WEST BENGAL TRANSPORT

CORPORATION LTD.
12 R.N Mukherjee Road,
Kolkata – 700001

Project Report on
Market Survey On State Bus Transport

Submitted to University of Calcutta (CU)

Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA – Hons.)

By Bhagyashree Dutta
BBA (Hons) – Part II
Asutosh College, Kolkata
Roll No. – 012-BBA16F-0006
Registration No. – 012-1121-4908-15
Market Survey On State Bus Transport
West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC)

1
Executive Summary

Purpose-
The objective of the project was to conduct a research to understand:

 Identify common traits of WBTC that are currently performing well or

poorly.
 To evaluate the performance of the Corporation in internal as well as
external environment.
 To analyse the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats related to
the daily functioning of WBTC.
 To suggest some effective measures for strengthening the current situation
of the Corporation.
 To identify potential opportunities that has been overlooked by the
Corporation.

Method-
We designed a series of questions in close conjunction with the Corporation
ensuring that the research methods were aligned with the objectives:

 A survey was decided to be carried out, and on the basis of the research the
questionnaire was designed.
 The survey is done across daily commuters across the city of Kolkata and
adjoining areas.
 A total of 245 responses were noted. The sample size was 1000, which
means a response rate of 24.5 percent was recorded during the survey.
 The findings of the survey were analyzed to group out the variables,
opportunities and weaknesses.
 Secondary Research was also carried out by doing a thorough literature
review.

2
Suggestions Based on Findings-
I have enlisted a number of suggestions for the organisation based on the
findings of the survey:

 WBTC shall follow the fare differential policy in peak periods of the day as
well as during off-seasonal time periods.
 According to the changing needs of the competitive environment, the
organisation shall change its technical know-how, operational criteria and
service offerings.
 The Corporation shall clearly define the line and staff functions performed
by the upper, middle and lower level management. It helps in creating role
clarity among management which leads to better plan and strategy
construction.
 Political and Union interference in the external as well as internal affairs of
the Corporation shall be minimised.
 The organisation should focus on the effective leadership through proper
selection, training and development. Moreover, the decision-making chain
should be minimised by distribution work according to the nature of the job
specification.

3
 PREFACE
What I have learnt from this project is that Market Research includes activities
to ensure that the organization can cope with any situation whatsoever. Market
research is an organized effort to gather information about target markets or
customers. Being a very important component of business strategy, it is
commonly interchanged with marketing research where expert practitioners
wish to draw a distinction, in concerned marketing research; specifically about
the marketing processes, while market research is concerned with markets.

A proper implementation of a well-designed Market Research plan includes

important information to identify and analyse the market need, market size and
competition. Market-research techniques encompass both qualitative techniques
such as focus groups, in-depth interviews, and ethnography, as well as
quantitative techniques such as customer surveys, and analysis of secondary
data. Market research, which includes social and opinion research, is the
systematic gathering and interpretation of information about individuals or
organizations using statistical and analytical methods and techniques of the
applied social sciences to gain insight or support decision making.

Market research is a way of getting an overview of consumers' wants, needs and

beliefs. It can also involve discovering how they act. The research can be used
to determine how a product could be marketed. Market research is a way that
producers and the marketplace study the consumer and gather information about
the consumers’ needs. There are two major types of market research: primary
research, which is sub-divided into Quantitative and Qualitative research, and
secondary research.

The understanding of the requirements of the market is important in selling a

particular product or service, whereas properly understanding and analysing the
needs of a consumer is critical for a successful business.

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 ACKNOWLEGEMENT
At the outset, I am thankful to my institute Asutosh College, BBA (Hons.)
Department, the authorities and management, for providing me an opportunity
to undertake my project study on –A Market Survey On State Bus Transport.

I am grateful to the staff of West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC) for

being a wonderful support through the period. I thank Mr. Prabir Kumar
Mitra, Chief Engineer, West Bengal Transport Corporation for providing a
platform. I express my sincere gratitude for his constant guidance, continuous
support and co-operation throughout my project, without which, the present
work would not have been possible.

Bhagyashree Dutta

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 DECLARATION
I, Bhagyashree Dutta, Roll No. 012-BBA16F-0006, student of Asutosh College
(BBA Hons.) is hereby to certify that this project work titled – A Market Survey
On State Bus Transport, has been carried out by me, in partial fulfilment of the
requirements of the program, is an original work of mine under the guidance of
Mr. Prabir Kumar Mitra, Chief Engineer, West Bengal Transport Corporation

I, further declare, that it is not a reproduction from any existing work of any
person and it has not been submitted to any other university or institute.

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Aim/Scope of Study
The main aim of this project is to have a proper understanding of State bus
Transportation and the services of West Bengal. I carried out thorough market
research on Bus Transportation services provided by West Bengal Transport
Corporation (WBTC) and its allied subsidiaries.

It includes activities like understanding the different modes of public transport,

range of bus services offered by the organisation and how it is helping the
people of West Bengal with premium services at affordable costs.

A month-and-a-half internship at West Bengal Transport Corporation

(WBTC) helped me to understand the day-to-day functioning of a public
transport company, which included assessment of operational routes,
interactions with operating staff and a comprehensive survey on daily
commuters.

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Need For The Project
Under the Calcutta University BBA (Hons.) curriculum, we have a paper on a
project regarding a one month on-job internship. Here, we need to prepare a
project on a topic related to our subject (Marketing or Human Resource or
Finance).

We have to choose one of the topics, choose a company, and do our internship
and have to prepare a project accordingly. This gives a direct exposure to a
working environment in a company and provides us a training-like on-job
practical module for our course.

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 CONTENTS

Public Transportation In India

 Background…………………………………………………………………. 10
 Road Transportation……………………………………………………….....11
 Bus Transportation…………………………………………………………. .12
 Bus Transportation in West Bengal……………………………………….... 13
West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC)
 Company Overview………………………………………………………......14
 Routes and Network……………………………………………………….. ..15
 Coverage………………………………………………………………….......16
Research Concept
 Research……………………………………………………………………. .18
 Objectives of Research……………………………………………………….18
 Research Process……………………………………………………………..19
 Research Design………………………………………………………….......21
 Methods of Research………………………………………………………....22
 Secondary Research………………………………………………………….24
 Research Problem………………………………………………………….....25
 Sampling……………………………………………………………………...26
 Questionnaire………………………………………………………………....27
WBTC Market Research
 Research Objectives……………………………………………………….....28
 Literature Review………………………………………………………........ 29
 Research Methodology…………………………………………………..... ...30
 Opinion Survey…………………………………………………………........31
 Data Collected…………………………………………………………….. ...39
 SWOT Analysis…………………………………………………………..... ..42
 Problems Faced By The Corporation………………………………………...43
Research Report
 Findings…………………………………………………………………… ...46
 Recommendations………………………………………………………… ...48
Conclusion
Bibliography
Appendix
 Survey Questions………………………………………………………….. ...52
 Samples……………………………………………………………………....53

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PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IN INDIA
BACKGROUND
Transport industries which undertake nothing more than me-movement of
persons and things from one place to another, have constituted one of the most
important activities of men in every stage of advanced civilisation.Transport in
India consists of transport by land, water, and air. Public transport remains the
primary mode of transport for most Indian citizens, and India's public transport
systems are among the most heavily used in the world.

During the First World War, the then British Government in India realised the
importance of bus services and imported a good number of buses to be used for
War purposes. When the war was over, these buses were disposed off and used
for civilian purposes. During the Second World War, the import of motor
vehicles was much restricted and, therefore, it could not be matched with its
demand in the country.

The popularity of bus services increased enormously and the number of buses
on Indian roads went on increasing. Within a period of 39 years from 1950-51
to 1988-89, the number of buses in India has gone up by 709 per cent which
means it has been increasing at the rate of about 15 per cent per year. The chain
base index for the period also corroborates the rate of this increase in the
number of buses.

Another and the most important factor which has been proved to be a boon for
the development of bus services in the country is the diversion of passenger
traffic to bus transport from other means of transport, especially from railways.
Consequently, there has been a gradual increase in the percentage share of
passenger traffic carried by buses to total passenger traffic in the country.

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 ROAD TRANSPORTION

Road transport or road transportation can be termed as a mode of transport done

or used via roads. Transport on roads can be roughly grouped into the
transportation of goods and transportation of people. Movement along roads
may be by bike or automobile, truck, or bus.

Buses are an important means of public transport in India. Due to this social
significance, urban bus transport is often owned and operated by public
agencies, and most state governments operate bus services through a State Road
Transport Corporation. These corporations have proven extremely useful in
connecting villages and towns across the country.

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BUS TRANSPORTATION
Buses make up over 90% of public transport in Indian cities and serve as a
cheap and convenient mode of transport for all classes of society. Services are
mostly run by state government owned transport corporations. However after
the economic liberalisation, many state transport corporations have introduced
various facilities like low-floor buses for the disabled and air conditioned buses
to attract private car owners to help decongest roads.

BUS TRANSPORTATION IN WEST BENGAL

Dimensions of transport development in the city of Kolkata and West Bengal go
through different phases and processes of socio-economic and political
alteration. On the verge of modal transformation of road based Mass Transport
Services (MTS) in the late fifties of the last century, both government and
private buses dominated over the traffic-space of Kolkata and other cities of
West Bengal.

But the gradual privatization of bus services in the changing socio – political
scenario engulfed the government organizations which ultimately lost its
spectrum on the National State Transport (NST) scenario.

In West Bengal, 80.95 percent of personalized vehicle rules over only 1.29
percent of bus fleet strength. Kolkata and other cities of Bengal have witnessed
tremendous growth in vehicular population mainly after 1981 in accordance to
population growth. The rapid process of urbanization along with the politically
influenced socio – economic transformation supported the expansion of
transport services that it accelerated the degree of demographic mobility.

Urban population in this state has increased from 1.9 million in 1963 to 36.59
million in 2015 whereas the bus services increased from 4085 to 20288 in
relation to total vehicular growth from 78,849 to 11, 62,924 for the same period.

State Transport Undertakings (STUs) initially ruled in the state. The

establishment of STUs in Kolkata in 1948 did an enormous service in intra –
urban as well as inter – urban and village connectivity. But as time passed away,
the STUs lost its glory and became a burden for the government.

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Such transformation of STUs can be analysed in a temporal framework based
on the changing performance pattern in the context of entire bus transport
picture.

Since the emergence of bus services in 1920 in Kolkata, the entire period of
STUs can be categorized in to four successive phases –

1. Initial Phase
From 1920 to 1960

2. Rising Phase
From 1960 to 1970

3. Competition Phase
From 1970 to 2000

4. Declining Phase
2000 onwards.

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WEST BENGAL TRANSPORT CORPORATION

COMPANY OVERVIEW

West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC) is

the operating body under which Calcutta State
Transport Corporation (CSTC), Calcutta
Tramways Corporation (CTC) and West Bengal
Surface Transport Corporation (WBSTC) work.
It is the governing body which controls all these
three entities with two other bus transit bodies
in North Bengal and South Bengal.

Calcutta Tram is the only tramway operating in

India and one of the oldest electric trams in Asia which now has been
incorporated into West Bengal Transportation System which now runs all the
state-run buses in the state. In 1900, the electrification of the tramway and
conversion of its tracks to 4 ft 8 1⁄2 was done. It has been operated since 1902.
In 1967, the Government of West Bengal passed the Calcutta Tramways
Company (Taking over of Management) Act. Further, the bus service was
introduced under CTC on November, 1992 with a fleet of 40 buses.

Initially, the bus service was introduced from Rajabazaar and later on the
Tollygunge and Belgachia depots were added in the year 1994 and 1995
respectively. All over, you will find 7 Tram depots (Belgachia, Rajabajar, Park
Circus, Gariahat, Tollygunge, Kalighat and Kidderpore) and 7 terminals
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(Shyambazar, Galiff Street, Bidhannagar, Ballygunge, Esplanade, B.B.D. Bagh
and Howrah Bridge) in Kolkata. The Esplanade terminus serves the most tram
routes. Former terminals now closed. They were at Shibpur, Bandhaghat,
Bagbazar, Calcutta High Court, Nimtala, Behala, Joka, Sealdah, Howrah, and
M.P. Birla Planetarium and Racecourse.

The CSTC started its journey with State Transport Services on July, 1948 with a
vision to provide proper, efficient and economical bus service to the passengers
in and around Kolkata. Later on, State Transport Service was changed to
Calcutta State Transport Corporation (CSTC) under the Road Transport
Corporation Act.

The CSTC started delivering its service in Kolkata with 11 depots and
some more in the districts of Kolkata. Keeping the demand of rural passengers
in concern they introduced a Long Distance Bus Service from Calcutta to Digha
in 1968. Under CSTC you will get fleet of 782 buses with E series, M series, S
series, AC, Non-AC, Volvo 8400 and JanBus (With Blue and White Livery)of
Ashok Leyland and ordinary buses as well. Right now, the WBSTC has 60
Volvo low floor buses and in future they are planning to add more to it.
Currently, you will find Air- Conditioned Volvo low floor buses running from
and to Airport. You will find Mini Bus in AS Series connecting Rabindra Sadan
to New Town. There are some buses without route number which covers
Esplanade to Namkhana, Bakkhali and Bankura route.

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ROUTES AND NETWORK
West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC) has a huge fleet of buses running
in the city of Kolkata and other adjoining areas of the city. The organisation
also has buses running in different parts of the state, but here in our list we have
tried to cover up the buses which are mainly connected to the network of
Kolkata and adjoining areas.

Depot Total Destinations (Includes Both AC &

Number of Non-AC Buses)
Operating
Buses
Barasat 23 Santragacchi, Karunamoyee, Digha, Dunlop,
Mayapur, Asansol, BSU, Bongoan, Baduria,
Hakimpur, Esplanede, Salt lake, Kalyani,
Ultadanga, Kancharapara, Amta, Gariahat,
Chapadali

Belgachia 17 Asansol, Bolpur, Siuri, Bakkhali, Domjur, New

Town, Shaymbazar, Kaijuri, Digha, Santragacchi,
Karimpur, Sangrampur, Tikiapara, Howrah, Amta,
Bagnan, Dhamkhali
Ghashbagan 22 Karunamoyee, Belur Math, Kadamtala, Rajabazar,
Sealdah, Baruipur, Bhattnagar, Ganganagar,
Bhawani Bhaban, Shrirampur, Uttarpara College,
Nabanna, Botanical Garden, Ramrajatala,
Palashipara, Digha, Airport, Jairambati
Habra 9 Digha, Naihati, Kolkata, Nagarukhra, Auntpur,
Santragachhi, Asansol, Garia
Joka 6 Jhikira, Esplanede, Amtala, Gariahat, Howrah,
Madhyamgarm

Kidderpore 13 Howrah Station, Santragachhi, Dharmatala,

Shikarpur, Dhaniakhali, Radhanagr, Tarapith,
Kolkata, BBD Bagh, Mandirtala, Bagnan,
Jairambati, Howrah, Digha

Park Circus 12 Dankuni, Makhla, Nabanna, Garia Station,

Chuchura, Bidhannagar, Antpur, Mayapur, Taki
Rajbari, Malancha, Jibantala, Dakhineshwar

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 Rajabazar 20 Sankrail, Hanskahli, Nabanna, Dharmatala,
Udaynarayanpur, Jangipara, Furafura Sharif,
Uluberia, Fatikgachi, Garhbhawanipur, Dankuni,
Dhulagarh, Ghatakpukur, Kanthalia, Malancha,
Vebia, Amta, Digha, Dhamakhali

Titagarh 8 Howrah, Barackpore, Domjur, Ranaghat, Baruipur,

Dakhineshwar, Chanpadali

Tollygunge 12 Ghatakpukur, Birati, Nabanna, Garia, Gadiara,

Buxi, Petrapole, Bagnan, Palashipara, Habra,
Madhyamgram

Salt Lake 11 Tollygunge, New Town (Sapoorji), Hatisala,

Santragacchi, Baruipur, Malancha Housing,
Jadavpur, Airport, Kanmari, Jayenpur, Howrah
Station (Night Service)

IBT 7 Airport to Esplanede, Airport to Howrah,

Esplanede to Diamond Harbour, Karunamoyee to
Santragachhi, Garia to Bantala, Airport to Howrah
Station (Night Service)
Howrah 15 Ramganga, Bakkhali, Kakdwip, Namkhana, Digha,
Jaynagar, Usthi, Jharkhali, Godkhali, Chunakhali,
Kulpi, Nandigram, Digha, Nimpath

Howrah 8 Bakkhali, Amtala, Raidighi, Burul, Woman

(Usthi) University, Jaynagar, Nimpith

Newly Introduced Routes

Garia to Rajchandrapur, Barasat to Howrah Station, Garia to Barasat, Patuli to
Eco Space, Dum Dum Park-Salt Lake-Dum Dum Park (Circuitous Service),
Dakshineswar to Aquatica, Canal West Bus Stand to Karunamoyee, Canal West
Bus Stand to Esplanede, Dum Dum Cantonment to Esplanede, Joka to New
Town, Airport Gate No. 1 to Howrah Maidan, Behala Chowrastha to Jadavpur,
Lake Town to Howrah Maidan, Dunlop to Howrah Station, Barrackpur Court to
Barasat University, Shibtala Math to Howrah Station, Garia Station to Howrah
Station, Thakurpukur 3A Stand to Paddapukur .
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COVERAGE
With over 3000 buses under its belt, the West Bengal Transport Corporation
(WBTC) is one of the largest bus transit government organisations in the
country. The organisation currently operates under the West Bengal State
Government under Transport Department of Government of West Bengal.
WBTC covers a major portion of the city of Kolkata and other parts of the State.
Operating mainly from the state capital city, the body has buses running in
different parts of West Bengal helping to connect different districts and towns in
the state with uninterrupted service. Covering almost the whole part of the state,
it has helped different towns and cities in West Bengal to connect to each other
with better buses and connectivity.

The state-owned company currently has a huge fleet of buses running in the city
of Kolkata and other adjoining areas of the city. The organisation has also tied
up with private players to deploy more number of buses to offer premium
service to the people of West Bengal.

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RESEARCH CONCEPT

What is Research?
What is Research
Research is defined as Objectives?
a careful consideration The purpose of
of study regarding a research is to discover
particular concern or a answers to questions
problem using through application of
scientific methods. It is systematic procedures.
The main objective of
defined as a systematic
research is to find out
inquiry to describe, the truth which is
explain, predict and hidden and which has
control the observed not been discovered as
phenomenon. yet.

Though each research study has its own specific purpose, we may think of
research objectives as falling into a number of following broad groupings –

 To gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to achieve new insights.

 To portray accurately the characteristics of a particular individual, situation
or a group.
 To determine the frequency with which something occurs or with which it is
associated with something else.
 Should be properly formulated with specific objectives which will facilitate
the development of research methodology and will help to orient the
collection, analysis, interpretation and utilization of data.
 To make recommendations to improve the operational effectiveness and to
maximise recovery opportunities.

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Research Process
What is Research Process?
A research process consists of stages or steps that
guide the process of project from its conception
through the final analysis, recommendations and
ultimate actions. It aims to understand the research
methodology establishing a framework of evaluation
and revaluation of primary and secondary research.

A typical research process comprises the following stages –

Selecting the Research Area

A specific area has to be selected where the research will be carried out for
professional and personal interests. Select a topic within the parameters set by
the assignment. Finding a topic for which you will get manageable amount of
information is important.

Formulating Research Aim and Objectives

The choice between the formulation of research questions and the development
of hypotheses depends on the research approach. Appropriate research aims and
objectives usually result from several attempts and revisions and these need to
be mentioned in the methodology.

Selecting Methods of Data Collection

The success of marketing research is contingent on the integrity and relevance
of the data. There are two types of data- Primary data and Secondary data. In
studies involving primary data collection, in-depth discussions of advantages
and disadvantages of selected primary data collection method(s) need to be
included in methodology.

Collecting the Correct Data

Primary data collection needs to be preceded by a great level of preparation.
Primary data is collected first hand by the researcher. This data is specifically
collected for the purpose of the study and addresses the current problem.
Though primary data collection is not a compulsory stage for all dissertations,
as secondary data suffices the need of research. Secondary data are collected
from other source that has been already collected and is readily available.

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Data Analysis
Analysis of data plays an important role in the achievement of research aim and
objectives. Data analysis methods vary between secondary and primary studies,
as well as, between qualitative and quantitative studies. These methods fall into
two types of research categories, which are Qualitative Research and
Quantitative Research.

Reaching Conclusions
Conclusions relate to the level of achievement of research aims and objectives.
Your data analysis provides the basis for drawing conclusions. The final
conclusions should meet your initial objectives; consider what options you have
discovered in your analysis to best meet your research objectives.

Completing the Research

After completing all the stages described above, the initial draft of research is
conducted. A report has to be drafted which will include preliminary research
results and secondary data collected through surveys and other methods of data
collection. When it comes time to presenting your results, remember to
present insights, answers and recommendations, not just charts and tables.

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Research Design
What is Research Design?
The research design is a comprehensive master plan of the research study to
be undertaken, giving a general statement of the methods to be used. The
function of a research design is to ensure that requisite data in accordance
with the problem at hand is collected accurately and economically. Generally,
the design which minimises bias and maximises the reliability of the data
collected and analysed is considered a good design.

There are different research designs which can be considered to find proper and
correct conclusion and these are categorized below –

1. Exploratory Research Design

2. Descriptive Research Design

3. Causal Research Design

Exploratory Research Design

Exploratory research studies are also termed as Formulative research studies.
The major emphasis in such studies is on the discovery of ideas and insights.

Generally, the following three methods in the context of research design for
such studies are talked about: the survey of concerning literature, the experience
survey and the analysis of ‘insight-stimulating’ examples.

The survey of concerning literature happens to be the most simple and fruitful
method of formulating precisely the research problem or developing hypothesis.
It may also be considered whether the already stated hypotheses suggest new
hypothesis. In this way the researcher should review and build upon the work
already done by others, but in cases where hypotheses have not yet been
formulated, his task is to review the available material for deriving the relevant
hypotheses from it. Besides, the bibliographical survey of studies, already made
in one’s area of interest may as well as made by the researcher for precisely
formulating the problem.

22
Experience survey means the survey of people who have had practical
experience with the problem to be studied. The object of such a survey is to
obtain insight into the relationships between variables and new ideas relating to
the research problem. For such a survey people who are competent and can
contribute new ideas may be carefully selected as respondents to ensure a
representation of different types of experience.
The respondents so selected may then be interviewed by the investigator. The
researcher must prepare an interview schedule for the systematic questioning of
informants. But the interview must ensure flexibility in the sense that the
respondents should be allowed to raise issues and questions which the
investigator has not previously considered.

Generally, the experience collecting interview is likely to be long and may last
for few hours. Hence, it is often considered desirable to send a copy of the
questions to be discussed to the respondents well in advance. Thus, an
experience survey may enable the researcher to define the problem more
concisely and help in the formulation of the research hypothesis. This survey
may as well provide information about the practical possibilities for doing
different types of research.

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Descriptive Research Design
Descriptive research studies are those studies which are concerned with
describing the characteristics of a particular individual, or of a group. Studies
concerned with specific predictions, with narration of facts and characteristics
concerning individual, group or situation are all examples of descriptive
research studies. Most of the social research comes under this category.

In descriptive research studies, the researcher must be able to define clearly,

what he wants to measure and must find adequate methods for measuring it
along with a clear-cut definition of ‘population’ he wants to study. Since the
aim is to obtain complete and accurate information in the said studies, the
procedure to be used must be carefully planned. The design in such studies must
be rigid and not flexible and must focus attention on the following:

 Formulating the objective of the study

(what the study is about and why is it being made?)

 Designing the methods of data collection

(what techniques of gathering data will be adopted?)

 Selecting the sample

(how much material will be needed?)

 Collecting the data

(where can the required data be found and with what time period should the
data be related?)

 Processing and analysing the data.

 Reporting the findings.

Thus, the research design in case of descriptive studies is a comparative design

throwing light on all points narrated above and must be prepared keeping in
view the objective(s) of the study and the resources available. However, it must
ensure the minimisation of bias and maximisation of reliability of the evidence
collected. The said design can be appropriately referred to as a survey design
since it takes into account all the steps involved in a survey.

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Causal Research Design
Causal research is conducted in order to identify the extent and nature of cause-
and-effect relationships. Causal research can be conducted in order to assess
impacts of specific changes on existing norms, various processes etc. Causal
studies focus on an analysis of a situation or a specific problem to explain the
patterns of relationships between variables. Experiments are the most popular
primary data collection methods in studies with causal research design.

Causal research falls under the category of conclusive research, because of its
attempt to reveal a cause and effect relationship between two variables.

In this project, I have followed a combined research design of an

exploratory design and a descriptive design to describe the market
characteristics for the corporation and find the behavioural pattern of
daily commuters as well.

25
Methods of Research

Primary Research
Primary research is any type of research that you collect yourself. Examples
include surveys, interviews, observations, and ethnographic research. A good
researcher knows how to use both primary and secondary sources in their
writing and to integrate them in a cohesive fashion. Conducting primary
research is a useful skill to acquire as it can greatly supplement your research in
secondary sources, such as journals, magazines, or books. You can also use it as
the focus of your writing project. Primary research is an excellent skill to learn
as it can be useful in a variety of settings including business, personal, and
academic.

Secondary Research
In Secondary research the data is a type of data that has already been published
in books, newspapers, magazines, journals, online portals etc. There is an
abundance of data available in these sources about the research areas. Therefore,
application of appropriate set of criteria to select secondary data to be used in
the study plays an important role in terms of increasing the levels of research
validity and reliability.
These criteria include, but not limited to date of publication, credential of the
author, reliability of the source, quality of discussions, depth of analyses, the
extent of contribution of the text to the development of the research area etc.

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Research Problem
What is Research Problem?
A research problem is a definite or clear expression about an area of concern,
a condition to be improved upon, a difficulty to be eliminated, or a troubling
question that exists in scholarly literature, in theory, or within existing
practice that point to a need for meaningful understanding and deliberate
investigation.

The purpose of a problem statement is to -

1. Introduce the reader to the importance of the topic being studied.

The reader is oriented to the significance of the study.

2. Anchors the research questions, hypotheses, or assumptions to

follow.
It offers a concise statement about the purpose of your paper.

3. Place the topic into a particular context.

That defines the parameters of what is to be investigated.

4. Provide the framework for reporting the results.

Indicates what is probably necessary to conduct the study and explain
how the findings will present this information.

Sampling
A census is a study of every unit, everyone or everything, in a population. All
items in any field of inquiry constitute a ‘Universe’ or ‘Population.’ A complete
enumeration of all items in the ‘population’ is known as a census inquiry. It can
be presumed that in such an inquiry, when all items are covered, no element of
chance is left and highest accuracy is obtained. But in practice this may not be
true. Even the slightest element of bias in such an inquiry will get larger and
larger as the number of observation increases. Moreover, there is no way of
checking the element of bias or its extent except through a resurvey or use of
sample checks. Besides, this type of inquiry involves a great deal of time,
money and energy. Therefore, when the field of inquiry is large, this method

27
becomes difficult to adopt because of the resources involved. At times, this
method is practically beyond the reach of ordinary researchers.

The respondents selected should be as representative of the total population as

possible in order to produce a miniature cross-section. The selected respondents
constitute what is technically called a ‘sample’ and the selection process is
called ‘sampling technique.’

The survey so conducted is known as ‘sample survey’. Algebraically, let the

population size be N and if a part of size n (which is < N) of this population is
selected according to some rule for studying some characteristic of the
population, the group consisting of these n units is known as ‘sample’.
Researcher must prepare a sample design for his study i.e., he must plan how a
sample should be selected and of what size such a sample would be.

A sample design is a definite plan for obtaining a sample from a given

population. It refers to the technique or the procedure the researcher would
adopt in selecting items for the sample.

Questionnaire
A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions (or
other types of prompts) for the purpose of gathering information from
respondents. Questionnaires are often designed for statistical analysis of the
responses; this is not always the case.

Questionnaires have advantages over some other types of surveys in that they
are cheap, do not require as much effort from the questioner as verbal or
telephone surveys, and often have standardized answers that make it simple to
compile data. However, such standardized answers may frustrate users.
Questionnaires are also sharply limited by the fact that respondents must be able
to read the questions and respond to them. Thus, for some demographic groups
conducting a survey by questionnaire may not be concrete.

Usually, a questionnaire consists of several questions that the respondent has to

answer in a set format. A distinction is made between open-ended and closed-
ended questions. An open-ended question asks the respondent to formulate his
own answer, whereas a closed-ended question has the respondent pick an
answer from a given number of options.

28
In general, questions should flow logically from one to the next. To achieve the
best response rates, questions should flow from the least sensitive to the most
sensitive, from the factual and behavioural to the attitudinal, and from the more
general to the more specific. A distinction can be made between questionnaires
with questions that measure separate variables, and questionnaires with
questions that are aggregated into either a scale or index.

I followed a qualitative data collection method, where the data was

collected through an online survey. Later the data was thoroughly analysed
to formulate strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats of the
organisation followed by a number of suggestions that the organisation can
carry out to improve its management and daily operations.

29
WBTC Market Research

After defining all the required parameters to conduct a basic research, I have
carried a market survey on how satisfied the public is with the services provided
by the West Bengal Transport Corporation.

Objectives of Research-
 Identify common traits of WBTC that are currently performing well
or poorly.
 Estimate the efficacy of the methods used by WBTC to promote its
services.
 Determine the relative stability or instability of daily commuters.
 To evaluate the performance of the Corporation in internal as well
as external environment.
 To analyse the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
related to the daily functioning of WBTC.
 To suggest some effective measures for strengthening the current
situation of the Corporation.
 To identify potential opportunities that has been overlooked.

Secondary Research
Literature Review

Our literature review and secondary research primarily revolved

around understanding the following objectives –

 Research Design and Purpose

 Public Transportation in India
 Bus Transportation in West Bengal
 Use of Public Transport
 Daily Cost Involved
 Use of Technology To Improve Daily Modes of Transport

30
Below are the Articles, Blogs and Journals I read and studied as
part of my literature review and secondary research –

Publication Source/Link
1. India Transport Sector World Bank

2. Indian Road Network National Highways Authority of

India

3. Kolkata's Trams To Sport A New Times of India (TOI)

Look Soon (Online Release)

4. Transport in India International Transport Statistics

Database

5. How Bus Transport In India Can Be Hindu Business Line

Made More Attractive

6. Introduction Of Public Bus Transit In Science Direct

Indian Cities

7. An Analysis Of Public Bus Transit The Indian Express

Performance In Indian Cities

8. Waiting For The Bus Down To Earth

9. Electric Buses: An Opportunity To Forbes India

Transform Public Transport In India

10. Role of Intermediate Public Economic & Political Weekly

Transport in Indian Cities

11. Making Cities Safer With Public Live Mint (Hindustan Times)
Transport

31
Research Method
The whole process and steps followed for the research are described in the
following steps:

Research Design- Population-

Exploratory research design WBTC (West Bengal Transport
is followed as to obtain the Corporation) leverages their
objectives of research, where services in Kolkata and other parts
Random sampling survey and of Bengal. So, West Bengal is
an experience survey is used considered as the universe here
combined with a Descriptive and the population of the state is
approach. taken as a finite number.

Source List-
Sampling Unit-
The source list constitutes of
Four geographical units from the
some reliable and
city of Kolkata and divided the
comprehensive sources (as
target set sample into multiple
guided by our mentor).
parts.

Sample Size- Parameters of Interest-

A total of 1000 people The sample which was
from four different parts surveyed use public transport
of the city was taken as for their daily conveyance, at
sample, who use public least thrice a week.
transport for their daily
conveyance.

32
Budgetary Constraint-
Budget being a primary Sampling Procedure-
Simple Random Sampling
constraint of the research, an was used to segment the
online survey and took the sample and target population
help of social media to reach and then carried out the
out to people. online survey accordingly.

Development of Questionnaire-
The questionnaire materials were developed
with the questions of concern
and research goals in mind. All questions were
written to solicit honest and helpful answers in
a manner that was not perceived as overly
intrusive.

Opinion Survey
I have designed a series of questions, in close conjunction with the daily
travellers, thus ensuring that the research methods were aligned with the
goals of the organisation at every point. We designed a survey on basis of
the questionnaire and have sent the survey across to daily passensengers
who use bus or any other mode of public transport as their medium of
daily transportation.

A total of 245 responses were noted. The sample size was 1000, which
means a response rate of 24.5 percent was recorded.

33
Data Collected/Results

34
35
36
37
38
The survey was done online, and we did a Simple Random Sampling to
find our target users. A total of 1000 daily passengers were taken as the
sample size, and the questionnaire was sent to all these passengers through
differes modes of social media.

A total of 245 responses were noted with a response rate recorded at 24.5
percent. The passengers were mostly from different parts of the city of
Kolkata and adjoining sub-urban areas who use bus or any other mode of
public transport as their medium of daily transportaion or use public
transport atleast once a week.

39
SWOT ANALYSIS of WBTC
On the bases of the internal/ controllable and external/ uncontrollable factors
and based on the survey carried out, the SWOT analysis of the West Bengal
Transport Corporation done is as follows –

Strengths

On the strengths side, the Corporation has one of the largest numbers of fleet,
through which it can provide mobility to a wide range of the passengers.
Moreover, the Corporation possesses sufficient and updated infrastructure to
operate the passengers transport services in the State. It serves around 468
routes all over the state, with more than 3000 buses which facilitates nearly
52.65 crore passengers in a year. The bus services were introduced with a fleet
of 40 buses under CTC and 783 under CSTC. Later, when all the three
corporation came under one roof named as ‘WBTC’ the number of fleet
increased gradually to more than 1000 buses.

40
WBTC is a renowned name among the public. It is the most preferred,
economical and safe mode of transportation. It recorded very nominal number
of accidents, i.e. 798 accidents in the year 2016-17. The Corporation also
recorded continuous fall in the accidents per 10 lakh kms, which stood at 0.09.
Which make it a preferable and common mode of transport among public.

The WBTC has a large number of qualified and experienced man-power. The
upper level management is placed with the people of IAS’s and PCS’s rank. The
Central and State government places IAS’s and PCS’s as the MD’s and
Chairman’s of the Corporation. It provided employment to 22,171 peoples in
the year 2016-17. With such huge human capital, Transport Corporation has a
great market network all over the state. It covers nearly all parts of the State and
provides connectivity between people and places.

Weaknesses
In spite of so many strengths, the Corporation could not come out of so many
weaknesses. The Corporation, as a state-owned enterprise, has no right to decide
the fare collected from passengers. It is a government affair, which restricts the
Corporation to formulate its fare polices according to the rise in the cost of
material and other production factors.

Likewise, the formulation of wages, salary, incentives and other benefit policies
is also fixed as per the government rules. It is a fixed expense which has to be
the same for performing and non-performing employees. Moreover, the
Corporation bear the losses incurred on concessional rate of tickets. The
government made rules providing concessions to students, women, senior
citizens and handicaps, which lead to financial losses to the organisation.
Despite of getting the fixed wages and salary, the performance of the staff is not
up to the mark; as the public-sector job monopoly culture was deep rooted in the
Corporation.

The performance-based incentives schemes are lacking. The morale and

motivation of the employees are at low level. Moreover, the trade unions forces
are very strong. The union over protects the rights of the staffs, which sometime
creates problems in making decisions. Furthermore, the organisation has too
many layers, which slows down the process of decision making.

41
Opportunities

Despite the position of the Corporation in terms of strengths and weaknesses,

the market opportunities are noticeable and growing positively. The continuous
heavy growth in population, the economic and social development in the State
is increasing the requirement of the mobility. In past years, there was a
tremendous change in the preference of mode of transportation, which has been
shifted from railways to roadways. It was used to transport over 60 percent of
total goods and85 percent of passenger traffic through road transportation.
The Corporation have a large scope for growth in the State, i.e. of providing
class specific services, route specific services and times pecific services.
Besides, there is no equal level challenge. The Corporation have great financial
support from the government, which can be utilised for new technologies and
other innovative methods.

Threats

The treats are the fear of loss in future due to practices adopted by the
Corporation. It is an external factor, which can be converted into opportunities
by forecasting and by managing them effectively. The WBTC will be facing
some threats to improve its operation in near future. The government
interferences, change in policies according to the change in government,
political interference in trade union functions and along with other internal
factors, are some possible issues which hamper the performance of the
Corporation. The uncontrollable factors i.e., strong competition from private
operators, constantly increasing number of self-owned two and four wheelers,
regular input cost hike and taxes etc. The Corporation cannot control them, but
effective planning shall help in reducing the risk of losses up to a minimal level.

42
Problems Faced By The Corporation
West Bengal Transport Corporation being a state-run organisation faces a
number of challenges both internally and externally. Here are a few problems I
have chalked out during the survey.

1. Political Interference

The price of input costs, like fuel, spares, wages and salary are external factors
which cannot be fully controlled. So, to meet such expenditures, the
Corporation needs to increase the revenue. But the Corporation is unable to
increase the price of traffic sources of revenue due to political compulsions. The
price of diesel and petrol has been increased year after year. But the fare
collected has not been increased with the similar speed. Fare structure and any
hike in the fare is solely decided by the Central and State government, which
does not match the price of input cost. So naturally there is an imbalance
between the cost incurred and the revenue generated which further leads to
financial crunch in the Corporation.

2. Fixed Routes and Capacity

Ignoring the need of buses operating in each route, uniform capacity buses are
available. Even the buses for long distance route and short distance are same.
Another major drawback is that the same capacity buses are given even if the
numbers of passengers travelling on the route are few. Moreover, being a social
welfare public undertaking, it is concentrated more on providing passenger bus
transport services to the rural, interior and backward areas, while the private
operators concentrate mainly on high density profitability routes. These
particular circumstances lead to unnecessary losses. The situation can be
modified with an effective strategic management and top level management
support.

3. Goal Conflict

Being a state-owned undertaking, the WBTC has to work as a welfare

undertaking. According to the WBTC mission, the Corporation has the
provision for adequate, efficient, well-co-ordinated, comfortable and
economical services to the passengers, while earning enough for self-sustenance

43
and growth. The Corporation was formed with an objective of supporting social
and economic development by offering cheaper travel linking all rural and
urban parts of the state to all categories of passengers with better amenities and
well managed services. Most of such objectives, lead to a negative impact on
the financial health of the Corporation. This leads to the goal conflict between
the social responsibility and earning profits by the organisation.

4. Rigid Management

Any functioning organisation is the combination of top, middle and lower level
management. Top-level management is usually assigning the task of planning
and policy formulation. One of the majorproblems for chief executives is to
allocate the necessary time for strategic management process.Lack of long term
vision and orientation is an internal reason for the continued meagre
performance of the WBTC.

5. Financial Crunch

Likewise, the formulation of wages, salary, incentives and other benefit policies
is also fixed as per the government rules. It is a fixed expense which has to be
the same for performing and non-performing employees. Moreover, the
Corporation bear the losses incurred on concessional rate of tickets. The
government made rules providing concessions to students, women, senior
citizens and handicaps, which lead to financial losses to the organisation.

6. Poor Performance
Despite of getting the fixed wages and salary, the performance of the staff is not
up to the mark, as the public sector job monopoly culture is deep rooted in the
Corporation. The performance based incentives schemes are lacking. The
morale and motivation of the employees are at low level. Moreover, the trade
unions forces are very strong. The union over protects the rights of the staffs,
which sometime creates problems in making decisions. Furthermore, the
organisation has too many layers, which slows down the process of decision
making.

44
Research Report

Findings
Despite the position of the Corporation in terms of strengths and weaknesses,
the market opportunities are noticeable and growing positively. The findings
from qualitative data collection has been segmented as follows –

1. Growing Population
The continuous heavy growth in population, the economic and social
development in the State is increasing the requirement of the mobility. In past
years, there was a tremendous change in the preference of mode of
transportation, which has been shifted from railways to roadways.

2. Financial Support From The State Government

The Corporation have great financial support from the government, which can
be utilised for new technologies and other innovative methods to improve and
grow the business.

3. One of the Largest Numbers of Fleet

WBTC has one of the largest numbers of fleet, through which it can provide
mobility to a wide range of the passengers. Moreover, the Corporation
possesses sufficient and updated infrastructure to operate the passengers
transport services in the State.
4. Overall Coverage
WBTC covers nearly all parts of the State and provides connectivity between
people and places making it one of the largest government-run transport
organisations in the entire country.

45
5. Rigid Policies & Framework
From formulation of wages, salary, incentives to other benefit policies,
everything also fixed as per the government rules. It is a fixed expense which
has to be the same for both the performing and non-performing employees,
hurting the productivity.

6. Concessional Rate Of Tickets Lead To Financial Losses

The Corporation bear the losses incurred on concessional rate of tickets. The
government made rules providing concessions to students, women, senior
citizens and handicaps, which lead to financial losses to the organisation.

7. Performance of The Staff is Not Upto The Mark

Despite of getting the fixed wages and salary, the performance of the staff is not
upto the mark, as the public sector job monopoly culture was deep rooted in the
Corporation. The performance based incentives schemes are lacking. The
morale and motivation of the employees are at low level.

8. Decision Making & Trade Unions

Moreover, the trade unions forces are very strong. The union over protects the
rights of the staffs, which sometime creates problems in making decisions.
Furthermore, the organisation has too many layers, which slows down the
process of decision making.

9. Strong Competition From Private Operators

The corporation faces strong competition from private operators, constantly
increasing number of self-owned two and four wheelers and private online cab
aggregators. The Corporation cannot control them, but effective planning will
help to reduce the risk of losses to a minimal level.

10. Technological Innovation

Inspite of many developments, the organisation lacks tecnological innovation in
terms of user convenience. It has AI-based apps and Fare Smart Cards available,
but only a few use it. The apps are not well contolled and are not up to date.

11. Consumer Education & Market Awareness

The organisation has a number of products available in the market, but several
people are not aware of any of these services and products. The company should
try to focus on letting people know its new services.

46
12. Financial Burden
Fare structure and any hike in the fare is solely decided by the Central and State
government, which does not match the price of input cost. So naturally there is
an imbalance between the cost incurred and the revenue generated which further
leads to financial crunch in the Corporation.

Recommendations

Based on the survey and primary resaerch, I developed a list of

recommendations the organisation may follow to improve its services –

1. Should Provide & Improve Specific Services

The Corporation have a large scope for growth in the State, i.e. of providing
class specific services, route specific services and time specific services.
Besides, there is no equal level challenge.

2. A Marketing Campaign For Add-On Services

WBTC has a number of products and add-on available in the market, but several
people are not aware of any of these services and products. The company should
try to focus on letting people know its new services with a marketing campaign.

3. More Night Bus Services

The orgnisation already has a few night bus services in prime locations, but
Kolkata being a metropolitan city, the bus services should be there 24 hours a
day with a varied frequency during all the hours.

4. Leveraging Services To Third Party Apps Like Paytm, Redbus or MMT

The website of WBTC is outdated and the online booking service of the
organisation poor. The orgisation can tie-up with TPAs like Paytm, RedBus and
Make My Trip to leverage their services.

5. Fare Differential Policy

WBTC shall follow the fare differential policy in peak periods of the day as
well as during off-seasonal time periods.

6. Technical Advancements
According to the changing needs of the competitive environment, the

47
organisation shall change its technical know-how, operational criteria and
service offerings.

7. Better Plan & Strategy Construction

The Corporation shall clearly define the line and staff functions performed by
the upper, middle and lower level management. It helps in creating role clarity
among management which leads to better plan and strategy construction.
8. Minimize Political Interference
Political interference in the external as well as internal affairs of the Corporation
shall be minimised.

9. Special Staff Training Program

The organisation should carry out a special training program for its lower level
and mid-level staff to improve productivity and train them with the latest tools
available.

10. Effective Decision Making

The organisation should focus on the effective leadership through proper
selection, training and development. Moreover, the decision-making chain
should be minimised by distribution work according to the nature of the job
specification.

48
Conclusion
We have surveyed Market Research both from the perspective of organisation
and consumers, which showcased how Market Research (MR) can be a vital
management tool in the age of this democratized information.

Being a state owned Corporation, WBTC has been facilitating the passengers of
the state with economical, safe and comfortable journey, while earning survival
profits. But to stand in the competition with private bus operators and other
SRTUs, WBTC have already started to redesign itself and to think innovative
rather than operating in traditional ways.

The Corporation shall adapt to new technical know-how and enhance its
marketing approach with the help of professional management. In the past
decade, the organisation efficiently reduced its man-power. However, it also
reduces the organisational layers by removing regional headquarters from their
organisational structure. But still there is a wide gap between revenue earned
and expenditure incurred.

The organisation shall focus on increasing revenue from non-traffic sources and
try to control the internal cost incurred. The organisation shall follow a model
adapted by the Maharashtra SRTUs or Karnataka SRTUs, which suggest the
price of fare collected from passengers according to the change in output and
input cost. Moreover, all the above mention changes can be possible with a
good match between organisational management and state and central
government. Both the parties together can formulate and implement policies
which enhance the physical as well as the financial soundness of the
organisation, by avoiding their personnel area of interests.

49
Bibliography

#Books
1. Marketing Management - Philip Kotler
2. Marketing Management - V S Ramaswamy

#Websites
1. www.managementhelp.org
2. www.investopedia.com
3. www.wikepedia.org
4. www.marketingprofs.com
5. www.aboutpublicrelations.net
6. transport.wb.gov.in
7. www.calcuttatramways.com
8. www.ctconlinebooking.in
9. online.sbstcbooking.co.in

#References

1. Various issues of “Profile and Performance- State Road Transport

Undertakings” CIRT, Pune.

2. Mishra, A.K. (2010), “Performance Appraisal of State Enterprises” New

Royal Book Co.

3. Dr. Srinivasulu, Yarlagadda (2008) “Marketing of Passenger Transport

Services” A.P.H. Publishing Corporation, New Delhi.

4. Singh, Baidyanath Prasad, (2007) “Indian Economy Today: Changing

Contours” Deep and Deep Publications, New Delhi.

5. Vijayaraghavan, T.A.S. (1999), “Strategic options for state road transport

undertakings in India” International Journal of Public Sector Management,
Vol.-8, No. 1.

50
Appendix

Survey Questions

'WBTC' Customer Survey

1. Which mode of 'Public Transport' do you prefer more?

 Bus
 Local Train
 Metro
 Ferry

2. Which is more 'affordable' for you?

 Bus
 Local Train
 Ferry
 Metro

3. Do you find 'bus' convenient for your daily transportation?

 Yes
 No
 Maybe
 Can't Say

4. Do you prefer 'bus' to travel long distances?

 Yes
 No
 Maybe
 Can't Say

5. Is 'traffic' a constraint for you to travel in a 'bus'?

 Yes
 No
 Maybe
 Can't Say

51
6. Do you find 'AC state bus' tickets affordable?
 Yes
 No
 Maybe
 Can't Say

7. Are 'AC buses' available on your route?

 Yes
 No
 Maybe
 Can't Say

8. Do you prefer a 'Non-AC bus' or 'AC bus' to commute for long

distances?
 Non AC Bus
 AC Bus
 Other mode of transport
 None

9. Nearest 'bus stand' to your residence or locality -

 Within 1 km
 Within 1-3 km
 Within 3-5 km
 More than 5 km

10. Do you find 'bus stands' well maintained?

 Yes
 No
 Maybe
 Can't Say

11. Are 'bus-stands' accessible from your residence or locality?

 Yes
 No
 Maybe
 Can't say

52
12. Do you find the seating comfortable in 'state buses'?
 Yes
 No
 Maybe
 Can't say

13. Do you find 'WBTC buses' clean and spacious?

 Yes
 No
 Maybe
 Can't say

14. Are 'buses' available at your locality from 11 PM - 4 AM?

 Yes
 No
 Maybe
 Can't say

15. Do you know about 'Pathadisha App', which is used to track buses
in real-time like OLA & Uber?
 Yes
 No
 I use it
 Don't know about it

16. Do you use 'Fare Smart Card', where one card can be used for all
your daily travel?
 Yes
 No
 I use it
 Don't know about it

53
17. Are you comfortable with the 'ground-to-floor' clearance of the
'buses' while boarding?
 Yes
 No
 Maybe
 Can't say

18. WBTC is launching new 'ultra-low floored buses' for Senior

Citizens and PWD. What's your take?
 Should be considered
 Should not be considered
 The buses already have low floors
 Don't know

54