Point Based System for Assessing Passenger Level of Service at Public Transport Terminals: A Railway Case Study

Assessing level of service offered by a railway station to passengers is a tedious job and hence it is essential to have a well-defined framework. This study emphasises on calculating the passenger level of service (P-LOS) of a railway station using point-based system which takes qualitative and quantitative factors into account. With the proposed method, points for the potential factors were given by passengers through a questionnaire survey was considered for the analysis. Using the potential factors with highest ranking, P- LOS analysis was carried out and factors identified from the analysis were accessibility, safety and comfort. Threshold values of each selected factor were identified and applied to assess railway station level of service. Both platform and connections between platforms were considered for the analysis. Physical examination of each factor was also carried out to estimate the LOS score. After combining LOS scores of platforms and FOB, the overall score of the station was obtained. A P-LOS matrix representation containing four zones is proposed to depicting the LOS scores obtained and further specific improvements and suggestions were provided. The proposed methodology is reliable, robust and easy to apply and acts as a template for calculating P-LOS for any railway station.