Business Research Methods Project

Shift of preference of public from private vehicles to public transport services in Mumbai in 2011.

Research by, Vinay D Chakraborty SY BMS Div B Roll no: 6022.

Introduction

The year 2011 has seen many escalations in fuel prices. The reasons for the same range from the global economic slowdown to flaws in policies of the Government. The frequent hike in fuel prices have led many people in Mumbai to shift from the use of their private vehicles to public transport services like railways and busses. Although the hike in the fuel prices is the main reason for this shift, but through this research we shall try to find out if there are other reasons too for this shift and how have they impacted the citizens of Mumbai. In the course of this research we shall be taking the help of secondary data made available through various government and non government organizations to study the nature of the shift in preference of the people in Mumbai from private vehicles to public transport services. The findings of this research shall be helpful to the automobile manufacturers in framing their marketing strategies for sales in Mumbai. It shall also be helpful to the public transport authorities since it will help them in framing suitable policies for improving their existing services and introducing new public transport services for accommodating the increasing numbers of commuters.

Contents Sr.no I. II. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Topic Title Introduction Objectives of the research Rational behind the research Scope of the research Methodology of the research Limitations of the research Research Findings Conclusion Recommendations Bibliography Page no. 1. 2. 4. 4. 4. 4. 4. 5.

1. Objectives of the research. (i) (ii) To do a comparative study of the use of private vehicles and that of public transport services by the people of Mumbai in 2011. To study the reasons for increase in use of public transport services in the year 2011.

2. Rational behind the research. This research shall help us in understanding the reasons and effects of the shift in the preference of the public from private vehicles to public transport services in Mumbai in 2011. 3. Scope of the research. (i) The findings of this research shall be useful for the automobile manufacturers and dealers in formulating appropriate plans and policies for marketing their vehicles in Mumbai. (ii) The findings of this research shall be useful for the public transport authorities in formulating appropriate plans and policies regarding improving and increasing their services. 4. Research Methodology. (i). Collecting secondary data from websites of government agencies. (ii). Collecting secondary data from websites of non government organizations. 5. Limitations of the research. (i). Differences in data from government and non government sources. (ii). Data inadequacy. (iii). Non availability of up to date data. (iv). Personal bias of those who collected the primary data.

Research Findings.

Increase in commuters in public transport services in Mumbai in 2011. Public 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 transport service/Year Railways 20.64 lakhs 20.73 lakhs 20.89 lakhs 20.91 lakhs 20.93 lakhs Bus services 15.02 lakhs 15.30 lakhs 15.18 lakhs 15.84 lakhs 17.00 lakhs Rickshaws and Taxis. 2.3 lakhs 2.56 lakhs 2.45 lakhs 2.41 lakhs 2.39 lakhs

Note: a. In the above data, the railways include the central, western and harbor line services. b. The bus services include only the BEST bus services. c. The Rickshaw and Taxi services include only those within the limits of Mumbai and its suburbs. From the above data the following is inferred: 1. There was an increase of 0.02 lakhs in the railway commuters in the year 2011 in Mumbai. 2. There was an increase of 1.16 lakh passengers in the bus services of Mumbai in 2011. 3. The Rickshaw and Taxi services were the only public transport services to record a decline of 0.2 lakh passengers in 2011 in Mumbai due to increase in fares and increasing complains about meter tampering.

Decrease in sale of four wheelers in Mumbai in 2011. (units of cars sold)

Manufacturer/Year Maruti TATA Mahindra

2007 1.57 lakhs 4.24 lakhs 2.83 lakhs

2008 2.23 lakhs 5.13 lakhs 2.65 lakhs

2009 2.78 lakhs 3.28 lakhs. 2.74 lakhs

2010 2.43 lakhs 4.02 lakhs 2.36 lakhs

2011 2.17 lakhs. 3.64 lakhs 2.19 lakhs

4 Maruti 3 TATA Mahindra 2

0 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Note: 1. All above data are in lakh units. 2. The sales data for all manufacturers include the overall sales of all models of four wheelers. From the above data we can infer that: There was a decrease of 0.26 lakh in the sales of Maruti in the year 2011 in Mumbai. There was a decrease of 0.38 lakh in the sales of TATA Motors in the year 2011 in Mumbai.

 There was a decrease of 0.17 lakhs in the sales of Mahindra & Mahindra in 2011 in Mumbai. Decrease in sales of two wheelers in Mumbai in 2011. (figures in lakh units) Manufacturer/Year Hero-Honda TVS Bajaj Note: 1. All above data contains figures of sale of units in lakhs. 2. All models of two wheelers of the manufacturing companies have been included in the data. From the above data we can infer: There was a decrease of 0.07 lakh units in the sales of Hero Honda in Mumbai in 2011. There was a decrease of 0.09 lakh units in the sales of TVS in Mumbai in 2011. There was a decrease of 0.1 lakh units in the sales of Bajaj in Mumbai in 2011. 2007 1.25 1.36 1.28 2008 1.32 1.41 1.34 2009 1.27 1.33 1.29 2010 1.31 1.35 1.32 2011 1.24 1.26 1.22