Proceedings in Management, Social Sciences and Humanities, 9th International Research Conference-KDU, Sri 2016 Lanka CUSTOMERS' PERSPECTIVE ON THE FACILITIES PROVIDED BY SOUTHERN EXPRESSWAY SERVICES, SRI LANKA N.M. Wanniarachchi 1#, W.L.Rathnayake2 1Faculty of Management and Social Sciences CINEC Maritime Campus Millennium Drive, IT Park Malabe, SriLanka 2Faculty of Management and Social Sciences CINEC Maritime Campus Millennium Drive, IT Park Malabe, Sri Lanka <[email protected]> Abstract - Southern Expressway is the first link of the road transportation. The development of Road rules were Expressway network planned for Sri Lanka. “What is the begun in 19th century. The first zebra crossing, double customers’ perspective on the current facilities provided by yellow lines at the sides of the roads for no parking, was the Southern Expressway Services” is the research problem introduced during this period (Lambert, 2014). During the addressed by the study and based on that, evaluating the industrial era, the evolution of automobile has changed customers’ perspective on the facilities provided by the and the future of roads and highway networks has Southern Expressway Services has been the objective of the developed with more facilities. Travellers demanded not study. Primary data was collected through a structured only a safe road but also a good service and properly questionnaire, collected online and manually, targeting maintained facilities during their journey. The demand for three hundred and fifty (350) passengers, travelled by both high quality road services had become increased during this private and public modes of transportation based on the period. The transportation feasibility became an important stratified random sampling technique and 78% valid role by acting as one of the major drivers of global responses received with 0.880 Cranach’s Alpha value in competition (Basri, 2008).The Expressway is a Class 1 Reliability Statistics of data. As per the descriptive analysis, Highway, which is a divided arterial highway for through attending to work stations and official travels are the main traffic with full or partial control of access and generally purposes of travelling among 41% of respondents and 54% with grade separations at major intersections (Highway are using their private vehicles. Moreover ninety three functional classification, 2013). The first expressway of Sri precent (93%) of the respondents considers expressways Lanka was the Southern Expressway (E01), which had been are as a modern need in the society. As per the Factor built by Road Development Authority Sri Lanka. It has been Analysis and the Principal Components Analysis, twelve a welcome change to the existing road transportation components have been derived namely as Vantage factors, network and a quite comfortable experience to the Sri Road Directives, Value Added Service Factor, Penalty and Lankan travellers. The study is based on the customer Number of Toll Entrance and etc. Furthermore availability perspective on the service quality of the Southern of a mini hospital in the Canowin arcade and a recreation Expressway services from Kottawa to Goodagama. The centre are the main facilities recommended to be added Road Development Authority, Sri Lanka maintains the and improved in Southern Expressway Services in the study Southern Expressway (RDA, 2015). and expanding the study for other express ways in Sri Lanka is a major recommendation for future researches. To address the distance problem from Colombo harbour to Hambantota Airport the expressway had been built as a Keywords: Expressways, Customer perspective, Factor proposed project of Road Development Authority. The Analysis distance between Kottawa to Hambantota in A8 is 206 km. The distance from Kottawa to Matara in B158 is 150 km. The Southern Expressway has currently reduced the time I. INTRODUCTION taken to travel from Kottawa to Galle (116 km) to one hour from three hours and Kottawa to Matara (161 km) to one The first form of transportation had been instigated and half hours from four hours taken by the regular thousands of years before the invention of wheel. Early traveller in a A2 highway (Thassim, 2011). The Government humans walking the same paths repeatedly to get their of Sri Lanka and the Export and Import Bank of China had daily needs promptly formed the first road system. During negotiated to fund the project with the aids from Japan the eighteenth century, the development of private toll Bank for International Corporation (JBIC) and the Asian roads in the Europe and France showed a rapid growth in Development Bank (ADB). JBIC had provided a loan 116 Proceedings in Management, Social Sciences and Humanities, 9th International Research Conference-KDU, Sri 2016 Lanka amounting dollar 2.05 billion ($2.05bn) and ADB had “Quality of Roads and Bridges as a major factor that provided dollar 1.03 billion ($1.03bn). The Sri Lankan affect the customer satisfaction. John Gaffney (2006) government had allocated Rs. 122.7 billion for road has mentioned “timely information on changes in road development. The cost of United States dollar 180 million conditions” as a very important factor for road users (US $180M), for four (04) lanes extension of the expressway to Hambantota had been being funded by the 2) Accessibility: John Gaffney (2006) has stated Exim Bank of China. The road from Kurundugahahetekma Accessibility as a most important attribute in ranking to Goodagama had constructed by Kumagai Gumi of Japan of user groups. In Malaysian highway, final thesis, they and the section had funded by the Asian Development have stated that accessibility as an important in Bank. The China Harbour Engineering Company and Taisei defining the nature of the highway service provider. In Corporation of Japan had constructed the expressway Government of India Ministry of Road Transport & project. The supervision and monitoring done by the Highways (2012) has mentioned, “It is important to Roughton International Ltd, Halcrow Group Limited, Pacific provide urban linkages to National Expressways Consultants International Co., Ltd. along with the Network or to any inter-city Expressways developed by Resources Development Consultants (RDC) (Roadtraffic- the State Governments”. Technology, 2013). Public transportation has been the most spectacular arm in 3) Charges: In the study done by Limelight Limited (2012) land transportation. This dissertation has been addressing have indicated highway toll charges as a factor finding the service quality and customer satisfaction in Southern effected to the customer satisfaction. Cost savings to Expressway, which is a unseasoned experience to Sri user has recognized as a prominent factor in evaluating Lankan travellers. Also, this bearing of the expressway highway agency operation in Andrew Mellor (2013). transportation has not properly addressed by earlier researches in Sri Lanka as it has been a new experience to 4) Safety: Limelight Limited (2012) has indicates that Sri Lankan land transportation. Safety is an important factor in customer satisfaction "A problem well declares is a problem half-solved” in highway road users. Eva Lodenius (2011) states that (Kettering, 1947). “Overall the results from customer satisfaction measurement show that drivers prioritize traffic With reference to the above situation, the aim of the study safety” has been generated as to evaluate the customers’ perspective on the facilities provided by the Southern 5) Driving Aids: Stoplights, stop signs, interpretive signs Expressway Services had identified as driving aids in highways (Mellor, 2014). Lack of lighting & poor visibility had selected as The significance of the study expanded towards to heighten factors driving customer satisfaction s (Gartner, 2002). the efficiency and the productivity of Southern Expressway A study on National Road Users Satisfaction Survey has services and the overall structure of the dissertation has stated that “Higher proportions had been aware of designed based on the research question, “What is the roadwork’s in advance of their trip (65% compared customers’ perspective on the current facilities provided by with just 54% in 2011/12) with more finding out via the Southern Expressway Services” road signs” I. METHODOLOGY AND EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN 6) Usage of IT & Information: Andrew Mellor (2014) has indicated that information provision, electronic A. Identification of Variables variable message signs (VMS), and static signs such, as blue signs have been important factors to rate the Studies with similar panoramas have taken as guidance to customer satisfaction in transportation system develop the variables, which has used in research. The main variables have categorized under Infrastructure, 7) Service Quality: In the empirical study carried on Accessibility, Charges, Safety and Security, Driving aids, “Customer satisfaction measurement within the road Usage of IT & Information, Service Quality and Rules & sector” by Eva Lodenius (2011) has stated that the Regulations service level quality had been a major influence in customer perception on road networks. Zeithaml et al 1) Road Infrastructure: Empirical studies done by (1990) and Ona et al (2012) have given that the service Himachal Pradesh Road and Other Infrastructure quality had measured primarily from the customer’s Development Corporation Ltd (2007) have diagnosed 117 Proceedings in Management, Social Sciences and Humanities, 9th International Research Conference-KDU, Sri 2016 Lanka perspective