The Mumbai Suburban Railway is the oldest in Asia,it is owned by Indian Railways and is operated by Western Railways and Central Railways These suburban trains are popularly known as locals and they run from 4 AM till 1 AM. In 1992, Mumbai's WR and CR introduced 'Ladies Special' trains. A complete Ladies Special' train that have all its coaches reserved for women passengers.

THE ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE OF LOCAL TRAINS

In India, along with the annual union budget of the central government, the railway budget is announced every year. In the year 2012-2013, around INR 4,410 crore were allocated for capacity augmentation works. An allocation of INR 1102 crore was meant for improving the passenger amenities which was only Rs 762 crore in the previous year 2011-2012 registering a growth of around 30 per cent.

This indicates the fact that the government has been taking a lot of initiatives to bring about an improvement in the infrastructure of railways and to make the travel for the commuters more convenient and reliable. In the year 2000, the Indian railways the world's second largest railway network under a single management had large deficits.

Over the next eight years, however, there was a dramatic improvement in its performance. From a cash surplus before dividend of Rs 1,071 crore (Rs 10.71 billion) in 2000, it achieved an estimated surplus of Rs 25,000 crore (Rs 250 billion) - or around Rs 13,000 crore (Rs 130 billion) after accounting for all expenditures, receipts and depreciation in 2008. Alongside came a dynamic and differential tariff policy, and technical changes that led to an enhanced carrying capacity.

Recently, the Indian Railways have taken the first step to segregate Mumbai Railways from the national body. The project, undertaken by the citys rail think tank, the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation, with financial help from the World Bank, also calls for identification of a possible institutional arrangement and organisational structure of the railway, its legal status, operational responsibility and ownership and maintenance of assets.

Mumbai stretches from north to south, and railways make it possible to connect distant places in a short time.Taking into account the moderate Per Capita Income of the people and the huge amount of middle class population residing in the suburbs, the only rational choice left to them is to travel by a means of transport that is pocket friendly, convenient and speedy. The people of Mumbai are dependent on local trains so much that even the terror attacks of 2006 didnt affect the number that still chose to travel by the local trains the very next day.

PROBLEMS OF LOCAL TRAIN COMMUTERS

The Mumbaikars, i.e. the people of Mumbai have to face a number of difficulties in their daily local train travel. The main problem being that of over- crowding. Due to over- crowding, the commuters travel into jam pack compartments with no chance to have a place to sit and have to cover the distance all the time standing in the compartment. At times they get into first, second or any compartment due to lack of space.

As around 22 million passengers travel daily it becomes very difficult to get hold of ticketless travelers and the Indian railways and the government loses a big chunk of their income due to this.

At the railway stations, sufficient number of ticket windows, wash rooms- particularly for the ladies travelers, sufficient eating and resting provisions are lacking and as a result of this, during the days of heavy rains, water logging, trains running late, mishaps, the commuters suffer a lot.

Over-crowding, illegally crossing the railway tracks, standing on the foot boards of the doors of the compartments, leads to a lot of accidents during the crowded hours. Occasionally the indicators on the platforms do not function and display the time table and it results in a lot of inconvenience to the commuters.

FIELD SURVEY

A field survey was undertaken with help of a questionnaire to study the extent ofsatisfaction level of people travelling in first class compartments of the trains. Thequestionnaire was administered to around 50 randomly selected respondents, men, women and students in the city of Mumbai. On the basis of these questionnaires factual information was obtained.

The first part of the questionnaire pertained to personal identification data. The second part of the questionnaire had more specific questions. The field survey tried to capture the various aspects of suburban local train travellers in terms of number of family members travelling by the local trains, the purpose of their travel, average distances covered and number of hours spent per day, number of years travelled by the local trains, extent of socialization that takes place among the regular commuters, the safety and security aspects and provisions for any kind of emergencies that arise in the regular train travel. Around 50 randomly selected respondents were covered in the field survey.

PURPOSE OF THE FIELD SURVEY

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

1) Which line do you travel?

CentralWesternHarbourTrans-HarbourTotal

14822650

Most of the respondents in our survey travel in Harbour line followed by Central line and then Western line, and a very minimum sample travelling in the Trans-Harbour line.

2) Have you ever travelled in second class?

Yes NoTotal

47350

94% of our respondents have travelled in second class compartments.

3) Why do you prefer travelling in first class?

Less rushDecent crowdComfortable seatsLess HawkersStudent concessionTravel allowanceTotal

2815589570

The respondents prefer travelling in first class compartments because of the less rush.

4) How frequently do you travel in first class?

DailyOccasionallySeasonallyTotal

2715850

Majority of the respondents travel on a daily basis in first class compartments compared to people who travel on an occasional or seasonal basis.

5) What time of the day do you travel? MorningAfternoonEveningTotal

28101250

Morning is the time of the day when majority of the people travel in first class compartments compared to that of in the afternoon or evening.

6) Do you prefer_________________

Tickets1 month pass3 month pass6 month passYearlyTotal

48335050

Maximum respondents prefer carrying a 3 month pass as a mode of convenience rather than daily tickets, one month, 6 month or a yearly pass.

7. Do you feel cost of ticket or monthly pass is reasonable?

Yes NoMaybeTotal

25101550

Most of the respondents feel that the cost of the ticket and monthly pass is reasonable for first class compartments.

9. If ever in future ticket prices increase would it affect your travelling decision in first class?

Yes NoMaybeTotal

25141150

While most of the respondents are satisfied with the cost of the ticket and monthly pass as of now. Their travelling decision will be affected if ever the ticket prices increase in the near future.

10. Do you find travelling in first class value for money?

Yes NoMaybeTotal

14261050

Most of the respondents travelling in first class compartments do not find travelling in first class value for money.

11. Do you think first class compartments are spacious?

Yes NoMaybeTotal

1433350

A majority of them also believe that the compartments of the first class are not spacious enough.

12. Is there a need for a separate coach for men and women?

Yes NoTotal

391150

Maximum respondents feel the need to have a separate coach for men as well as women, as this would ease out the problem of space in the compartments.

13. Are the seats comfortable?

Yes NoTotal

282250

The respondents in our survey, majority of them found the train seats comfortable.

14. Do you think there is need for regular ticket/pass checking in the first class?

YesNoTotal

361450

Majority of the respondents feel that there is a need for regular ticket/pass checking in the first class.

FINDINGS

1) The age group mostly consisted of 15 years to 60 years . The respondents in the age group of 51 years to 60 years were at the least.2) With regards to the occupation to the occupation most of the respondents were students, service men followed by businessmen and others working at private firm.3) The male samples were more than the female samples travelling in first class compartment.4) Most of the respondents in our survey travel in Central line followed by Harbour line and then Western line, and a very minimum sample travelling in the Trans-Harbour line.5) 94% of our respondents have travelled in second class compartments.6) The respondents prefer travelling in first class compartments because of the less rush.7) Majority of the respondents travel on a daily basis in first class compartments compared to people who travel on an occasional or seasonal basis.8) Morning is the time of the day when majority of the people travel in first class compartments compared to that of in the afternoon or evening.9) Maximum respondents prefer carrying a 3 month pass as a mode of convenience rather than daily tickets, one month , 6 month or a yearly pass.10) Most of the respondents feel that the cost of the ticket and monthly pass is reasonable for first class compartments.11) While most of the respondents are satisfied with the cost of the ticket and monthly pass as of now. Their travelling decision will be affected if ever the ticket prices increase in the near future.12) Most of the respondents travelling in first class compartments do not find travelling in first class value for money.13) A majority of them also believe that the compartments of the first class are not spacious enough.14) Maximum respondents feel the need to have a separate coach for men as well as women, as this would ease out the problem of space in the compartments.15) The respondents in our survey, majority of them found the train seats comfortable.16) Majority of the respondents feel that there is a need for proper authentication of first class tickets and pass in the compartments.17) The most important finding of our survey is that the respondents are not satisfied with the facilities provided by railway with regards to the first class compartments.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1) The respondents feel that the first class railway compartments should be more spacious and have a separate coach for males and females, which would eventually solve the problem of space.

2) Some respondents feel the need to have common toilets in first class compartments.

3) If ever in future prices of the fares of tickets and pass increase the respondents feel that with the increase in price services and facilities like air conditioner coaches and compartments should be made available.

4) Majority of the respondents feel the need to have proper authentication of ticket and pass checking on a regular basis so that passengers without a valid first class ticket or pass do not travel in the first class compartments.

5) The compartments should be kept clean and hygiene is a major cause of concern should also be taken care of.

6) Hawkers must be banned from entering the first class compartments.

7) A very important feedback received was that this data should be converted into a major project and be collected by genuine feedback and after compiling and analysing the feedback should be sent to the Railway for improvisation in first class railway compartments.

8) Security is a major cause of concern in the first class compartments. Increasing security would reduce the unwanted rush to enter in the first class compartments.

9) A few respondents felt that the seats in the first class compartments are very low in height, thus making the sitting very uncomfortable.

10) Non- working fans , lights should be replaced and checked on a regular basis.

CONCLUSION

Railway being the most important mode of transport used by commuters to travel on a daily basis, needs to have requirements according to the peoples preferences. Most of the commuters prefer first class compartments to travel as they have less rush in them, but at the same time they feel they are not getting the required value for what they are paying.

The Railway needs to look after these problems and solve them accordingly so as to make a comfortable journey for the commuters. They need to provide proper facilities and make new adjustments accordingly.

This study basically done to understand peoples preference towards travelling in first class and to understand the level of satisfaction and dissatisfaction of the commuters thereby travelling in first class compartments.

We observed that most of the commuters were dissatisfied with the services provided by the Railways and gave their feedback regarding the same. Thus, concluding the Railways need to get on their toes and need to work on the requirements and needs of the commuters to provide them quality service by means of serving them in a better manner.