Exploring the Opinions of Passenger Rail Riders: Evidence From the Hoosier State Train

Author(s):  
V. Dimitra Pyrialakou ◽  
Konstantina “Nadia” Gkritza

Ridership on Midwest passenger rail lines has been steadily increasing over the past two decades. Between 2005 and 2014, there has been a growth of more than 65 percent, much higher than the national average (approximately 30 percent for the same years). Nevertheless, a number of lines have discontinued their services or are in danger of discontinuance. For example, Kentucky Cardinal, operating between Chicago, Illinois and Louisville, Kentucky was discontinued in 2003, and the Three Rivers train, operating between Chicago, Illinois and New York, New York was discontinued in 2005. The Hoosier State train running between Indianapolis, Indiana and Chicago, Illinois would have faced the same fate recently, if not for the financial support that the state and communities have been providing since 2013. As of October 1, 2013, the State of Indiana, local communities, and Amtrak reached an agreement to support the Hoosier State line for the following fiscal year (2013–2014), and the agreement has continued ever since. In the meantime, the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) was the first nationally to announce a Request for Proposals to seek competing solutions from independent providers, as allowed by the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (PRIIA), in order to obtain private-sector competitive bids for the operation of the Hoosier State train. Recently, after many unfruitful attempts and many obstacles, INDOT reached an agreement with Iowa Pacific Holdings. The company has been providing the locomotives for the line since August 2015, and collaborates with Amtrak to keep the train in service, with a shared vision to increase service frequency, improve speed and maintain a reliable schedule, and provide better on-board amenities. However, to ensure the financial viability of the system and support any improvement or expansion, an increase in ridership is necessary. To achieve this, it is essential that we understand the opinions of Indiana residents, passengers of the Hoosier State train, and advocates of the line towards passenger rail. This paper presents the results of a survey that was conducted on board the Hoosier State train to solicit information pertaining to the perceived ease of use and usefulness of the passenger rail services, riders’ opinions, and other factors that might affect behavior toward passenger rail transportation, as well as factors that affect an individual’s mode choice in general, such as habitual automobile behavior, or external impedance factors like schedule and route restrictions. The survey was endorsed by INDOT and approved by Amtrak and Iowa Pacific Holdings. In addition, this paper presents how opinions toward passenger rail differ among different groups based on socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, familiarity with passenger rail transportation in general and the Hoosier State train specifically, and usage. Furthermore, in order to prioritize service improvements that can foster an increase in the Hoosier State ridership, this paper explores mode choice decisions through the use of a multi-attribute attitude model. The results of this paper can guide policy and planning decision making that aims to foster an increase in passenger rail ridership through a mode shift from personal automobiles and competing mass transportation systems, such as airlines and intercity buses.

Information ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 141
Author(s):  
Chun-Hsiung Huang

This research explores the factors that influence students’ continuous usage intention regarding online learning platforms from the perspectives of social capital, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use. The questionnaire survey method was used in the research to analyze the relationship between the research variables and verify the hypothesis based on data from 248 collected valid questionnaire responses. The following results were obtained: (1) “Social interaction ties” positively affect students’ continuous usage intention. (2) “Shared language” negatively affects students’ continuous usage intention. (3) “Shared vision” positively affects students’ continuous usage intention. (4) “Perceived usefulness” positively affects students’ continuous usage intention. (5) “Perceived ease of use” positively affects students’ continuous usage intention. According to the results, students believe in useful teaching that promotes knowledge and skills. The ease of use of learning tools is key to whether they can learn successfully. Paying attention to the interaction and communication between students, so that students have a shared goal and participate in teamwork, is something that teachers must pay attention to in the course of operation. The professional vocabulary of the teaching content and the way of announcing information should avoid using difficult terminology, which is also a point to which teachers need to pay attention.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-45
Author(s):  
Shamsu Abdullahi ◽  
Abubakar Zakari ◽  
Amina Nura ◽  
Abdulfatah Samaila Mashasha ◽  
Haruna Abdu ◽  
...  

Requirements negotiation is a centralized process of making a decision in order to resolve conflicts in the requirements of the stakeholder. The negotiation will enable the shared vision of software to be developed among the heterogeneous stakeholder in the software industry to be achieved. Many process models used for the negotiation of stakeholder’s requirements have been proposed for the software industry by the research community, yet the acceptance of these process models is discouraging. This study tends to investigate the inadequate adoption of requirements negotiation process models. Further, it finds the acceptance criteria for the software industry to adopt requirements negotiation models. Finding shows that the software industries do not adopt the process models. The perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and many more criteria have been identified through the literature review on the general criteria of software systems acceptance.


Author(s):  
Kevin Keller

The Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (PRIIA) was created to reauthorize the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, better known as Amtrak, and strengthen the US passenger rail network by tasking Amtrak, the U.S. Department of Transportation (US DOT), Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), States, and other stakeholders in improving service, operations, and facilities. PRIIA also tasks States with establishing or designating a State rail transportation authority that will develop Statewide rail plans to set policy involving freight and passenger rail transportation within their boundaries, establish priorities and implementation strategies to enhance rail service in the public interest, and serve as the basis for Federal and State rail investments within the State. In order to comply with PRIIA, State rail plans are required to address a broad spectrum of issues, including an inventory of the existing rail transportation system, rail services and facilities within the State. They must also include an explanation of the State’s passenger rail service objectives, an analysis of rail’s transportation, economic, and environmental impacts in the State, and a long-range investment program for current and future freight and passenger infrastructure in the State. The plans are to be coordinated with other State transportation planning programs and clarify long-term service and investment needs and requirements. This paper and presentation will illustrate the steps required in preparing a State rail plan and the benefits of having a properly developed plan.


Author(s):  
Dan Baugher ◽  
Robert Dennehy ◽  
Andrew Varanelli

As transportation systems search for ways to improve service and reduce costs, new systems for fare payment are becoming more common. The human throughput at turnstiles of a large number of token and stored value card users was observed in the New York City subway system for 1 week and then for another week after a 6-month interval. The results suggest that magnetic card swipe read/write technologies for fare payment may, at least initially, slow down access to subway platforms and increase entry problems for users. Stored value card users took longer, on average, and showed more variability in throughput than token users. Stored value card users also experienced a fair amount of difficulty in swiping their cards through turnstile readers, although the difficulties decreased after 6 months. Users of cards also differed from token users on a number of demographic variables. With about 50 percent of the ridership served by the new system at the time of the study, the most consistent finding across both study phases was a tendency for males to use the new card-based system more often than females and for Spanish riders to use cards less often than other riders. Possible problems with the voluntary adoption of cards by riders and the need for marketing efforts are also discussed in light of the inability of cards to offer any improvements in terms of ease of use or turnstile entry speed over that of token systems.


2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 7-35
Author(s):  
Andrea Lynn Smith

The centerpiece of New York State’s 150th anniversary of the Sullivan Expedition of 1779 was a pageant, the “Pageant of Decision.” Major General John Sullivan’s Revolutionary War expedition was designed to eliminate the threat posed by Iroquois allied with the British. It was a genocidal operation that involved the destruction of over forty Indian villages. This article explores the motivations and tactics of state officials as they endeavored to engage the public in this past in pageant form. The pageant was widely popular, and served the state in fixing the expedition as the end point in settler-Indian relations in New York, removing from view decades of expropriations of Indian land that occurred well after Sullivan’s troops left.


Author(s):  
Nor Hayati Kassim ◽  
Norlina Mohamed Noor ◽  
Jati Kasuma ◽  
Juliza Saleh ◽  
Ceaser Dealwis ◽  
...  

Companies are now recognizing that their employees require a spectrum of mobile applications in order to achieve maximum efficiency at the workplace. Mobile applications such as WeChat, Twitter and WhatsApp via smartphones have become influential tools and extensively used by employees at the workplace. This state-of-the-art technology in communication has penetrated various fields, including routine administrative jobs at the workplace. The objective of this research is toinvestigate the acceptance of the WhatsApp mobile application for formal use among support staff at The Commission of the City of Kuching North, Sarawak (DBKU). Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and behavioral intention of the users in using WhatsApp are the variables measured for job performance. The researchers utilized convenience sampling, whereby a total of 105 employees from two departments participated in the investigation. Data was collected using a set of selfadministered questionnaires which was adapted from Davis. The findings revealed that perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of WhatsApp as a means of communication were significant for job performance at DBKU. The employees felt more competent during their formal interaction at the workplace as less effort was needed while using WhatsApp. The existence of features which were user-friendly and easy operational functions helped to create positive attitudes when utilizing the application. Faster feedback, ease of use, and convenience were some of the reasons for the employees’ willingness to use WhatsApp for communication at the workplace.


Think India ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 402-409
Author(s):  
Deepak Shrivastava ◽  
Apurva Shrivastava ◽  
Gyan Prakash

Tech-friendliness in this new era is an important quotient considered and the persons’ acceptance towards the technology frequency matters a lot. But still the frequency varies from person to person, this brought in the concept of Technology Acceptance Model given by Fred Davis in 1989. The theory of TAM is based on two theories that are Theory of Reasoned Action and Theory of Planned Behavior, TAM is extended version of these two. Green Banking is a new technology introduced by the banks that focuses on the growth of Sustainable development and Banking system too. Thus, banks ask their customers to use it or practice it in their daily life transactions. But every customer has their own point of view on the usage of Green banking. Thus, the research aims to understand the customers’ perception towards the Green Banking for this TAM is used. The research states that Perceived risk is the primary factor that is followed by perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use that impacts the decision to use green banking. Thus, the behavioral intention results in actual use of green banking usage for which people are trying to accept the new technology. So, the banks have earned points for creating awareness among their customers but still they have to work hard and clarify their customers’ problems and vanish that hitch that is stopping them to use green banking easily.


Think India ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 305-314
Author(s):  
Kishore Raaj Suresh

Purpose – This study investigates the consumer’s technology adoption toward electronic commerce. In addition to the variables perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use derived from TAM, the study included and tested factors like perceived security, perceived product value, personal cost, perceived enjoyment, perceived cost and perceived quality. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was developed primarily based on the available scales in the already published literature. All model constructs requested participants to indicate their perceptions of Likert-style responses. The data analysis was executed using Smart PLS to test the validity and reliability of the measurement instrument.


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