Service delivery and consumer’s satisfaction under Assam state transport corporation (ASTC)

Abstract

So far as the hostile geographical locations such as hilly mountains, large forest, remotest of the remote areas and flood affected regions are concerned, passengers are heavily reliant on Road Transport Sector. Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) is a Public Sector Road Transport Corporation which has been providing bus services to the people of Assam and its connected regions but many studies and reports show that the corporation fails to provide quality services to the passengers in the regions. Infact consumer’s satisfaction is more and more dependent on quality of services produced by an organization. Thus, this study attempts to understand the issue of service delivery and consumer’s satisfaction under the ASTC following certain indicators. On the basis of field observation and data collected from 200 respondents, the study finds that ASTC fails to provide quality services to the passengers with regard to different issues such as addressing technical problems, availability of A/C connection in bus, availability of push back system, availability of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV), quality of shelter during halt etc. The study suggests that the issue of consumer’s satisfaction should be taken care of seriously by the corporation and it is only possible if quality of services is improved under ASTC concerning different issues such as adherence to bus time table, availability of alarm used by passengers, cleanness of bus stop, availability of road safety guide book etc. The prime need of the time is to handle the matter in a strict hand.