Gaining Insights into Public Transport Passenger Satisfaction using Crowdsourced Information A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master in Geographic Information Science at the University of Canterbury By Andrew George Douglas-Clifford University of Canterbury 2017 Supervisors: Dr Mairead de Roiste (Victoria University of Wellington) and Dr Angela Curl (University of Canterbury) 2017 1 CONTENTS Acknowledgments ..................................................................................................................................... 5 Glossary ..................................................................................................................................................... 6 1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 7 1.1 Context ...................................................................................................................................... 7 1.2 Problem ..................................................................................................................................... 7 1.3 Research Response .................................................................................................................... 8 1.4 Research Objectives and Roadmap ........................................................................................... 9 2 Literature Review ............................................................................................................................ 12 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 12 2.2 Public Transport and Passenger Feedback .............................................................................. 12 2.2.1 Overview .......................................................................................................................... 12 2.2.2 Passenger Satisfaction ..................................................................................................... 12 2.2.3 Data Collection Methodologies ....................................................................................... 15 2.3 Data Collection using a Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) Approach ..................... 17 2.3.1 Overview of VGI ............................................................................................................... 17 2.3.2 Data Collection Approaches to VGI ................................................................................. 17 2.3.3 Public Participation .......................................................................................................... 18 2.3.4 Motivation for Participation ............................................................................................ 18 2.3.5 Issues Surrounding VGI .................................................................................................... 19 2.4 Conclusions .............................................................................................................................. 20 3 Methodology ................................................................................................................................... 21 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 21 3.2 Case Study: Metro Bus Network, Christchurch, New Zealand ................................................ 23 3.3 Phase 1: Survey Development ................................................................................................. 24 3.3.1 Survey Design .................................................................................................................. 24 3.3.2 Technical Implementation ............................................................................................... 27 3.4 Phase 2: Data Collection .......................................................................................................... 31 3.4.1 On Board Bus Advertising ................................................................................................ 31 3.4.2 Bus Stop Advertising ........................................................................................................ 31 3.4.3 Social Media .................................................................................................................... 33 3.5 Phase 3: Real Time Dashboard for Operators ......................................................................... 33 3.6 Phase 4: Data Analysis ............................................................................................................. 34 2 3.6.1 Data Preparation ............................................................................................................. 34 3.6.2 Spatial Analysis and Additional Datasets ......................................................................... 35 3.6.3 Statistical Analysis ........................................................................................................... 35 3.6.4 Keyword Analysis ............................................................................................................. 35 3.7 Summary.................................................................................................................................. 35 4 Results ............................................................................................................................................. 37 4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 37 4.2 Information on Ridership ........................................................................................................ 37 4.2.1 Geographic Spread .......................................................................................................... 37 4.2.2 Location Error .................................................................................................................. 38 4.2.3 Temporal Spread ............................................................................................................. 40 4.2.4 Bus Route Spread ............................................................................................................ 41 4.2.5 Demographic Information ............................................................................................... 42 4.2.6 Trip Purpose .................................................................................................................... 44 4.3 Passenger Satisfaction ............................................................................................................. 44 4.3.1 By Area ............................................................................................................................ 44 4.3.2 By Time of Day ................................................................................................................. 48 4.3.3 By Route .......................................................................................................................... 49 4.3.4 Route Level versus Coordinate Level Satisfaction ........................................................... 49 4.4 Relationships with other Datasets .......................................................................................... 51 4.4.1 Weather ........................................................................................................................... 51 4.4.2 Safety ............................................................................................................................... 53 4.5 Passenger Suggested Improvements ...................................................................................... 54 4.5.1 Journey ............................................................................................................................ 54 4.5.2 Bus Service ....................................................................................................................... 56 4.5.3 On Board Improvements ................................................................................................. 56 4.5.4 Bus Driver ........................................................................................................................ 56 4.5.5 Making Transfers ............................................................................................................. 57 4.5.6 Bus Stop/Hub ................................................................................................................... 57 4.5.7 Summary of Open-ended Responses .............................................................................. 58 4.6 Feedback on Survey ................................................................................................................. 58 4.6.1 Interest in Providing Repeated Feedback ....................................................................... 58 4.6.2 Engagement in Feedback Process ................................................................................... 58 4.6.3 Public Response ............................................................................................................... 59 3 4.7 Summary.................................................................................................................................. 59 5 Discussion