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Master Research Proposal

This document outlines a research proposal that aims to assess the quality of bus transit in Penang, Malaysia by conducting focus group discussions with secondary school students. The study seeks to understand students' perceptions of current bus quality, identify key aspects that impact quality, and provide solutions to increase quality and ridership. Literature review, materials preparation, data collection/analysis, and writing will take place over 24 months. The expected outcome is solutions to improve bus services that are informed by user perspectives, helping transportation agencies boost public transit use in line with government goals. Statistical analysis software and materials for questionnaires are required.

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731 views3 pages

Master Research Proposal

This document outlines a research proposal that aims to assess the quality of bus transit in Penang, Malaysia by conducting focus group discussions with secondary school students. The study seeks to understand students' perceptions of current bus quality, identify key aspects that impact quality, and provide solutions to increase quality and ridership. Literature review, materials preparation, data collection/analysis, and writing will take place over 24 months. The expected outcome is solutions to improve bus services that are informed by user perspectives, helping transportation agencies boost public transit use in line with government goals. Statistical analysis software and materials for questionnaires are required.

Uploaded by

Falennor
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Master Research Proposal

Candidate : Surachai a/l Airak

Supervisor : Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nur Sabahiah Abdul Sukor

Title : Assessment of bus transit quality in Penang by modelling user perception using Focus
Group Discussion

Introduction :

Public transports include a variety of services that provide mobility to the general public and
have been known to have several advantages such as affordable basic mobility for the users, and
efficient urban travel (Guidebook & Litman, 2010). Some of the vehicles which fall under the
“public transport” category are buses, trains, ferries, and shared taxis.

Malaysian government has made efforts to push Malaysians into using public transport as their
main mode of transportation. Several outlines have been outlined in the “Malaysian ITS
Blueprint 2019-2013”, released by Ministry of Works Malaysia. One of the efforts is by creating
a “Journey Planner” service which a user can access the planner via website or mobile
applications which provide information on real-time updates on public transport arrival times.

However, one of the main factors which determines if a public transport will be chosen by the
users is the quality of that transport itself. This is because, compared to personal transport or
cars, public transports lack in a sense of individual needs such as door-to-door service (Ellaway
et al., 2003; Hiscock et al., 2002). Cars are also safer and more comfortable for a person as it has
individual safety features and ample of space for every passenger. Thus, public transport
companies in Malaysia should provide better services so that it aligns with the government’s
efforts in increasing the number of public transport users.

Problem Statement :

Based on the Malaysian ITS Blueprint, it can be seen that several efforts have been planned by
the government to improve the infrastructure quality of the public transportation. A study made
by Haron et al., 2015 showed that the service quality of Rapid Penang, a public bus service
provider, in Seberang Perai is moderate meanwhile another study done by Haron, Mansor, &
Hisam, 2016 showed that the bus service quality in Georgetown, Penang is satisfactory.
Currently, there is no study on service quality of public buses in Gelugor or Bayan Lepas,
Penang. The two studies mentioned earlier involved variety of people from different background
meanwhile this study will focus on secondary students only as the subject of study since Rapid
Penang provides students with discounts for their services hence it is relevant to see whether the
service quality provided by Rapid Penang is on par with the price given to these students.
Through the discussion too, the factors that they think contribute to the service quality of public
buses can be known.

Penang as one of the urbanised states in Malaysia has recorded an increasing numbers of private
vehicle since the 1980s and it’s been proven after the research conducted by Penang Local
Government on 1996 (Irin & Mat, 2008). According to O’Sullivan (2003), automobile has
caused three transportation problems namely congestion, air pollution and accidents. Hence,
public transports has been seen as one of the best methods to counter some of the issues arising
from the use of private automobiles such as cars. This study hopes to be able to give several
solutions to improve the service quality of public transportations, specifically public buses so
that the number of users can be increased and hence creating a better on road environment.

Objectives :

1) To obtain users’ views on the present quality of public buses in Penang using Focus
Group Discussion method
2) To determine aspects that have great impacts on quality of public buses
3) To provide possible solutions needed to increase the quality of public buses and hence
increasing the amount of public bus users in Penang

Methodology :

The methodology for this study will be divided into several phases but is subjected to change
according to suitability. The first phase is “Literature Review” which extensive research and
reading will be carried out to determine the gap between the past researches and obtaining the
appropriate methodology needed for this study besides Focus Group Discussion method..
Studying of the correct procedures to use the softwares will also be done in case it is needed.
Second phase consists of preparing materials needed for the study. Questionnaires will be
prepared in determining the best target group needed for this study. Pilot study will also be
conducted to study the reliability of the questionnaire prepared and it will be analysed by using
appropriate software. Third phase is collecting data and analysing the data obtained, which
includes the execution of methodology that has been obtained in the first phase and using the
appropriate method to analyse the data obtained. Final phase is data presentation and writing-up
which consists of presenting the obtained data with the analysis to panels and completing the
study in a written format.

Research Plan :

Phase Activity Duration


1 Literature Review 5 months
2 Materials Preparation 5 months
3 Collect & Analysing Data 10 months
4 Data Presentation & Writing-Up 4 months
Total 24 months

Expected Outcome :

This study is hoped to provide the public transportation companies with possible solutions with
the public users in mind so that they can improve the service quality and attract more passengers
to using public transport. It is also hoped to assist related transportation agencies in creating a
better environment needed to boost the number of public transport users which will then be
parallel to the efforts that have been made by the government.

Softwares & Materials Needed :

a) Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS)


b) NVivo
c) Atlas.ti
d) Papers – for questionnaires

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