IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/pubtra/v16y2024i1d10.1007_s12469-023-00328-5.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Exploring the passengers’ socio-economic structure and its impact on the perception of railway infrastructures and services in Tripura, India

Author

Listed:
  • Stabak Roy

    (Tripura University)

  • Gabriella Mazzulla

    (University of Calabria)

  • Samrat Hore

    (Tripura University)

  • Saptarshi Mitra

    (Tripura University)

Abstract

The railway is a cost-efficient transport system that ensures economic development, social well-being, environmental sustainability and regional cooperation. As a prime mode of public transportation, it provides significant passenger service throughout the world. It is necessary to understand what passengers think about railway infrastructures and services to enhance passenger satisfaction, increase ridership and reduce the railway policy gap. Many socio-economic factors like education, income and occupation may influence the epistemological thought process of passengers about railway infrastructure and service quality. This study was conducted in Tripura, North-eastern India, to examine the effect of a passenger’s socio-economic structure on their perception of railway infrastructures and services. About 735 samples were collected from all 27 railway stations of Tripura through stratified random sampling. To understand passenger perceptions about railway infrastructure, a 5-Point Likert Scale has been used. A Modified Satisfaction Index (MSI) has been proposed to analyse the degree of passenger satisfaction by modifying an existing method. The Kuppuswamy socio-economic scale has been used to identify the association of social class on passenger perception to address the policy gap and provide alternative technical solutions by formulating effective strategies for enhancing service quality. The contribution of the study is to provide insights into the importance of considering socio-economic factors in enhancing service quality and improving passenger satisfaction. Additionally, the proposed MSI can offer a reliable and practical tool for measuring passenger satisfaction with railway services.

Suggested Citation

  • Stabak Roy & Gabriella Mazzulla & Samrat Hore & Saptarshi Mitra, 2024. "Exploring the passengers’ socio-economic structure and its impact on the perception of railway infrastructures and services in Tripura, India," Public Transport, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 213-240, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:pubtra:v:16:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s12469-023-00328-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s12469-023-00328-5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s12469-023-00328-5
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s12469-023-00328-5?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tripathi, Sabyasachi & Kaur, Hardeep, 2017. "Determinants of Rural to Urban Migration in Large Agglomerations in India: An Empirical Analysis," MPRA Paper 76484, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Ahmad Nazrul Hakimi Ibrahim & Muhamad Nazri Borhan & Muhamad Razuhanafi Mat Yazid & Riza Atiq Rahmat & Sotaro Yukawa, 2021. "Factors Influencing Passengers’ Satisfaction with the Light Rail Transit Service in Alpha Cities: Evidence from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Using Structural Equation Modelling," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(16), pages 1-15, August.
    3. Qiao, Si & Yeh, Anthony Gar-On, 2021. "Is ride-hailing a valuable means of transport in newly developed areas under TOD-oriented urbanization in China? Evidence from Chengdu City," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    4. Abhishek Kumar, 2018. "Water ATMs of Indian Railways: Causing a Silent Revolution," Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers, , vol. 43(2), pages 106-114, June.
    5. Godwin Yeboah & Caitlin D. Cottrill & John D. Nelson & David Corsar & Milan Markovic & Peter Edwards, 2019. "Understanding factors influencing public transport passengers’ pre-travel information-seeking behaviour," Public Transport, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 135-158, June.
    6. Grażyna Rosa, 2021. "Passenger Preferences in Rail Transport in Poland as Regards Travelling Time and Cost," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-16, April.
    7. Solvoll, Gisle & Mathisen, Terje Andreas & Welde, Morten, 2020. "Forecasting air traffic demand for major infrastructure changes," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kriswardhana, Willy & Esztergár-Kiss, Domokos, 2023. "Exploring the aspects of MaaS adoption based on college students’ preferences," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 113-125.
    2. Orozco-Fontalvo, Mauricio & Moura, Filipe, 2023. "Refocusing MaaS approach: A brief," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 340-342.
    3. Grażyna Rosa, 2024. "Sustainable development of passenger transport in Poland in the context of young passengers’ preference survey," Public Transport, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 241-268, March.
    4. Sanusi Ibrahim & Yinggui Zhang & Abdulaziz Ahmad, 2025. "Rail-based public transportation service quality and customer satisfaction: a decade of insights and advances," Public Transport, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 45-69, March.
    5. Štefancová Vladimíra & Harantová Veronika & Mazanec Jaroslav & Mašek Jaroslav & Foltýnová Hana Brůhová, 2023. "Analysis of Passenger Behaviour During the Covid-19 Pandemic Situation," LOGI – Scientific Journal on Transport and Logistics, Sciendo, vol. 14(1), pages 203-214, January.
    6. Dinis, Duarte & Barbosa-Póvoa, Ana & Teixeira, Ângelo Palos, 2022. "Enhancing capacity planning through forecasting: An integrated tool for maintenance of complex product systems," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 178-192.
    7. Qiao, Si & Zhang, Mengzhu & Yeh, Anthony Gar-On, 2023. "Mind the gender gap in ride-hailing from the demand side," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    8. Sarthak Sahu & Saket Shanker & Aditya Kamat & Akhilesh Barve, 2023. "India’s public transportation system: the repercussions of COVID-19," Public Transport, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 435-478, June.
    9. Li, Lisa & Shalaby, Amer, 2024. "Navigating the transit network: Understanding riders’ information seeking behavior using trip planning data," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    10. Francesco Russo & Giuseppe Fortugno & Marco Merante & Domenica Savia Pellicanò & Maria Rosaria Trecozzi, 2021. "Updating National Air Passenger Demand from Traffic Counts: The Case of a Secondary Airport in an Underdeveloped Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-16, July.
    11. Chang, Chia-Hsun & Lin, Chi-Chang & Yang, Zaili & Kontovas, Christos, 2024. "Evaluating the social acceptance of autonomous ferries: An observation from passengers’ boarding willingness," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 83-94.
    12. Rafael Bernardo Carmona Benitez & Maria Rosa Nieto, 2023. "A methodology for calculating the unmet passenger demand in the air transportation industry," Papers 23003, Working Papers of Business and Economics School. Anahuac University (Mexico)..

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Railway infrastructures; Passenger perception; Modified Satisfaction Index; Kuppuswamy socio-economic scale;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L92 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Railroads and Other Surface Transportation
    • H54 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Infrastructures
    • R41 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise
    • R58 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Regional Development Planning and Policy
    • O21 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - Planning Models; Planning Policy
    • O53 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Asia including Middle East

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:pubtra:v:16:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s12469-023-00328-5. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.