TITLE:
Gap Analysis between Women Passengers’ Perception and Expectations about Bus Service: A Case Study on Bangladesh
AUTHORS:
Ayesha Umme, Kojima Aya, Kubota Hisashi
KEYWORDS:
Public Bus, Public Transport, Women Commuters, Service Quality, SERVQUAL, Bangladesh, Perceptions, Expectations
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Transportation Technologies,
Vol.12 No.2,
April
27,
2022
ABSTRACT: Since public bus service is frequently available and
reasonably priced in major cities of Bangladesh including Dhaka, the capital
city, a significant number of economically active women regularly commute to
work utilizing public buses. Since female commuters experience unique
challenges compared to their male counterparts, a gap analysis on the
perception of men and women, as well as the difference between the female
commuters’ perceptions and expectations, could help to pinpoint the issues. The
aim of this paper is to determine the gap between female commuters’ perceptions
and expectations of bus service quality in Bangladesh, as well as the current
perception of both male and female passengers. In this paper,
the data obtained is studied to determine
the service quality needs which should be improved by analyzing the perception
and expectation gaps for female passengers. SERVQUAL models were used to examine the disparities between
perceptions and aspirations in Bangladesh’s major cities. Tangibility,
reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy are the five dimensions of
SERVQUAL. The data for this study was collected from 1500 commuters in
Bangladesh’s largest cities, including Dhaka, Gazipur, and Narayanganj. Primary
data was gathered using a purpose-built questionnaire survey. The Gap values
are negative in all dimensions, according to the findings of the study. In the
data analysis, a negative gap value indicates that the expectation exceeds the
perception. According to the gap analysis, the quality of bus service for
passengers is insufficient. Bus service quality is seen and expected to be
quite varied. It is vital to improve bus service to meet the needs of women.
The findings could be valuable in planning future transportation policies that
take female commuters’ needs into account.