Operational Characteristics of Ipoh City Bus Services Route : Ipoh- Ipoh Garden East

The main purpose of the study is documenting and evaluating the operational
characteristics of Ipoh city bus services operated for the route Ipoh (Medan Kidd) -
Ipoh Garden East (Taman Ipoh Timur). The study divided into three (3) mains parts
that are comparison operational characteristics, evaluating bus service performance
quality according to Level Of Service framework (LOS) and documentation of users
characteristics and perceptions on the provided service. Analysis of the collected data
shows 30.9% different value of the actual (current) and the standard design
operational parameters. Long waiting and longer cycle are not a desirable condition
for the passenger since they have to allocate extra time in their trips plan. The degree
of reliability that the user could have on the current service performance indicated by
the service performance evaluation that is LOS C. Outcome of the questionnaire
survey shows the actual users pattern that dominated by the group of low income
(58%) and group of students (43%). These groups utilize the service to travel for
works and schools due to the unavailability of transportation for travelling and to
reduced travelling cost. This clearly shows by the low score gave by users on the
suitability of the bus fare that shows their concern on the travelling cost that they
have to spend. Overall, the current provided city bus service considered effective in
serving the current transportation demand of Ipoh residents. Further improvements
required in the especially in the service performance and provided facilities to attract
more users and thus reducing the traffic congestion problem in Ipoh city.