Study Design
In El Paso Texas, there has been an increasing trend in the number of individuals who prefer to use public transport systems ( IPUMS-USA ). The aim of this research is to investigate the satisfaction of public transportation services and that drive commuters to select this mode of transportation. The needs, preferences and affordability of transport systems affect the choice of an individual. The research question in this study is: Does socio-economic reasons or environmental concerns affect the reason urban commuters decide to select public bus transportation?
Hypothesis: (El Paso, Texas) commuters use the bus more due to socio-economic reasons. Null Hypothesis: Socio-economic reasons are not the reason why El Pasoans commuters use the bus. A qualitative study will be conducted for the purpose of establishing the reason behind the increased number of public transportation commuters. The collected information will be analyzed and used to draw conclusions as to whether each hypothesis will be rejected or accepted. The results and findings will be used to mark the attributes of the commuters with regard to their reason for choosing public transportation services.
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Population and Sample
The participants for the research study will be selected form commuters who board operative buses on working days. Office goers who have access to their own private transportation means will also be interviewed. A total of 200 participants are required for the study. These individuals will be randomly selected from bus stages or in the buses they are traveling in. 100 of the participants need to be employed with access to their own private transportation means. In the sample, the ratio of males to females will need to be almost equal for increased credibility of the results. The participants’ age will range between 18 to 60 years. The study will be conducted in different parts of the town so that the results collected eliminate any form of biases that may be prevalent in a particular population. There will also be a balance in the age, gender, and occupation of the sample population so that every type of commuter is included in the study. Areas that are concentrated with offices, social amenities, and residential facilities will be preferred because they accommodate the highest number of commuters ( Ashton, 2013 ). The sample population selected for the study will give their opinion on the reason as to why they prefer using public transport services.
Variables & Measures
The socio-economic reason represents one of the dependent variables in the study. Affordability is a very crucial factor to consider here, especially because some of the commuters from the region fall in the low and middle-income categories ( Steven, Katie, Ronald, Josiah, and Matthew, 2017 ). Social and economic reasons may, therefore, influence individuals to opt for public means of transportation. The second dependent variable is the environmental reason. It is not yet determined whether El Pasoans have regard for sustaining the environment they live in. Consequently, there is a possibility that they may be using public transportation services as a means of conserving the environment by reducing the emission of greenhouse gases. The urban commuter is the independent variable because it does not change with time. The subject of the investigation is dependent on this variable. The urban area is the moderating variable whereas the bus usage is the intervening variable. These influence the outcome of the results that will be gathered at the end of the study.
Data Collection Methods
Qualitative data was collected from the research study based on the responses that were provided by the sample population. Structured interviews were used to conduct on board transport services as well as for individuals in offices, and bus stages. These are preferred because they are easy to quantify as a result of the uniformity in responses. In addition to this, they are also easy to analyze and interpret as compared to unstructured interviews ( Leavy, 2014 ). The participants answered a couple of questions that had been prepared for investigating the research question. The answers that were provided were used to draw conclusions on the hypothesis that was being tested. The first part of the interview involved answering questions on age, gender, and occupation. In the second section, questions about the transportation system used, its satisfaction, affordability, and preference were asked. The final section asked the interviewer to state whether they used public transport systems for socio-economic or environmental reasons. Data from the interviewees was gathered and presented in a sheet that was used to draw the final conclusion. Sampling was used so that the results could be used to generalize the trend in the entire population. A copy of the structured interview questions is provided in the appendix section of the paper.
Data Analysis Methods
The dependent variable with the highest preference among the commuters will be used to support the validity of the hypothesis being tested ( Sucharov & International Conference on Urban Transport and the Environment, 2007 ). Homogenous data was collected and presented in tables and graphs for purposes of identifying the factors that contributed to the choice being made. Consequently, a one way ANOVA statistical test will be conducted as a means of comparing the samples so that the variances can be determined. This will test for significant differences in the sample population. For the final result, tallying will be used to indicate the dependent variable with the highest number of commuter preference.
References
Ashton A. Q. (2013). Issues in Transportation Research and Application: 2013 Edition. Atlanta: Scholarly Editions
IPUMS-USA, University of Minnesota, www.ipums.org
Leavy, P. (2014). The Oxford handbook of qualitative research . New York: Oxford University Press
Steven Ruggles, Katie Genadek, Ronald Goeken, Josiah Grover, and Matthew Sobek. Integrated Public Use Microdata Series: Version 7.0 [dataset]. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota, 2017. https://doi.org/10.18128/D010.V7.0 ]
Sucharov, L. J., & International Conference on Urban Transport and the Environment (3, 2007, Acquasparta). (2007). Urban transport and the environment for the 21st century III: [third International Conference on Urban Transport and the Environment for the 21st Century, UT 97] . Southampton [u.a.: Computational Mechanics Publ.
