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ABSTRACT

This project addresses the study and development of an Online Bus Ticketing System web portal to enable users, both the bus operators and the customers to make an online bus ticket sale/ purchase and act as an operation tool for bus operators to operate their organization effectively. Traditionally, bus ticket purchase has been over the counter in bus terminals, however, today it has evolved with the rapid expansion of e-commerce. Thus, prior to developing the system, a this research critically assess and study the reason behind the evolution and the current e-ticketing systems. This project also addresses the problems faced by customers and bus operators especially on illegal bus operators, long wait to purchase a bus ticket, unsafe environment and many more. The research studies some issues on implementation and also recommendations on how Online Bus Ticketing System web portal can take place effectively. This research recommends on a star ranking system based on monthly sales, bus operator popularity and law traffic offences. This research also recommends a Decision Support System to deal with the customer’s requirement whereby it provides reliable choices to a customer to make decision. This research includes the development of a prototype Online Bus Ticketing System web portal to support the research objective. This web portal will assist in future development that would support a fully integrated system that links bus operators to customers, bus operators to bus operators, bus operators to other mode of transport providers, bus operator to businesses and bus operators to government agencies.

 

  TABLE OF CONTENTS  
CONTENTS PAGE
Abstract i
Acknowledgement ii
Table of Contents iii
List of Figures ix
List of Tables xiii
List of Appendices xiv
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Problem Statement 4
1.3 Objectives 8
1.4 Scope of the Research 10
1.5 Significance of the Research 12
1.6 Methodology 12
1.7 Organization of Thesis 15
1.8 Expected Research Outcome 17
1.9 Conclusion 18

 

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW  
2.1 Introduction   19
2.2 E- Commerce   19
2.3 Business to Consumer (B2C) 20
2.4 Portal   21
2.5 Management Information System 22
2.6 Decision Support System   24
2.7 Security   25
2.8 Payment   27
2.9 Analysis of Puduraya Bus Terminal 31
2.10 Ticketing System   34
  2.10.1 Analysis on the Existing Manual Bus Ticketing 35
  System    
  2.10.2 Analysis on the Existing Computerized Bus 36
  Ticketing System    
  2.10.3 Comparison between Manual and Computerized 37
  Ticketing System    
  2.10.4 Analysis of Existing Online Ticketing System 39
  2.10.4.1 Malaysia   39
  2.10.4.1.1 Plusliner Sdn Bhd 39
  2.10.4.1.2 Konsortium Bus Express 45
    Semenanjung  
  2.10.4.1.3 The Ticketing.com 49
  2.10.4.1.4 Aeroline Malaysia 53
  2.10.4.1.5 Air Asia Sdn Bhd 56
  2.10.4.2 North America 62

 

  2.10.4.2.1 Greyhound Lines, Inc 62
  2.10.4.2.2 Tompkins Consolidated 66
    Area Transit  
  2.10.4.3 Hungary   68
  2.10.4.3.1 Volanbusz.com 68
  2.10.4.4 India   71
  2.10.4.4.1 SPAN Group Company 71
2.11 Comparison Between Existing Bus e-ticketing Systems 75
2.12 Conclusion   79

 

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 80
3.1 Introduction 80
3.2 Choice of Methodology 80
3.3 Research Methodology 84
  3.3.1 Fact Finding 85
    3.3.1.1 Observation 85
    3.3.1.2 Interview 85
    3.3.1.3 Questionnaire 86
  3.3.2 Prototype 86
3.4 Questionnaire Analysis and Result 86
  3.4.1   Public and bus operators’ perception towards 87
    Online Bus Ticketing System  
3.5 Interview Questions and Results 98
  3.5.1   Interview with Plusliner Sdn. Bhd. and Eltabina 98
    Express Sdn. Bhd  
3.6 Conclusion 103

 

CHAPTER 4: SYSTEM ANALYSIS 106
4.1 Introduction 106
4.2 Description of the Proposed System 106
4.3 Intended Users 108
4.4 Brief Overview of the Proposed System Functions 108
4.5 Functional requirement 109
  4.5.1 Administrators 110
    4.5.1.1 Bus Company Information 110
    4.5.1.2 Bus Information 111
    4.5.1.3 Member Account and Staff Profile 112
    4.5.1.4 Purchasing and Booking Cancellation 112
      113
    4.5.1.5 Report  
    4.5.1.6 Authority 114
  4.5.2 Customers 115
    4.5.2.1 Main Page 115
    4.5.2.2 Registration 117
    4.5.2.3 Bus Schedule and Details 118
    4.5.2.4 Booking 118
    4.5.2.5 Payment 119
    4.5.2.6 Ticket 119
    4.5.2.7 Booking Cancellation 119
4.6 Bus Operator Ranking 120
4.7 Non- functional requirement 121

4.8        Conclusion                                                                                                       124

 

CHAPTER 5: SYSTEM DESIGN AND 125
    IMPLEMENTATION  
5.1 Introduction 125
5.2 System Functional Design 125
  5.2.1 Structure Design 125
    5.2.1.1 Structure Chart for Administrator Section 126
    5.2.1.1.1 Structure Chart for Authority 128
    Module  
    5.2.1.2 Structure Chart for Customer Section 128
  5.2.2 Data Flow Diagram 130
    5.2.2.1 Data Flow Diagram 0 131
5.3 Database Design 132
  5.3.1 Data Dictionary 132
  5.3.2 Entity Relationship Model 137
5.4 Tools and Methodology used 138
  5.4.1 Software Package used 138
  5.4.2 Tools used 139
    5.4.2.1 Software Requirement 139
    5.4.2.2 Scripting Language 139
    5.4.2.3 Database Management 140
    5.4.2.4 Operating System 140
5.5 Hardware and Software Requirements 140
  5.5.1 Requirement for System Development 141
5.6 Human Computer Interaction (HCI) Factors 141

 

5.7 Goals of User Interface (Usability Factors) 142
5.8 Web Page Design Principles 143
5.9 System Implementation 144
  5.9.1   Guidelines on How Online Bus Ticketing System 145
  web portal can be implemented  
5.10 Suggested Guidelines 146
5.11 Features and components of the Prototype 147
5.12 Interface Design 147
5.13 Source Codes 147
5.14 Conclusion 148

 

CHAPTER 6: SYSTEM TESTING 149
6.1 Introduction 149
6.2 Testing   149
  6.2.1 Unit Testing 150
  6.2.2 Integration Testing 152
  6.2.3 System Testing 152
  6.2.4 Acceptance Testing 155
    6.2.4.1 Analysis of Bus Operator Administrator 156
    Acceptance Testing  
    6.2.4.2 Analysis of Customer Acceptance Testing 160
6.3 Conclusion 164

 

CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION 165
7.1Introduction 165

 

7.2 Outcomes of the research 165
7.3 Limitations of the research 167
7.4 Future work of the research 167
7.5 Conclusion 169
REFERENCES 294

 

  LIST OF FIGURES  
Figure 1.1 Research Process 14
Figure 2.1 Puduraya Bus Terminal 31
Figure 2.2 Scenario of traffic congestion along Jalan Pudu 33
Figure 2.3 The number of seats available for specific route 40
Figure 2.4 The Availability of seats 40
Figure 2.5 The Schedule form 41
Figure 2.6 The Fare and Schedule form 41
Figure 2.7 Membership Registration form 42
Figure 2.8 Ticket Reservation and Purchasing form 42
Figure 2.9 Seat Map 43
Figure 2.10 Confirmation slip 44
Figure 2.11 New Member Registration 46
Figure 2.12 Ticket Purchase form 46
Figure 2.13 Confirmation Information 47
Figure 2.14 Counter Location Map 48
Figure 2.15 Search form 49
Figure 2.16 Bus Schedule 50
Figure 2.17 Trips Information 50
Figure 2.18 The Member Login section of Maybank2u.com 51
Figure 2.19 Login form to Print Tickets after Payment 52
Figure 2.20 Plan Trip form 54
Figure 2.21 Select Form 54
Figure 2.22 Confirmation form 55

 

Figure 2.23 Payment form 55
Figure 2.24 Air Asia Flight Search form 57
Figure 2.25 Flight information using the search function 58
Figure 2.26 The confirmation screen provided by airasia.com 59
Figure 2.27 The contact screen 60
Figure 2.28 The Purchase screen 61
Figure 2.29 Buy Tickets form 63
Figure 2.30 The Discount form 63
Figure 2.31 The Schedule form 64
Figure 2.32 The Fares form 64
Figure 2.33 The Purchase form 65
Figure 2.34 The “Plan A Trip” form 67
Figure 2.35 The online ticket booking form 69
Figure 2.36 Available dates traveling form 69
Figure 2.37 Conformation form 70
Figure 2.38 Conformation Ticket 70
Figure 2.39 Journey and date departure screen 72
Figure 2.40 The current status screen 72
Figure 2.41 The booking details and seat selection screen 73
Figure 2.42 Personal Information form 73
Figure 2.43 Final Conformation form 74
Figure 2.44 Payment details form 74
Figure 3.1 Waterfall model 81
Figure 3.2 Age Distribution of Respondents 88

 

Figure 3.3 Respondents who have conducted an Online 90
  Payment through Internet  
Figure 3.4 Awareness of Existence of bus e-ticketing systems 91
Figure 3.5 Satisfaction of services provided  in the  existing 94
  Online Bus Ticketing Systems  
Figure 3.6 Reasons  for  using  services  from 1  type  of  bus 95
  operator  
Figure 3.7 Preferred Payment options for future Online Bus 95
  Ticketing System  
Figure 5.1 Structure  design  of Online  Bus  Ticketing  Main 126
  System  
Figure 5.2 Structure chart for Online Bus Ticketing System 127
  Administrator Section  
Figure 5.3 The Structure Chart for the Online Bus Ticketing 128
  Authority Module  
Figure 5.4 The Structure Chart for the Online Bus Ticketing 129
  Customer Section  
Figure 5.5 The Online Bus Ticketing System Context 130
  Diagram  
Figure 5.6 Data Flow Diagram 0 for Online Bus Ticketing 131
  System  
Figure 5.7 Entity Relationship Diagram for Online Bus 137
  Ticketing System  
Figure 5.8 Framework for Online Bus Ticketing System web 146
  portal Implementation  
Figure 6.1 Respondents who have rated the systems features 156
  and functionalities  
Figure 6.2 Respondents who have rated the familiarity of the 157
  Online Bus Ticketing System web portal  
Figure 6.3 Respondents who have rated the system 157
  helpfulness in their daily operations  

 

Figure 6.4 Respondents who have rated for additional features 158
  and functions in the system  
Figure 6.5 Respondents who have rated the Online Bus 159
  Ticketing web portal interface design  
Figure 6.6 Respondents who have rated the Online Bus 159
  Ticketing web portal  
Figure 6.7 Respondents who have rated the systems features 160
  and functionalities  
Figure 6.8 Respondents who have rated the familiarity of the 161
  Online Bus Ticketing System  
Figure 6.9 Respondents who have rated helpfulness in ticket 162
  purchasing  
Figure 6.10 Respondents who have rated for additional features 162
  and functions in the system  
Figure 6.11 Respondents who have rated the Online Bus 163
  Ticketing web portal interface design  
Figure 6.12 Respondents who have rated the Online Bus 164
  Ticketing web portal  

 

  LIST OF TABLES  
Table 2.1 Comparison summary between manual and 38
  computerized Ticketing System  
Table 2.2 Summary of the features available between the 77
  existing online ticketing systems  
Table 3.1 Respondents view on condition in Puduraya Bus 89
  Terminal  
Table 3.2 Effectiveness of Online Bus Ticketing System 92
Table 6.1 Unit Testing for Administrator login module 150
Table 6.2 Unit Testing for the Administrator Ticket Booking 151
  module  
Table 6.3 Integrated Testing for the Administrator Booking 153
  Ticket module  
Table 6.4 Integrated Testing for the Administrator Ticket 153
  Cancellation module  
Table 6.5 Integrated Testing for the Customer Booking 154
  Ticket module  
Table 6.6 Integrated Testing for the Customer Ticket 155
  Cancellation module  

 

  LIST OF APPENDICES  
A: List of Bus Operators and Taxi at Puduraya Bus Terminal 171
B: Questionnaire Form 174
C: Bus Schedule of Plusliner Sdn Bhd 195
  Reservation and Purchasing form of Eltabina Express 197
  Sdn Bhd  
D: System Evaluation Form 199
E: Commercial Banks in Malaysia 203
F: Interface Design (Administrator) 204
G: Interface design (Authority) 227
H: Interface Design (Customer) 230
I: Source Codes (Administrator section) 253
J: Source Codes (Authority section) 283
K: Source Codes (Customer section) 385

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

  • Introduction

The government of Malaysia has successfully capitalized its country’s topography to construct a road system, especially the national highway to its public to commute within the Peninsular Malaysia.

The North South highway with a total distance of 847.7 km was officially open on September 8 1994, which stretches from Bukit Kayu Hitam, Kedah to Johor Bahru (The North South Expressway, 2006). It has made possible for a person to travel from north to south of Peninsular Malaysia within 9 hours compared to longer hours prior to its existence.

Kompleks Perhentian Puduraya is the most significant public transport (bus) terminal in Malaysia (Wikipedia, 2006). Every year, the number of public using its services has been increasing as the government constantly urges commuters to use public transport instead of private vehicles (Ng Cheng Yee, 2006). So much so during the weekend or any given public holidays, the number of commuters’ increases by doubles. The main activity that is taking place in Puduraya Bus Terminal is over the counter bus ticket sales.

Since the highway has encouraged the public to commute easily, the development of public transport system (express bus) has grown rapidly since then. In 1976, there were only 26 bus operators operating in Puduraya, but in year 2003, there are 67 bus operators that are in operation and offering services to almost all destinations throughout the country. On the average, about 1,500 buses go in and out of Puduraya weekly picking and leaving passengers for their various destinations. The number of buses increases on public holidays and school holidays (UDA Holdings, 2006a). To meet the demand of increasing customers during this peak period, illegal bus operators will rise to the occasion to provide illegal bus services. These illegal bus operators are usually school and factory busses operating without permits or express busses with expired permits. There is a need to curb this phenomenon because, if any mishap would occur during the journey, the customers will not be subjected to any insurance coverage (The Star, 2006b). In short, by displaying all legitimate bus operators (either big or small) in the system, the customers will have wider range of choices of legal bus operators therefore reducing or eliminating the illegal ones out.

With the increasing number of human traffic in Puduraya, purchasing a bus ticket has been an uphill task if a passenger has planned their detailed traveling itinerary. As the result of the survey conducted, due to the intense number of human traffic in Puduraya, purchasing a bus ticket is not merely a ten or twenty minute’s task, but in fact, it can even take up to an hour or two especially during the peak season.

Looking  at  this  unpleasant  scenario,  Park  May  Berhad,  an  express  bus  operator  has introduced an online e-ticketing system in the year 2001 (W.W. Tan et al. 2004).  This 19 online e-ticketing system will not only assist the passengers but also the bus operator’s position as an efficient service provider, gaining competitive advantages and also lead to superior control over the reservation process and operation, compared to conventional manual processing. The main feature in this online e-ticketing system is to cater destinations between inter cities within Peninsular Malaysia. With this system, the passenger can perform an online bus booking at his or her own free time and will consecutively reduce the human traffic in Puduraya.

Till to date there are six individual bus e-ticketing systems available in Malaysia, with only one website offering services collaborating only four bus operators. This service is limited to the public as there are 67 bus operators in the country (UDA Holdings, 2006a).

The main purpose of introducing these e-ticketing system operated by individual operators are to ease the process of purchasing a bus ticket, ease the traffic condition in Puduraya and to keep up with Information Technology era. Unfortunately, looking at the scenario, the objectives have failed.

It is believed the main reason for the failure of the existing e- ticketing systems is because there are only four express bus operators providing these services compared to the total of 67 bus operators (UDA Holdings, 2006a) currently in operation. This makes the destination choices and the number of seat offered very limited. Thus, a development of a portal collaborates all available inter-city bus operators, the problem faced in purchasing a bus ticket over the counter will ultimately be solved.

Besides the above given reason of curbing the traffic flow and reducing the human and negative environment congestion in Puduraya Bus Terminal, the element of providing options to a customer on which bus operator to use is very important and should be implemented in the Online Bus Ticketing System web portal. This element is relatively important based on the number of unsatisfactory experiences by customers and accidents occurred due to the negligence of the bus operators (Audrey Edwards, 2006). Therefore a customer has a choice to which bus operator to use based on a bus operator’s classification or standard or rank given to a bus operator. The criteria that can be used to rank a bus operator could be based on the internal factor (i.e. company’s performance) and external factor (i.e. public polling and governing bodies).

To achieve this element the usage of a Decision Support System (DSS) and Management Information System (MIS) as a tool to develop a system that will finally benefits the user to maximize their rights to make decision based on merit and also the bus operators to meet their organization financial objective.

  • Problem Statements

Malaysia is served by an excellent transport system. Once you are in the country, there is always transport available to you even to remote areas. Traveling by road in Peninsular Malaysia is the most popular mode of transport as it has well- developed road network system.

The express bus operators have benefited from this well developed road network system. This industry has grown from its modest operation to providing e-ticketing system by few bus operators operating individually.

In line to support the government towards realization of Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) and Vision 2020, every company should upgrade itself with the latest technology available towards the Information Technology (IT) era.

Due to dependency of Malaysians on the services provided by the bus operators, there has been a tremendous increase of number of bus operators in Malaysia. For instance, in Puduraya, in the year 1976 there were only 26 bus operators, but in year 2003, there are 67 bus operators (UDA Holdings, 2006a). Such increase has made Puduraya Terminal as the main place to purchase a bus ticket for a certain destination. Purchasing a ticket can either be done over the counter or via e-ticketing offered by a few major bus operators.

Between the two choices of purchasing a ticket, the option of over the counter purchase is the preferred choice. This is because the current e-ticketing system operated by individual bus operators, does not provide enough choices to a passenger such as different destinations and the availability of tickets are limited. The development of an Online Bus Ticketing System web portal will also reduce or eliminate the activities of unauthorized bus operators who are operating without legitimate permits during the high demand period. This vital information should be conveyed to the customers because these illegal touts’ busses are school and factory busses and might not be worthy enough to be used as express busses.

The bus transport operators should use IT as a tool to draw up a master plan in order to enhance the level of service provided to the users. Capitalizing on the rapid growth of e-commerce application users, there must be a portal that combines all these bus operators into a consortium providing services to the passengers. The objective of this Online Bus Ticketing System web portal in Malaysia has been conceptualized to achieve:

  • Faster bus ticketing booking and a choice of purchasing from different express bus operators, support services which are more responsive to users needs, greater customer appreciation (through a Decision Support System), elimination of illegal bus operators and also to provide greater benefits to bus operators to enhance their business processes (through Management Information System).

Faster bus ticketing booking will mean better response time from the bus services. A choice of booking from different express bus operators will allow users to have a choice of services to use based on standard rating derived from consumer’s feedback, governing bodies, and individual bus operator’s performance. Decision Support System will create standard rating to rank each bus operator and thus will allow a user to make decision on which bus operator’s to use based on these ratings. With support services, which is more responsive to users’ needs, will create greater customer appreciation and thus will benefit the bus operators. Online bus ticketing booking will contribute to the successful development of the Online Bus Ticketing System by attracting users within Malaysia as well as tourists.

This research survey will result in greater customer appreciation, whereby, customers are able to search for bus services, deciding which service to use through bus operators ranking 23 and obtain e-tickets right after purchase by printing them online. When a ticket is purchased, the customer does not have to worry about a scheduled trip. It will also give benefits to the bus operators, whereby it should expose bus services to a large customer base, real-time online information on sold tickets and tickets availability, it should also allow administrators to insert, remove and edit available tickets online anytime and anywhere. Bus operators will also be able to gather valuable information such as sales reports and various reports for management decision making.

The main problem is a collaborated (incorporating all available bus operators into a single system) Online Bus Ticketing System web portal is not available in Malaysia. A portal which is reliable in incorporating all express bus operators and allowing a user the flexibility of choosing a particular bus operator from a list of operators and allowing the user to specify the date and time of booking. It will also allow user to pay for the tickets and offer a secured transaction.

Online Bus Ticketing System web portal is a total Internet Ticketing Operations offering the benefit of total in-house management of bus schedules, ticket bookings, ticket sales, report generation, and other business functions associated with ticket sales. It also offers the power of decision making to customers to make a ticket booking through bus operators’ popularity, performance and ranking. This powerful Internet based ticket booking system that allows a full control of not only on the ticketing inventory, but also the site’s content.

Some basic components of an Online Bus Ticketing System web portal that provides enhanced service to the bus operators and customers consist of:

  • Capture of customer information such as name, address, phone number and e-mail address

 

  • Price list

 

  • Bus operators ranking

 

  • Seating chart

 

  • Loyalty Points/Redemption

 

  • Search engine

 

  • Payment information/credit card authorization

 

  • Organization’s advertisement/slogan, phone number, fax number, and address

 

  • Forum

 

  • Comments and suggestions section / option

 

  • Reports

The overall research has identified the above-mentioned problems by conducting a survey and has proposed a framework on the development of an Online Bus Ticketing System web portal. A fully workable prototype system is developed based on the findings to support the following objectives.

  • Objectives

The objectives of this research are as follows:

  • To investigate and analyze the problems on the existing e-ticketing systems provided by individual bus operators.
  • To assist the authority to curb illegal bus operators by the collaboration of all legal bus operators in the system that will reduce or eliminate illegal bus operations.

(iii)To identify the relevant features of various components and methods needed for the Online Bus Ticketing System web portal. To give power of choice to consumers to choose which bus operator’s services to use based on standard rating derived from consumer polling, traffic summonses obtained, and sales performance. To assist bus operators operations and marketing decision through timely decision making via Management Information System through the deployment of Online Bus Ticketing System web portal and the phasing out of manual ticketing system. Development of the prototype system for an Online Bus Ticketing web portal. The development of this prototype portal will then assist in developing a real Online Bus Ticketing System web portal in future, which can be offered to the public.

The first objective determines the problems encountered with the existing individually operated bus e-ticketing systems in Malaysia. An interview is conducted with the bus operators and customers to gather feedback on the existing services provided by the current e-ticketing systems.

The second objective is to assist the authority to curb illegal bus operators by the collaboration of all legal bus operators in the system that will reduce or eliminate illegal bus operations.

The final objective identifies the improvements needed on the existing e-ticketing systems through interviews and surveys. With the suggested information gathered, the relevant features of various components and methods needed for an Online Bus Ticketing System web portal is designed. It also explains the involvement of Decision Support System that will provide option to a user based on the service level provided by the bus operator and thus gives power to the user to decide and choose which bus operator’s services to use. This objective is very much important due to the high level of dependency that the user is having on the bus operator that could cause fatal if the services is not up to the standards drawn by the governing bodies (Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan and Polis Diraja Malaysia). This objective explains further on the development of an Online Bus Ticketing System web portal. The tools and methodology used, user requirements and other issues on designing the system are discussed.

  • Scope of the Research

This research focuses on two parties, i.e. the bus operators and the customers. The bus operators are the system administrator of this system. They are able to add, edit and retrieve information and generate reports to assist them with their daily operations. This back-end activities will help the bus operators to evaluate its current position and to plan its company’s operations on how and what action to be taken in order to stay ahead in this competitive business world.

The  back-end  activities  mentioned  above  are  the  sales/business  performance,  public opinion through online voting and finally the bus operator’s commitment of maintaining 27

good track records according to the policies of governing bodies. These back-end activities will be the pillar for creating the competitive edge to a bus operator to spear- head in providing better service to a customer in this challenging business environment.

The customer will be able to utilize this Online Bus Ticketing System web portal to perform their transaction of purchasing bus tickets at their own hassle free time. The features that are available in this system will mostly reflect from the survey conducted during the data sampling stage.

In this business competitive era, Information Communication Technology (ICT) is placed on a platform by many organizations as their key indicator for success. Online data handling has been a major tool to provide better customer service.

By adapting ICT as a tool to provide the bus operator’s management, it will not only improve operations efficiency, gaining competitive advantages, delivering higher-quality services, but it will also lead an organization to superior control over the booking process which will allow the customers to choose their services from other competitors.

Thus, by developing the Online Bus Ticketing System web portal between inter-cities, the bus operators will have no choice but to join the bandwagon to stay ahead with ICT to improve its services and finally this will cause a reduction of human traffic in Puduraya.

  • Significance of the Research

This research survey identifies the need of developing and promoting a comprehensive Online Bus Ticketing System web portal of various bus operators in Peninsular Malaysia.

This study explores views from the bus operators as the service providers and the customers as the system users upon the adoption of this system.

For the bus operators, the survey conducted identifies the responds received from the passengers on the current available system in the market, the cost-effectiveness of developing and maintaining this system and the usage of reports from the system.

On the other hand, the survey conducted on the system users identifies the awareness of the current system and the willingness to transform from practicing the conventional method of over the counter purchase of bus tickets to the modern method of purchasing through a web portal. The survey also introduces and identifies acceptance of the creation of bus operators’ classification or standard via popularity, performance and maintaining satisfactory road traffic law track record, features available in the system and the level of security to perform a financial transaction.

  • Methodology

To accomplish the research objectives, a systematic process is followed. The procedures involved in accomplishing this research are depicted in Figure 1.1.

The research process begins with the identification of the research topic where studies was carried out to obtain enough information on the topic. A literature review was carried out to study the Online Ticketing applications in Malaysia and in other countries. The literature review further looks into the role of an Online Bus Ticketing System web portal in terms of providing Decision Support System and Management Information System services to both customers and bus operators, security on e-commerce, privacy and payment options.

After completing literature review, a survey using close and open-ended questionnaires was carried out to identify the passenger’s perception on bus e-ticketing services that is currently available. A survey (50 questionnaires were distributed) was carried out on the passengers to find out the awareness, efficiency, and effectiveness of the current bus e-ticketing system on conducting their bus ticket booking. In addition to this, numerous interviews with bus operators were conducted to gather more information on their daily operations and on the methods and features required in the Online Bus Ticketing System web portal.

After gathering feedback from the bus operators and passengers, an analysis was conducted to draw out important information for the development of the portal. This research identifies the importance of adopting a comprehensive Online Bus Ticketing System web portal by inviting all bus operators to utilize the web portal and to provide various options for a customer to purchase bus tickets.

Finally, based on the overall findings, a user-friendly prototype Online Bus Ticketing System web portal is developed. The development of this prototype Online Bus Ticketing System web portal can be used as a guideline for the future implementation of a successful Online Bus Ticketing System web portal in Malaysia.

Problem Statement

Literature Review

Research Methodology

Primary Sources                                                                                       Secondary Sources

Journals, Books,

Online articles, White

papers

Survey (Interview and

Questionnaires)

Analysis and Design of Online

Bus Ticketing System web portal

Development of Online Bus

Ticketing System web portal

User Acceptance / Testing

Conclusion

Figure 1.1

Research Process

 

  • Organization of Thesis

The purpose of this research document is to give an overview of major phases involved throughout the development of the dissertation. Basically, the research document is divided into 7 chapters.

Chapter 1 covers the Introduction of the research. This chapter covers the overview of the research including problem statements, objectives, scope and the development strategy.

Chapter 2 covers literature review. This chapter concentrates on the overall aspect about Online Bus Ticketing System. This chapter begins with the introduction of e-ticketing, understanding the online ticketing applications, understanding the role of e-commerce, the security and privacy issues, and the payment methods of online ticketing. The incorporation of Decision Support System and Management Information System are also highlighted in this chapter for better understanding in the development of the Online Bus Ticketing System web portal. This chapter further discusses on the research methodology that is used in completing the dissertation and the research instrument used to gather data is the questionnaire.

Chapter 3 covers the interview and survey. Bus operators and customers are interviewed to gather more understanding on the current procedure and feedback of purchasing of bus tickets. Questionnaires were distributed to 50 random customers.

Chapter 4 covers the analysis of an Online Bus Ticketing System web portal after obtaining information from the distributed questionnaires. This includes the analysis on the bus passengers awareness on the current services provided to them by the current individual bus e-ticketing systems. The bus operators ranking is explained further in this chapter. This includes the calculation derived for each criterion that will determine the ranking. This chapter also includes a proposed framework on implementation of an Online Bus Ticketing System web portal. Further explanation on the process of implementation of the prototype system is also discussed.

Chapter 5 covers the design and development of the Online Bus Ticketing System web portal. The structure charts, context diagram, entity relationship diagram and data dictionary is also shown in this chapter. This chapter also includes the implementation of the suggested features gathered from the survey and the technical aspects of the development.

Chapter 6 covers the evaluation of the system. A number of user acceptance questionnaires were distributed to bus operators and passengers to test the prototype Online Bus Ticketing System web portal and the feedback is tabulated.

Chapter 7 covers the possible future enhancements for the Online Bus Ticketing System web portal and the conclusion of this research.

  • Expected Research Outcome

The expected research outcomes at the end of this research are listed as follows:

  • The introduction to Malaysian public a web portal combining all bus operators which has been rated according to star ranking according to specific criteria that will allow customer to choose based on their preferences.
  • Awareness on the existing current individually operated bus e-ticketing system in Malaysia.
  • Effectiveness of the available methods and features in the current individually operated bus e-ticketing system in Malaysia.
  • A study on current bus e-ticketing systems in other countries.
  • The outcome from the survey on the features needed in the development of an Online Bus Ticketing System web portal.
  • The proposed framework for implementation of the Online Bus Ticketing System web portal.
  • Issues rose during the implementation of Online Bus Ticketing System web portal.
  • A web portal to support this research that will be used by both the Customers and Bus Operators.
  • Conclusion

This chapter covers the overall scope on the need and the implementation of an Online

Bus Ticketing System web portal in Malaysia. The development of this system will benefit both the system administrator and the system user by adopting Decision Support System and Management Information System as a tool to maximize their right to make decision based on merit and meeting its organization financial objective respectively.

By developing an Online Bus Ticketing System web portal between inter-cities in Peninsular Malaysia, it will not only provide better service to the user, but also improve the overall standing of the bus operators in this competitive market. Furthermore, the adoption on ICT will also allow the bus operators to open its business horizon globally and make the entire world as its market place.

Therefore, the Online Bus Ticketing System web portal can bring more advantages if the right solutions are used, systematically deployed and carefully implemented.

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