Likert scale vs. visual analogue scale on vehicle seat discomfort questionnaire: a review

Discomfort measurement has usually been attempted by asking the participants to rate the scale of their discomfort which commonly termed as a subjective scale. Various studies had conducted the discomfort level on vehicle seat by using Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Likert scale. VAS is a tool that use to measure a discomfort or characteristics in range across a continuum of values. Meanwhile, Likert-scale is a tool consist of items that require respondents to rate their degrees of comfort or discomfort with various declarative statements. Thus, the purpose of this study is to review, discuss and compare between the VAS and Likert scale used on the development and assessment of sitting discomfort survey in seat vehicles. The literature on various topics related to questionnaire development on discomfort in seat vehicle were collected from electronic databases. Four high-quality studies were eligible and met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Overall, there is no evidence and conclusion that neither visual analogue scale nor Likert scale are better to one another. Therefore, it can be concluded that either of this scale still applicable for the ergonomic research application as both of this scale have their own pros and cons

Development of a high-powered motorcycle seat discomfort survey (MSDS): traffic police motorcycle

High-powered motorcycles are commonly used as traffic police motorcycles worldwide. However, the seating discomfort for this type of motorcycles is less studied. Furthermore, there is no specific standardised questionnaire to evaluate the seating discomfort for high-powered motorcycles. Thus, the purpose of this study is to develop a high-powered motorcycles seating discomfort survey (MSDS) and evaluate its validity as well as reliability. Inputs from literature and key informants helped in establishing the appropriate terms used for each questionnaire item. Traffic police riders with no musculoskeletal disorders history and good physical condition participated in this study. Each participant was asked to rate their seat discomfort after a 20-min ride. The results indicate that this survey is reliable with a significant reliability coefficient of (r = 0.84, p 0.75). As a result, this study successfully evaluated and identified the level of discomfort of a high-powered motorcycle seat among users using this MSDS which is statistically proven in its validity and reliability. Therefore, it can be used as an ergonomic measuring tool to improve the discomfort of high-powered motorcycle seat

Public Transport City Bus In Surakarta: A Servqual Inside-Out

Urban public transport has a very important role in serving city need for transportation and provides public convenience to carry out their activities. The purpose of this research is to know and to analyze service quality of city bus public transport in Surakarta. To determine the quality of transportation service, several dimensions were used such as reliability, accessibility, comfortable, tangible, and assurance. The method used was descriptive statistics. The data were collected through a survey of 150 city bus passengers from 5 bus companies. Quality measurement of the Importance and Performance Analysis (IPA) which compares the user's perception of the interests of the user views the passenger's perception on service performance. The results from using the Cartesian Diagram are 7 attributes in quadrant A which means performance is lower than the interest / expectations of consumers and 2 attributes in quadrant B which means that the performance of services relevant to the interests / expectations of consumers. Whereas in Quadrant C there is only 1 attribute, where the interests of the service and performance are equally low, and in quadrant D there are 4 attributes, which in this quadrant mentions that high performance yet is considered less important attribute for the user. With regard to the outcome of the Cartesian Diagram, where most of the attributes are in quadrant A (attributes to improve); it is recommended for these attributes should be a top priority and should be carried out to solve in order to meet the expectations of consumers / users of public transport buses. Keyword: urban transport, quality of service, service dimension

Tomorrow’s car – for today’s people : can tilting three wheeled vehicles be a solution for the problems of today and the future?

The current automotive industry and todays car drivers are faced with every increasing challenges, not previously experienced. Climate Change, financial issues, rising fuel prices, increased traffic congestion and reduced parking space in cities are all leading to changes in consumer preferences and the requirements of modern passenger vehicles. However, despite the shift in the industry dynamics, the principal layout of a car hasn’t changed since its invention. The design of a ’conventional’ vehicle is still principally a matchbox with four wheels, one at each corner. The concept has served its purpose well for over 100 years, but such a layout is not suited to solving today’s problems. To address the range of problems faced by the industry, a number of alternative commuting vehicles have been developed. Yet the commercialization of these ‘alternative’ vehicles has yet to be successful. This is largely due failure of these vehicles to meet the changing demands of the industry and the limited understanding of consumer behaviour, motivation and attitudes. Deakin University’s Tomorrow’s Car concept tackles all of these problems. The vehicle is a novel three-wheeler cross over concept between a car and a motorbike that combines the best of both worlds. The vehicle combines the low cost, small size and ‘fun’ factor of a motorbike together with the safety, comfort and easy to drive features of a car produce a vehicle with a fuel efficiency better than either car or scooter. Intensive market research has been conducted for various major potential markets of alternative vehicles including India, China and Australia. The research analysed consumer attitudes in relation to narrow tilting vehicles, and in particular towards Deakin’s Tomorrow’s Car (TC). The study revealed that a relatively large percentage of consumers find such a concept very appealing. For the other consumers, the overall appearance and perception of safety and not the actual safety performance were found to be the most impeding factors of such vehicles. By addressing these issues and marketing the vehicle accordingly the successful commercialization of Tomorrow’s Car can be ensured

Assessment of Campus Bus Service Efficacy: An Application towards Green Environment

AbstractEnvironmental issues on public transport and greening the campus for sustainability have been the priorities for Malaysian public universities, particularly in ensuring the efficiency and effectiveness of the bus service. The study focused on twelve universities (N=8000) in the Klang valley, Selangor, Malaysia. Also, interviews with university transport officers presented the qualitative aspects for data triangulation. Results from the analysis provided the empirical evidence for campus bus service efficacy leading towards a greener and conducive environment on the university grounds. Greening the campus should be a shared core responsibility where all stakeholders should take an active part in environmental care

Development of Fingerprint Engine Starter

There had been numbers of researches that worked on biometrics. This study was focused on biometric application for motorbikes and scooters. There are lot of motorbikes that we encountered every day, and carjacking and car napping is everywhere. This study was then conducted in order to apply more security and avoid unauthorized use of the motorbike. The primary purpose of this study is to explore the development of an electric engine starter into a fingerprint-based engine starter to upgrade and develop higher security in a vehicle especially on motorbikes and scooters that are widely used by students of the Batangas State University ARASOF Nasugbu. The research study focuses in the design and adaptability of the fingerprint engine starter to provide a security for motorbikes and scooters. The researchers summed up the whole study and concluded that there was a significant difference between the existing Electric Engine Starter System and the Fingerprint Engine Starter for Motorbikes and Scooters. The evaluated Fingerprint Engine Starter for Motorbikes and Scooters offers more security compared to the existing Electric Engine Starting System. Keywords: Motorbike, Fingerprint Scanner, Registratio

Modelling public transport mode choice for low-income residential suburbs in Harare, Zimbabwe

Modern-day life in developing urban cities is structured around the need to access goods and services outside the vicinity of residential areas, and transportation facilitates access to such services. Like many other African cities, most of the residents in Harare sorely rely on public transport, and while the government of Zimbabwe acknowledges the need for efficient public transportation systems in the country's urban environments, insufficient commitment and political will have been directed towards developing strategic plans with clear and well-defined objectives. The development of public transport plans and policies requires a good understanding of the passengers' service quality needs and willingness to pay for service quality improvements. In this study, we use stated choice preference data collected from five high-density suburbs in Harare (n = 361) to investigate the influence of service quality indicators to travel mode choice decisions. Multinomial, mixed, and latent class logit models are developed under the random utility maximisation framework and compared to identify the best model. The model is used to evaluate the willingness to pay indicators for public transport service improvements and outline the contributions of the findings to possible policy directives. The results suggest that latent class models better explain observed choices than mixed and multinomial logit counterparts. With regards to public transport mode choice behaviour, the study classifies the population into two distinct groups on the basis of gender, income, employment status, and location. The willingness to pay indicators shows a substantial difference in the value of all the public transport attributes between the groups, except for waiting time. The willingness to pay for improvements in waiting time, which relates to service frequency, is standard at Z$65 per hour. Noteworthy is the classification of the suburbs between the groups; the posterior analysis indicates that Chitungwiza residents have the highest willingness to pay and Budiriro, the least. This research is of value to ZUPCO and other potential private players in identifying service quality deficiencies and understanding the requirements of public transport service provision at the suburban level. The strong inertia towards kombis emphasises the general dissatisfaction with ZUPCO service quality levels while providing insights into lagging areas that future policy deliberations could address. The research presents a potential performance framework to the Harare city council against which the public transport service provision can be assessed. Most importantly, the findings might be useful in further understanding the public transport landscape in other cities in Zimbabwe, similar to the high-density suburbs used as study areas in this research

An application of stated choice to the valuation of bus attributes: a case study of Dhaka, Bangladesh

Bus is the main mode of urban transport in most cities in developing countries. Despite a high mode share, bus service quality is often poor and para-transit services are regarded as a problem in urban transport systems rather than a solution. Using Dhaka as a case study, this thesis investigates bus service quality through identification and valuation of thirteen important attributes using discrete choice models. The attributes examined are travel time, travel cost, waiting time, headway, priority seats for women, crowding inside the bus, boarding and alighting, picking up and dropping off passengers, bus stop facilities, driving quality, driver and crew behaviour, cleanliness inside the bus, and air conditioning. Five focus groups were conducted to identify key qualitative bus attributes and their levels in order to design choice experiments for valuation. A survey of 431 respondents in Dhaka was then undertaken. Two choice experiments were designed and implemented within the survey, each with seven attributes (set A and set B) with travel cost as the common attribute. Multinomial Logit (MNL) models and Mixed Logit (MXL) models were developed using the Dhaka choice data. Twelve of the thirteen attributes were statistically significant at the 99% level. The values of in-vehicle time (IVT), waiting time and headway were BDT 34.80, 47.40 and 64.20 per hour respectively for low income groups in the segmented model. Waiting time has a premium valuation, 1.36 times higher than IVT, which endorses existing evidence. The highest valuation is for the dummy variable seating all the way which is BDT 42.20 for high income females. The next largest was bus stops properly, picks and drops passengers nicely , followed by wide door and mild steps for boarding and alighting , smooth and safe journey , bus stop with shed, but no seating arrangements , and air conditioning . The lowest value was BDT 4.61 for deck and seats are clean and tidy , for the low income group. The WTP for the qualitative attributes is high, but given the poor level of the existing service and low fare levels this seems reasonable. Income has a significant impact on travel cost, as well as gender on priority seats for women and crowding inside the bus. However, household car ownership does not have a significant impact on any of the bus attributes examined. The high income group has 75% higher WTP for A set attributes and 79% higher WTP for B set attributes than low income group. Females have 76% higher WTP for standing comfortably all the way , but 38% higher WTP for seating all the way compared to the male. However, females have a WTP of BDT 0.44 for per percent of priority seats for women in contrast with males who have a WTP of BDT -0.11. There is significant taste heterogeneity for both quantitative and qualitative attributes. The qualitative attributes for picking up and dropping off passengers, boarding and alighting facilities and driving facilities have higher valuation and this attributes came from the existing within the market competition structure in a highly fragmented bus market. Therefore, it is recommended to introduce competition for the market and incentives for bus industry consolidation

Smaller, lighter, faster? Reducing the carbon footprint of ambulances

This paper outlines a feasibility project investigating the potential for smaller, lighter rapid response vehicles (RRVs) in reducing the carbon footprint and response times of ambulances. Five stakeholder consultations were held with two ambulance trusts, an ambulance manufacturer, a paramedic and the Ultra-Light Vehicle Group to generate three novel design concepts for RRVs, which were then reviewed by four UK fleet managers and four clinicians. The results indicated that the integrated clinician service model could create a future market for smaller, lighter vehicles. Reducing carbon emissions in the short term will most likely be achieved using lower emission engines and improving engine and power management for dual-crewed ambulances. In the medium term (5–10 years), there will be a demand for low emission, composite light-weight dual-crewed ambulances