Report On Questionnaire

Business Research Analysis- Light Rail Transit

Introduction
Light Rail Transit (LRT) is usually referred to as, trams or trolleys in common language. “This particular rail system is designed to specify suitable local Public Transit facility on busy urban passages, concerning main objectives such as central commercial districts, medical centers, campuses and entertaining centers” (TDM Encyclopedia). LRT automobiles manage to have comparatively suave and contented process, informal entering, appealing Stations, Transit Leaning Growth, and easy-to-understand passages and schedules. “Many rail systems have speedy satisfying and Transit Precedence explanations (grade departure and traffic signal anticipation) to amplify travel speeds and minimalize jamming postponement” (TDM Encyclopedia). They are frequently sustained with appropriate customer knowledge (numerous city maps display rail transit courses and stations) and further Transit Encouragement policies to escalate ridership. This business proposal will aim at drafting a comprehensive research analysis to draft a strategic development plan for LRT system in London for the next ten years. Our aim will be to base the foundation of this plan on the customer feedback and reviews. Priority will be given to maximize customer satisfaction during the course of the following ten years by drafting appropriate strategies and policies. For this purpose to gather the customer feedback we will be focusing on drafting a relevant questionnaire, deciding the appropriate method of its distribution along with other relevant documents that will provide us with a further comprehensive customer response and we will also critically analyze the success of the drafted questionnaire in gathering the aimed research from the market. In the end of this report we will assess the finding from the research data collected and analytically evaluate it along with defining its managerial implications.

As an instrument for the procurement of relevant information and views, questionnaires have numerous benefits as well as limitations side by side, in comparison to other forms of market research tools. We will employ the method of using the questionnaire survey in order to gather the views of the customer regarding the future developments in the LRT. “In general, questionnaires are effectual tool for competent gathering of certain kinds of information. They are not, though, a inclusive measures of estimation and must be used to sustain and complement other measures for assessing and improving the current systems” (EconomicsNetwork.). But due to the fact that the growth plan is essentially focused on the customer views, our report will be solely relying on the information gathered from the questionnaires.

Distribution Channels

There will be various distribution channels used in order to gain the maximum and diverse number of respondents. Following is the list of the distribution channels:
E-MAIL: We will distribute our online survey via e-mail. “It will initially contain an invitation message and concisely present the online survey, its aims, its estimated completion time and its deadline for responding” (Tutorial). We will be follow in real-time the replies and outcomes of the survey. Also in order to ensure that we get a maximum response we aim at sending reminders straightaway to non-responses.
SOCIAL NETWORKS: Utilizing the famous modes of social network, we will circulate our online survey via social networks: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc

QR-CODES: “Our ask respondents credits to QR-Codes found in our interactive backings and exhibits” (Tutorial)

ONLINE: We will also be distributing the survey by using online websites
PAPER FORM: Lastly, we will be deploying this selection of distributing your our drafted questionnaire in a paper form.
All the above-mentioned forms of distribution will ensure that a diverse and a large sample size are collected. Such distribution channels will guarantee that we can collect an unbiased data. Moreover, we have opted for more online and electronic forms of distribution channels. This will result in controlling the cost of the survey and will reduce the physical effort being put into the distribution of the survey. Along with this distribution network will provide a more comfortable environment for the respondents as they can answer the survey in their personal comfort zones form the personal electronic devices. The physical distribution of the survey in paper form will capture that sample, which do not have an access to the electronic media or that avoid answering online surveys.

Evaluation

We will now discuss in comprehensive depth the evaluation of the survey designed. We will throw light on the advantages and the disadvantages of the questionnaire used. Furthermore, we will also assess the factors that have affected the success rate of this survey. To obtain maximum results, it's significant to evaluate how effective this particular questionnaire was. There are numerous factors, which were not in our control mostly, that might have disturbed the accomplishment of this questionnaire.
We will first evaluate the design of our questionnaire drafted. We have focused to keep the length of the questionnaire as minimal as possible. This has ensured that the respondent hasn’t lost his interest while answering the survey. The length of the survey was crucial to us as people have extremely busy schedules and in current days time is money. Therefore it is of imperative importance for us to keep the length of the questionnaire as short as possible so that the respondent can fill out the survey more efficiently within the little time frame available. Moreover, we have also kept the questions in the survey as simple as possible. We have avoided including any sort of complex questions that might be difficult for the every person in our sample to comprehend. We have kept in mind all sorts of people will varying mental capabilities and in order to ensure that we get the maximum number of response and that too more accurate ones. Complex questions in a survey confuse the respondents and results in wrong results that might alter the objective of the survey. Therefore, it’s a critical success factor that we have incorporated in our survey keeping all the questions fairly simple, easy to comprehend and give response too. Also, easy questionnaires require lesser time to provide a response too, hence it will have a much higher chances of getting more responses, increasing the data collected and fulfilling the objective of the survey. To guarantee that the questionnaire is meeting the purpose of the study that is being carried to we have also confirm to make it clear to the respondent that how important this study is in determining their comfort and convenience in the future regarding the service of the LRT that they use. When the respondent is aware of the importance of the study for its personal purpose, it increases the likelihood of the probability of getting a response from them. It does not only obtain the response but also confirms that the respondent will take it more seriously to answer the questions in a more honest way. He will respond to the survey more honestly. We will use various methods for promoting the importance of the survey within the public. The use of word of mouth, where we will rely on people providing this information to each other and converting this into an information chain, quickly makes this survey known amongst them. Also we will use newspaper and other forms of electronic media to provide the knowledge to the public that the survey results will used in their own benefit to the maximum. This will not only encourage people to participate but also grantee a more sincere response, fulfilling the aim of the questionnaire and making it a success. The design of the questionnaire is also of extreme importance. We have made sure that we incorporate diverse questions that highlights the maximum number of features of LRT that we assume affects the customers the most. We have only focused on those features of LRT in the survey that we think the consumer would want to see more developed and changed in the near future. By this we have aimed at gauging the priority in those areas of LRT that needs the maximum improvements.

They allow the respondents time to deliberate their replies cautiously without meddling from anyone else like in an interviewer.

It has proven to be extremely cost efficient. It is possible to deliver questionnaires to huge numbers of individuals instantaneously.
It also allows for uniformity. “Every respondent gets the duplicate set of questions. With closed-form questions, responses are standardized, which can assist in inferring from large numbers of respondents.” (EconomicsNetwork)
It has provided us the platform to address a large number of issues and questions of apprehension in a comparatively competent way, with the likelihood of a excessive response rate.
“In our survey, questionnaires are intended so that responses to questions are scored and scores summed to obtain an overall amount of the stances and sentiments of the respondent”(EconomicsNetwork).

We will also list the following disadvantages of questionnaires that we will encounter in the survey:

It may be problematic to get a good response rate. Frequently there is no convincing incentive for respondents to reply.
“It might be an inappropriate technique of evaluation if probing is required. There is usually no real possibility for follow-up on answers” (EconomicsNetwork).

Quality of statistics is perhaps not as extraordinary as with substitute methods of data assortment.

There is also a likely possibility that it can be misrepresented. An error is to try to declaim too much into questionnaire outcomes.

Research

Data analysis
Our data collection has been focused on gathering survey from both males and females randomly, without any bias. We have collected in total of 200-sample size. The data represents the customer’s response in terms of satisfaction he has in the particular aspect of the LRT in London.
After the careful analysis of the data we have concluded that there were 86 numbers of the female respondents as compared to the 114 males. The following chart shows the comparison between the LRT users dividing them into two groups, males and females:
This establishes the fact that there is more number of males frequent travellers as compared to the females in the LRT system in London. We also evaluate that the number of travellers that use the LRT is the maximum in the evening time. This can be described as a peak hours for the LRT.
The following statistics shows that there is a varied view reading the safety concerns on the LRT system in London. Most people think that the safety standards of the LRT is quiet average and need to be pondered upon in the future development programs. Mostly the lower security faith is been seen amongst the female travellers and the time considered to be least safe is the later evening time.
After carefully analyzing the data, it is obvious that there is a clear link between the time and day of the week. The number of people taking the tram in the evening and morning are the highest when it a weekday. On the other hand the time, which is popular in the weekend is evening and later evening when the traveller use the tramp. The following regression line shows that there is relationship between the week of the day and the time the person travels on:
We could not establish a link between the number of people travelling and the number of travels. There seems to be a random order in the regards to the relation between these two variables.
The following graph shows the quality of overall satisfaction that the consumers gain from the use of the LRT system in the London.
More than half of the satisfaction points have been lost. This reflects the fact that there is a huge room for improvement and increasing the individual satisfaction, as on average an individual is satisfied to a 6 number out of 10. This shows that we can increase the overall customer satisfaction.
The overall satisfaction shows that 153 travellers rank the overall cleanliness to be above the standard of 3. Amongst these travellers almost 75% of the travellers have rated the satisfaction to be also above the level of 3. This clearly depict that those travellers that considered the LRT cleanliness standard to be above a certain acceptable level also are over all satisfied with the performance of the LRT in London. Also there are 105 travellers, which are more than half of the sample size that consider the value of the money to be above is the level of 5, which is an extremely high scoring. However, there are varied views on the scoring of the over all satisfaction. 45% of these people who have scored the value of the money to be above 5 have not shown to be over satisfied with only scoring below 5. The rest 55% have had shown a higher over all satisfaction.
Our regression model with satisfaction being the dependent factor and safety, value, cleanliness and reliability will be the independent variables effecting the overall satisfaction of the LRT for the customers.

The function that describes x and y is : 

Y will denote the overall satisfaction whereas alpha will One who gives scores of 4, 5, 7 and 10 for safety, value, cleanliness and reliability respectively.
Y will denote the overall satisfaction whereas alpha will One who gives scores of 1, 2, 3 and 1 for safety, value, cleanliness and reliability respectively
The strongest link over here is amongst the reliability and the over satisfaction. This can been seen from the following regression line and regression statistics:

Findings

After the collection and the analysis of the data we have obtained the results from the survey that is being carried out. The following graph presents the level of satisfaction that the customer satisfaction levels on the previously defined features:
The numbering of the features is mentioned in the data analysis section. This is clear from the above graph that lowest customer satisfaction prevails in the customer service department. This shows that this department of LRT London is not functioning efficiently and needs to be worked on in the future. Moreover it also predicts that people prefer other modes of transportation rather then using LRT in London. This is a rising concern for the authorities. In the preceding decades the concentrations of movement have augmented significantly in all European countries (MOTIF, 1998). This increases apprehension about growing car use and the consequences of this in relationships of obstruction and pollution. “Another important piece to be measured in decision-making regarding transport is the present and altering type of society and lifestyle patterns which produce varied travel needs. Most people are now extremely reliant on on car travel” (Anable, 2005). However, the car is further more than merely a way of transport. “Additional reasons than just its contributory purposes seem to play an important role, such as feelings of sensation, power, freedom, status and superiority” (Steg, 2005). The authorities needs to draft such growth plans in the future that takes into consideration the reasons of the public to prefer other modes of transportation especially car and try to provide those features in LRT system in London in order to reduce the amount of pollution and traffic congestion in the city. Moreover our findings have also predicted that the customers see the LRT system in London to be a safe mode of transportation. The rising crime rates on the roads of London are the essential reason for it. The future development plans should incorporate more security cameras within the LRT stations and the trams as well. The managers should also focus on proving more frequent service to the customers at the odd times during night to continue to be a source of safety for them. The respondents have also shown a satisfaction of the cleanliness of the LRT. The cleaning department is working efficiently, however there are huge chances of improvements within this department. The over all number that it got from the survey finding is still low. The managers in the future development plans should hire more workers that have more regular shifts in the stations as well as the trams. There should be extra staff working specially for the peak hours in London. There is also dissatisfaction seen amongst the customers regarding the timings of LRT in London at the peak hours. The customers have shown little faith in the timing that means that they have to face trouble taking the LRT during the peak hours in London.

The following clustered bar depicts the number of travels by the respondents on an weekly average:

We can see that the maximum number of the journey per week does not exceed the limit of 40. Amongst the entire sample size there are only a few respondents that have the maximum number of the trips to be 40 and the rest presents a random series of respondents.

Managerial implications

“In the conventional marketing model the focus of marketing activities is principally focused towards drawing new customers instead of keeping present ones and the fundamental statement is that the market comprises of a very large number of consumers” (McCarthy, 1960). In order to capture more customers in the future and retain the existing ones the management should focus on the customer service department. The survey has shown that the customer has least satisfied from the help that they get from this department. “It emphasizes the general quality of interactions between a seller and a customer (from the latter’s perspective) rather than the quality of the specific core offering” (Parasuraman). The future development plans should incorporate more security cameras within the LRT stations and the trams as well. The managers should also focus on proving more frequent service to the customers at the odd times during night to continue to be a source of safety for them. The cleaning department is working efficiently, however there are huge chances of improvements within this department. The over all number that it got from the survey finding is still low. The managers in the future development plans should hire more workers that have more regular shifts in the stations as well as the trams. There should be extra staff working specially for the peak hours in London. The managers should take the indication regarding the number of journeys by each individuals is less and only a few reaching to 40. This might mean that the LRT is not cost efficient and the management needs to revise the cost structure in the future planning of the LRT in London. The management should also draft more frequent schemes regarding discounts given to the customer on a regular basis. This will encourage the ridership. The management after examining the results of the survey need to increase the times o the LRT during the peak hours in London. This would mean that number of times the LRT will provide the service during the peak times will be after every 5-10 minutes. This will increase the convenience of the customers and will ensure that there is not over crowding of the passengers during these times.

Works Cited

Parasuraman, A. "Customer service in business-to-business markets: an agenda for research." Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing 13.4/5 (1998): 309-321.
Holmlund, Maria, and SÖRen Kock. "Relationship marketing: the importance of customer-perceived service quality in retail banking." Service Industries Journal16.3 (1996): 287-304.
"How to Distribute Your Survey." Tutorial. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Jan. 2015
J. Anable ‘Complacent car addicts’ or ‘aspiring environmentalists’? Identifying travel behaviour segments using attitude theory Transport Policy, 12 (1) (2005), pp. 65–78
"Light Rail Transit." Online TDM Encyclopedia. Victoria Transport Policy Institute, 2014. Web. 13 Jan. 2015.
L. Steg Car use: lust and must. Instrumental, symbolic and affective motives for car use Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 39 (2–3) (2005), pp. 147–162
MOTIF 1998. Market orientated transport in focus. Transport Research Fourth Framework Programme, Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.
"Questionnaires." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 13 Jan. 2015.
What Is the Purpose of Questionnaires?" EconomicsNetwork. University of Bristol, 2013. Web. 13 Jan. 2015.
Appendix
Questionnaire