Silent Zone… Shh…!
Acoustic Environment, Passenger Activities and Their
Expectations
Silent Zone… Shh…!
Acoustic Environment, Passenger
Activities and Their Expectations
Martina Macáková
Master of Urban and Regional Planning
Amsterdam, 18 August 2014
Version: FINAL
Submitted: August 18, 2014
Author:
Martina Macáková
macakova.martina87@gmail.com
Thesis Supervisor:
dhr. dr. Marco te Brömmelstroet
Second Reader:
dhr. dr. Jochem de Vries
Abstract
In our visually oriented world, there is a growing interest into the field of acoustic environment and how sound shapes our everyday urban life. In line with these current trends, this thesis aims to explore the dynamic interplay between an individual, sound and mobility. In particular, it intends to examine how the acoustic environment influences use of travel time of passengers. Furthermore, it addresses the role of individuals’ expectations regarding the ambient sound. The methodological approach employed in this thesis combines quantitative and qualitative confirmatory research. Primarily, the focus is on hypothesis testing. Considering the quantitative part, the paper uses a quasi-experimental approach and involves a survey study. The qualitative data were collected via travel diaries and were analysed using a thematic analysis. The focus was on comparing two groups of train passengers – those sitting in the quiet train car and those travelling in the regular carriage. The yielded results provide supportive evidence for the existence of the relation between the acoustic environment, passenger activities and their expectations. However, further research is needed to fully understand how these elements interact.
Keywords:
public transport, acoustic environment, activities, expectations, travel
time use, public space, individualization
List of tables
Table 1 Participants profiles
Table 2 Were you at any point during the journey disturbed by a noise?
Table 3 Disturbance caused by phone conversation by regular and silent coupé Table 4 Working/studying passengers by regular and silent coupé
Table 5 Passenger profiles by regular and silent coupé (%)
Table 6 Noise disturbances of working/studying passengers by regular and silent coupé Table 7 Noise disturbance of reading passengers by regular and silent coupé
Table 8 Do you take the responsibility for the environment in the coupé?
Table 9 Expectations of the acoustic environment in the normal and silent coupé
List of figures
Figure 1 The expectancy disconfirmation with performance model Figure 2 Conceptual framework
Figure 3 Activities by regular and silent coupé
Figure 4 General noise disturbance by regular and silent coupé Figure 5 Overall smiley face evaluation of trips
Figure 6 Smiley face evaluation of the stiltecoupé trips
Introduction ... 7 1.1 Problem statement ... 8 1.2 Relevance ... 9
1.3 Purpose and objective ... 10
1.4 Research questioN and hypothesis ... 11
1.5 Outline ... 12
Chapter 2: Literature review ... 13
2.1 Public transport as a public space ... 14
2.2 Urban sound ... 16
2.3 Travel time use ... 21
2.4 Expectations ... 23
2.5 Gap in the literature ... 26
Chapter 3: Methodology ... 27
3.1 Scope of the study ... 29
3.2 Conceptual framework ... 30
3.3 Research Design ... 32
3.4 Questionnaire survey of train passengers ... 34
3.5 Travel diary ... 40
Chapter 4: Survey analysis ... 45
4.1 Survey respondents profiles ... 46
4.2 Travel time use ... 47
4.3 Noise disturbance ... 49
4.4 Phone calls as a Main source of noise ... 51
4.5 Influence of acoustic environment on focus required activites ... 52
4.6 Question of responsibility ... 54
4.7 Summary ... 56
Chapter 5: Travel diary analysis ... 57
5.1 Trip evaluation ... 57
5.2 Expectations and noise disturbance ... 59
5.3 Themes emerged from the thematic analysis ... 61
5.4 Summary ... 66
Chapter 6: Discussion ... 67
6.1 Contributions ... 68
6.2 Solutions, which create new problems in place of the original ones? ... 69
6.3 Practical implications ... 70
Chapter 7: Conclusion ... 71
7.1 Limitations ... 72
7.2 Further research suggestions ... 73
Bibliography ... 75
INTRODUCTION
The enlarged role for public transport has long become an objective of governmental bodies and decision-makers alike as a means to relieve congestion on urban roads and related environmental degradation within those urban settings (Kenworthy, 2007; UITP, 2013). In the context of public transport, rail transport is of particular importance, with many considering it to form the backbone of the public transport infrastructure (Arup, 2014). It has a large capacity and a high level of safety, while also being sustainable and efficient, as it does not suffer from congestion. Furthermore, by providing space where people from disparate backgrounds and social classes come into contact, railway transportation has a lot of benefits for society. Looking at the Netherlands, the country has one of the busiest rail systems in Europe (Interview with Van Hagen, 21st May 2014). Moreover, as forecasted by the International Transport Forum, by 2050 passenger mobility should increase by a staggering 200-300% (International Transport Forum, 2011). In light of the rising demand, the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment set aim of enlarging the capacity of the railways by year 2020 (Ministerie van Verkeer en Waterstaat, 2009).
Given the facts described above, it seems that rail transport is not lacking the passengers. However, maintaining its competitiveness and providing safe, highly efficient and attractive alternative to automobile travel still poses a challenge for railway companies throughout the world. This is no less true for Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS), the main rail service provider in the Netherlands. Policies with ambition to increase rail ridership should uphold the image of the efficient and safe type of public transportation, but at the same time the rail transportation needs to become more competitive and attractive (European Commission, 2014). It is necessary to focus on an improvement in service quality, which can be achieved by a clear understanding of passenger experience and what influences customer satisfaction. In this respect, the present work argues that the attention should turn towards the following three elements:
1. What are the characteristics of ambient conditions, 2. How passengers spend their travel time, and
Firstly, during recent years, there has been a shift from perceiving travel time solely as a means to an end and rather a journey in itself. Turning from the negative assessment, scholars set up to concentrate on the positive evaluation, arguing that engagement in activities during travel time may result in more enjoyable journeys (Redmond and Mokhtarian, 2001; Lyons et al., 2007; Jain and Lyons, 2008; Line et al., 2011; Ettema et al. 2012). Secondly, it has been long established that the ambient conditions, such as temperature, lighting, noise, music and scent, have an impact on how individuals sense the environment. Considering the large number of riders and longer time spend on-board (Neitzel, Gershon, Barrera, & Akram, 2006), more attention should be given to what circumstances are passengers exposed. Thirdly, when looking into passenger experience, it is important to look at passengers’ expectations. If aspects such as sounds or odour affect how passengers feel about the journey, then expectations are at heart of passenger experience. Hence, meeting passengers’ expectations is key factor in achieving customer satisfaction (Bruce et al., 2009).
By looking at public transport systems from these three angles, new perspectives into what passengers experience when using public transit service will be explored.
1.1 PROBLEM STATEMENT
The latest research conducted by Morris and Guerra (2014) reveals that rail commuters are in the forth place on the happiness ranking scale of diverse travel modes. When searching for possible reasons for this poor score, it is worth to look at the problem from a broader prospective.
Not every ride in public transport is always pleasant. Perhaps everyone has experienced a trip that left him with mixed feelings, stressed or even frustrated. While public transportation offers many advantages to its passengers, such as allowing them to engage in more activities than in private vehicles (Mokhtarian, 2001; Ettema et al., 2012), it has one major handicap. This disadvantage, which can be in fact also seen as a benefit, is hidden in the term itself. It is the actual “publicness” of the public transportation. Car users may have to search for a free parking spot and the expenses are likely to entail a greater burden on households’ budgets. Nevertheless, they have the luxury of knowing what they can expect
from their ride. In contrast, travelling by public transportation constitutes of sharing enclosed space with strangers; hence one’s expectations may not be always met.
One example of what the public transportation passenger cannot control is the acoustic environment. As a result, excessive noise experienced during daily travel is a fairly common phenomenon. Passengers are forced to overhear loud obnoxious telephone conversations, involuntarily listen to music coming out of another person’s headphones and such; all of this causing disturbance and distracting their activities Beirao & Cabral, 2007; Tonnelat, 2010; Hunt et al., 2011). With the aural discomfort, the ride can turn into a nightmare and if experienced repeatedly, individual’s dissatisfaction with the services is likely to increase.
1.2 RELEVANCE
Studying travel experience with respect to the acoustic environment and passenger expectations the study makes several contributions. The topic is of high significance both for scientific reasons as well as for proposing practical implications.
Most remarkably, if we want to improve the quality of passenger’s experience, we must first understand passenger behaviour, which is related to how sound shapes our daily urban life. Previous studies have indicated the link between acoustic environment and human behaviour (Mzali et al., 2001; Guastavino, 2007; Axelsson, 2009; Nielbo et al., 2013), yet the nature of this linkage is still unknown. Although the situation has been changing, the field of urban planning is still predominantly oriented on the visual; falling under the scope of the aural in urban ambience this research offers novel perspective. Within the acoustics domain, especially with regards to acoustic conditions of enclosed public spaces, to the best of author’s knowledge, physical measurements such as decibel levels or pitch clearly outweigh passengers’ perspective. Additionally, the question of passenger expectations and whether or not are they met, is understudied. The study also contributes to a not very extensive quasi-experimental and qualitative hypothesis-driven literature of urban planning discourse. Adopting the position of transit agencies, this paper is relevant for two reasons. Firstly, in order to increase public transport ridership numbers and ensure more pleasant and enjoyable journeys, the development of knowledge regarding how the acoustic environment influences customer satisfaction with the trip is extremely important. In its recent report (2014) Arup, a worldwide engineering and building company, predicts an increased
importance of rail transportation. It emphasizes the necessity of adopting a passenger-centric focus in order to face the future industry’s challenges. Secondly, the NS has recently launched its refurbishing programme, which includes plans for expanding a stiltecoupé area, a silent zone provided for passengers who wish to travel in quiet. This research provides the company with assessment of the current situation. Further to this, based on the findings it gives practical propositions to show how the stiltecoupé service may be upgraded. Finally, the emphasis on acoustic environment is inline with the latest policy making processes as agendas surrounding sound are gaining increased attention (EU, 2009; WHO, 1999).
1.3 PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVE
Whereas previous section answers the question why it is important to examine the selected topic, following text provides an overview of information on what reader can and cannot expect to find in this study. To draw on the above-mentioned problem statement, this research is aimed at exploring whether there is an existing relationship between acoustic environment in train, passenger activities, i.e. what they do during the journey, and their expectations regarding ambient sound. At the centre of the research lies a comparison between subjects who experience different ambient conditions, this is to say, passengers travelling in silent and non-silent carriage. Although this study addresses the topic of acoustic environment, it does not provide measurements or an analysis of the physical acoustic environment as such. The focus is primarily on passengers and their travel experience.
Firstly, it will be argued that the subject of sound and noise in our daily urban life goes beyond mere numbers indicating level of loudness. Secondly, by including the passengers’ own descriptions of their experience, the study aims to show how the problem relates to individualism, societal trend that has been significantly on the rise in the 21st century
(Bauman, 2001). More concretely, it wishes to explore how the individualization changes the way people behave in public space. Thirdly, apart from the assessment of the current situation, the use of the whole endeavour is to suggest practical improvements that can be introduced in order to optimise the travel experience, enhancing its quality.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTION AND HYPOTHESIS
The outlook for the rail industry as outlined above leads to defining the overarching research question as follows:
RQ – How the acoustic environment and people’s expectations with regard to the
acoustic environment impact travel time use of rail passengers?
Before answering the research question and in order to operationalize the terms acoustic environment, travel time use and expectations the following research sub-question needs to be addressed first.
Sub-RQ – What is the theoretical relation between acoustic environment, travel time
use and people’s expectations?
When travelling, people involve in variety of activities, such as working, eating, talking, reading, listening to music, or simply just resting. What passengers do while on-board depends to a large extent on what the ambient conditions afford for. That is to say, if there is too much noise present in the train, it is highly unlikely that passengers will be sleeping (Mzali 2001; Guastavino et al., 2013; Nielbo et al., 2013).
Building on these previous investigations, two hypotheses can be articulated. The first (H1) is quantitative in nature and is defined as such:
Hypothesis 1 – There is a relation between acoustic environment and activities
passengers engage in.
Additionally, if there is a mismatch between person’s expectations and the real conditions it may result in the decreasing quality of the travel (Cavana et al., 2007; Fodness & Murray, 2007). The second hypothesis (H2) can be thus formulates as follows:
Hypothesis 2 – There are certain expectations regarding acoustic environment.
In order to explore the research questions and to test the hypotheses the thesis follows a combination of methodological approaches. The study is hypothesis-driven and can be described as confirmatory. To build up the theoretical framework and to contextualize the paper, literature will be reviewed. Prior looking into the relevant theory, it is not possible to
set up a detailed research design. That is to say, theory will give guidance as to what to examine and how to examine it. Thus, it will direct the selection of variables as well as their operational definitions.
Once there is the theoretical input, hypotheses will be formulated more concretely. Given the characteristics of the H1, the decision was made to lead a experiment. A quasi-experimental study is designed and conducted to investigate the effect of one variable on other ones and it enables to examine causal hypotheses (Bryman, 2008; Greenstone & Gayer, 2009). Hence, it is suitable for the purpose of this research. To test the H2, whether there are expectations with respect to acoustic environment, confirmatory qualitative research using a thematic analysis will be employed.
1.5 OUTLINE
The study has been organised in the following way; introductions into the theory of public transportation (chapter 2.1), urban sound (chapter 2.2), travel time use (2.3) and passenger expectations (chapter 2.4) constitute the underlying framework of this research. Out of this literature review, a more detailed and operationalized conceptual framework is derived and the research sub-question is answered. Chapter 3 presents how was the research carried out, including a rationale for the methodological choices. The first hypothesis, which assesses relation between acoustic environment and passenger activities, is analysed in chapter 4. In chapter 5, the second hypothesized relationship between expectations and acoustic environment is explored. Chapter 5 discusses the presented results. It acknowledges the utility of the findings and offers suggestions for practical application. Furthermore, constraints to the generalization of the study are reported in this section. Finally, general remarks regarding the study are presented in chapter 7, including recommendations for future research.
All relevant documents and further additional information that provide insight into how was the research executed are included in appendix.
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
The literature review chapter this chapter can provide evidence of researchers understanding in the field. It attempts to further indicate existing shortcomings and demonstrate gap in the literature, which this thesis seeks to address. The framework shows how mobility and sound connect in our everyday urban life. Last but not least it highlights the importance of individuals’ perception of travel experience.
In this thesis four fundamental areas of focus are identified, namely public transportation domain, sound in urban environment, use of travel time and passengers’ expectations. Following the principles of the funnel method, each category embarks on with a general discussion and then funnels down relating more closely to this work. Hofstee (2006) argues in favour of the funnel method because the process of structuring the literature should directly lead researchers to the original problem statement or research question.
The chapter begins with the argument that public transport creates public space. The second part underpins the role of urban sound as of an essential feature, which helps people to position themselves in the context of a certain place. It follows the argumentation that sound shapes the way people perceive their surroundings. Whether urban sound ambience is pleasant or dislikeable significantly affects how much time person stays at a place. More importantly, sound ambience has a direct influence on persons’ health and accordingly on their well-being (Olsson et al. 2011; Schwanen et al; 2013; Maag, 2013). Thirdly, turning from the ambient conditions to behavioural aspect, the chapter looks at the theoretical approaches to the travel time use. The reasoning in this section is in accordance with the recent shift in the field of transportation, which moves from the negative evaluation to the positive assessment of travel time (Schwanen et al. 2013). The last part focuses on what passengers expect. Subsequently passengers’ expectations a play major role in the overall satisfaction with the journey, it suggests we should perhaps pay more attention to the subjective perceptions of the passengers themselves.
2.1 PUBLIC TRANSPORT AS A PUBLIC SPACE
Today’s world is constantly on the move. Our society constitutes of a continuous flow of people and goods, a flow that never stops. While formulating their daily routine throughout the metropolis, citizens exercise their right to mobility. Travelling from one place to another is not just about the access of individuals to particular transportation hubs or nodes. Rather, citizens are entitled to move around the city and to share the right to mobility with other citizens (Maag, 2013). This urge for mobility is a driving force behind urban development and shapes the environment we live in. Yet, for many decades transportation was perceived only he means to an end. Even nowadays, it is to a large extent, viewed still only in terms of financial costs and benefits.
Focusing specifically on public transport, it has significantly contributed to more sustainable mobility systems within our cities. Public transportation, provided by the government or a private company, enables masses of passengers to be mobile for a relatively cheap price. It represents efficient means of transportation and offers comfortable and safe vehicles. A modal shift towards public transportation offers substantial societal benefits, such as reduced traffic congestion, lower emissions, and higher energy savings. In addition, public transport facilities can make their own architectural contribution. All across the world, 19th century railway stations were often some of best public buildings of the city. Today, cities that strive to be the world leaders have again begun to invest in designing their transport facilities.
Besides countering car dependency, public transport facilitates social inclusion. As a part of the public realm public transport contributes to physically maintaining the public space. Traditionally the concept of public space encompasses spaces that 1) have public (not private) stewardship, 2) open access, and 3) are used by many people for common purpose (Zukin, 1995). One approach towards public space highlights their potential of providing opportunities for social interaction between strangers, their “sociability”. Some scholars, such as Eric Goffman (1963) and Richard Sennett (1976) perceive these encounters between strangers as what the public spaces are primarily designed for. Given the aforementioned public space’s characteristics, public transport is itself a public space in a double sense. To begin with, people use it collectively and thus it is not a private area. Secondly, the ‘public realm’ accounts for a sphere that is not defined by the market
conditions. Creating such a space has costs, but these are borne from general taxation and thus, are paid for by all citizens. This is justified because activities in the public realm are, so it is argued, important for the society as a whole (Goffman, 1963; Sennet, 1976; Bauman, 2011).
Being in a public transportation, in our case a train, leads to the implication that there is something that all of the passengers have in common since they are in the same train at the same moment. Hence, as passengers get on and get off, the vehicle is transformed into a temporary public space. Strangers to one another, by stepping into the enclosed space of the vehicle, they share mutual connections and collective responsibility (Elias, 2010). This element of citizenship entitlement is the essence of the public realm.
Most people do not opt for public transport because of the opportunity to socialize. The financial or efficiency aspect mostly influence their choices. However, despite all the frequent discomfort, several studies claim that public transport users are more likely to enjoy their journey than those who travel by private car (Wickham, 2004). Presumably, the reason for this is rooted in the commonality and the notion of companionship with fellow passengers as opposed to the rather isolated driver of an individual vehicle. An unexpected event, such as a delay or a bizarre passer-by, may trigger off an entire conversation with an unknown co-traveller. Some public transportation providers bring the social interaction to the next level. For instance, in Prague they have recently devoted one of the metro carriages solely to the purpose of dating (Spiegel, 2013). Similarly, here in the Netherlands, the NS on the occasion of Valentine’s Day introduced a special romance vehicle (NS, 2013).
The public notion of the transportation system is however constantly compromised by its users and their attempts to privatize the space in numerous ways. According to Urry (2010) passengers have recently started developing a new ways of maintaining social distance. As explains (year), a rapid increase of this tendency goes hand in hand with the development of information and communication technologies. Passengers are hypnotized to their smartphones’ screens; they are putting on the headphones or spend their ride attached to some other gadgets, as more of them prefer to disconnect from the outside world while travelling. Wickham (2004) that the privatization of public space greatly influences the relationship between the passenger and its surrounding environment. These behaviour patterns weaken passengers’ civic duty of shared responsibility for the public space.
known sociologist Zygmunt Bauman reflects on this issue. In his book published in 2001, he expresses concerns for the growing trend of individualism, which in his opinion poses a threat to the publicness of public space.
To conclude, public transportation offers many advantages to both its individual users and to the society as a whole. For many reasons, it can be viewed as a temporary public space. This brings benefits, such as the opportunity for social interaction. But there is also the other side of the coin. The public nature demands shared responsibility for the space and gives the passenger only a limited control over his or her environment. The following section will illustrate what this means in relation to the ambient sound.
2.2 URBAN SOUND
Lewis Mumford (1937) in his essay What is a City? compares the metropolis to the “theatre” in which sight, sound, touch, and smell are the inherent, embedded and interrelated sensual components that construct the notion of urbanity. However, a closer look reveals that these components are not equal. We live in a world where “the visual” plays the leading role while the other aspects are assigned the role of supportive actors. As a result, to a large extent we are still quite unaware of the importance of sound in our lives. This thesis follows the discourse, which understands sound as a distinctive quality condition of urbanity (Hajer & Reindorp, 2001; Löw et al., 2008; Bauer et al. 2009; Maag, 2013). As these scholars bring to light, urban sound decisively impacts one’s choices, including for instance choosing home and job location. The land price and residential rent are derived depending on the urban sound criterion. Furthermore, aural conditions significantly influence the length of individuals’ stay at a place. And perhaps most importantly, the acoustic environment has a direct impact on people’s health and well-being.
In the domain of urban planning, ambient sound has been studied in relation with the open urban environments (Che et al., 1987; Landstrom, 1990; Landstrom et al.; 1995, Kang et al., 2006; Tomei et al., 2010; Chang et al., 2012). While some scholars are concerned primarily with the concept of soundscapes (Semidor, 2006; Brambilla et al. 2013), others focus on the community noise annoyance caused by transportation (Gidlöf-Gunnarsson & Öhrström, 2007; Lercher & Schulte-Fortkamp, 2003). Growing body of literature also explores the issue of sound quality, aiming at improving urban development (Stockfelt, 1991; Skanberg &
Ohrstrom, 2002; Lercher & Schulte-Fortkamp, 2003; Dubois et al., 2005). In general, considerably rich area of acoustic research has then focused on sound in its negative terms, i.e. the noise pollution and its effects on health and well-being (Lercher & Schulte-Fortkamp, 2003; Gidlöf-Gunnarsson & Öhrström, 2007; Kang, 2007; Van Praag & Baarsma, 2008; De Vos et al., 2013). Other dominant area of acoustic research is concerned more with the technical characteristic, such as loudness or frequency (Hardy, 1999; Dubois, 2000; Letourneatt et al. 2000; Dubois, 2001; Stutzer et al. 2008; Iachini et al. 2012; Kuwano et al. 2012).
Due to the high interdisciplinarity of acoustic studies field, there hasn’t been established a common language between the researches from diverse disciplines and harmonisation of the current research methodologies is needed. There are several definitions of the acoustic part of the complete environment, which include sound environment (Morinaga et al., 2004; Kang, 2007), soundscape (Schafer, 1994; Schulte-Fortkamp & Kang, 2013), and acoustic environment (Bergemalm et al., 2009; Radsten-Ekman et al., 2013). Recently, several scholars started to use the term “noisescape“, avoiding the negative connotations of the expression “noise annoyance” (Preis, 2014). In this text, the term acoustic environment or ambient sound is mostly used to describe the acoustic content of an environment.
2.2.1 SOUND- AND NOISESCAPE
SOUNDSCAPE
A soundscape exists through the human perception of the acoustic environment of a specific place. By definition a soundscape entails a dynamic relation. Similarly to a landscape, a soundscape is simultaneously a physical environment and a way of perceiving that environment; it is both a world and a culture constructed to make sense of that world (Schafer, 1994; Thompson, 2002; Brown, 2010). Everyday life in a city involves permanent changes of listening perception, and thus people have to repeatedly accustom to a new listening conditions. Some researches believe that soundscapes carry information about the types of actions the listener may perform in the environment. In general terms, they argue that the listener makes sense of the surroundings based on the ambient sound. More explicitly, they believe that the evaluation of a soundscape varies as a function of the activities envisioned by the listener (Mzali, 2001; Guastavino et al. 2013).
One possible approach to soundscapes is through the concept of affordances, which can be defined as the actionable properties of an object (Gibson 1979). It has been well documented that isolated sounds carry information about the sound source and the event producing sound (Dubois, 2000; Gaver, 1993; Guyot, Castellengo, & Fabre, 1997; Neuhoff, 2004). On the top of that, previous research suggests that people perceive sounds through their potential for interaction (Rosenblum et al., 2006). Findings show that certain soundscapes can accommodate specific activities only. On the other hand, different soundscapes were found to potentially accommodate all activities or none. By assigning meanings and attributes to the various sound, listeners project their individual perspective on the surrounding environment. Their perception is what then the soundscape is being constituted of.
Indeed, there is converging evidence that humans attribute meaning to sounds based on past or potential interaction with the environment through socialized activities. Also experiments within the auditory comfort studies domain have proven that sounds are evaluated in relation to specific activities. Focusing on urban outdoor environments, Maffiolo et al. (1997) analyzed spontaneous verbal descriptions of Parisian soundscape and found that participants elaborated script categories integrating notions of time, location, and activities. Experimental research led by Guastavino (2007), which involved a free-sorting task of urban recordings, then confirmed these categories. Most of the participants grouped the soundscapes on the basis of the type of activities performed. They spontaneously described activities in terms of the action performed (e.g. “do the groceries”, “take a walk”, “have a drink”), the type of locations (“market,” “café”, “restaurant,” “park”) and specific sound sources (“vendors,” “music,” “birds”) indicative of the activities. However, most outdoor urban environments accommodate multiple activities.
To a large extent, it is the activity that determines the context. Thus, activity plays a large role in determining the appropriateness of a soundscape (Mzali, 2001; Guastavino et al. 2013).
NOISESCAPE
Almost every country has nowadays laws that deal with noise pollution. These apply to public spaces such as schools, hospitals, hotels, but also regulate privatized spaces like setting limits on music venues or clubs. In France, the Labor Code is protecting the
employees from the work-related excessive noise. Also, policy makers at the European level have been active. Several European Directives now address the issue of noise exposure (EU, 2009; Resolution of 6 February 2013). This growing recognition of the importance of sounds by policy-makers indicates that the subject is of a high relevance. According to OECD, noise pollution is one of the most important sources of environmental annoyance (Recommendation on Noise Abatement (C[78]3, C[85]103)).But what is noise exactly? In simple terms, when sound turns into something unpleasant, it becomes a noise. Even though the sensation it causes remains subjective, noise is above all a physical phenomenon. It can be described as a sound or a mixture of sounds, which propagate as variations in air pressure originally caused by the sound source. Noise can be among other things characterized by its frequency, i.e. the number of vibrations per second. The frequency is measured in hertz (Hz). Generally speaking our ears perceive sounds with frequencies ranging from 20 Hz (a very low-pitched sound) to 20,000 Hz (a very high-pitched sound). Another characteristic component of noise is its loudness. The louder the sound, the greater the effect of air pressure on the ears. Loudness is expressed in decibels (dB). As Jean-Dominique Polack, Director of LAM12 in Paris points out: “The source of the noise, in
other words its origin and the meaning associated with it, depending on how much is known about it and on its social representation, is an essential component of discomfort.” Hence, it is thus important to develop a semantic approach to noise, to its sources, and to the discomfort it causes, he further explains.
One of the few applied research studies, which is in line with this semantic discourse is one done on board of a French train operator SNCF and it was led by Danièle Dubois. The results indicate that, “although passengers put up reasonably well with mechanical noise, even if they find it disagreeable, they are above all bothered by noise associated with humans” (Ibid.).
Following on the previous discussion about the linkage between soundscape and activities, similar connection characterizes the relation of noisescape and activities. When individuals find themselves in noisy surroundings, they have difficulties in performing a given activity, such as conversation, working, studying. In consequence, the performance of this activity is ineffective. The degree of this difficulty can be measured in terms of noise annoyance assessment. How much are we annoyed by the noise depends on to what extent were we
disturbed in our activity. In extreme cases, the noise occurs in form, which disturbs perception to such a degree that it makes it impossible to recognize sound sources in the environment (Dubois et al. 2005).
2.2.2 SOUND ON MOVE, SOUND ON BOARD
With respect to all benefits, transportation comes along also with negative effects on society. Construction of rail trucks as well as subsequent operation of railway system contributes to noise pollution, particularly in the urban areas. The nearby neighbourhoods suffer from acoustic discomfort and its residents are exposed to a danger of both mental and physical issues, such as the sleep deprivation.
In his examination of sound in the context of European urban environment, Trond Maag (2013) compares moving individuals’ perception of metropolis to a cinematographic experience. Listening to music further strengthens this cinematographic illusion of the experienced ambiences. “The individual soundtrack becomes the emotional sound of the traversed everyday spaces”, Maag describes.
Think of boarding a train, for example. Passengers have to adapt to a new listening circumstances, changing their sound perception from the waiting to the travelling mode. As the train sets into motion, passengers become the centre of an acoustic ball with approximately 10 kilometres radius. They literally acoustically occupy the surroundings. Seen from their own perspective, the situation is however rather the contrary. They are located in the enclosed space, fully concentrated on travelling, not paying attention to the person maybe just few metres away. Thus, passengers are not part of the acoustic environment they occupy, which are in the case of car, train or airplane several square metres. They are isolated from that outer auditory space by a double barrier. Firstly, there is the physical separation that constitutes of the vehicle itself. Secondly, they are enclosed in an acoustic bubble of the locomotive engine whine and buzz of the fellow riders. As Maag points out, the situation of bicyclists and pedestrians is rather the opposite. While aurally encompassing ambience beyond their immediate whereabouts, they produce nearly no sounds themselves (Ibid.)
This section has argued how the understanding of the acoustic environment in a specific context is pivotal to the soundscape concept. Furthermore, it reflected on the issue of noise
and related noise annoyance, which are nowadays unfortunately the prevailing forms of sound assessment. To conclude, acoustic discomfort is one of the things that weakens the potential attractiveness of trains to passengers. In this sense, improving the passenger travel experience is crucial to encouraging the switch to sustainable transport, as well as to just improve users’ quality of life. The picture will not be, however, complete without exploring how passengers use their travel time.
2.3 TRAVEL TIME USE
Travel time is one of the consideration factors for choosing modes of transport. Traditionally, it is being assumed as unproductive time and the only important concern is what activity are we going to do at the end destination (Holly, Jain & Lions, 2008). Nevertheless, recently researchers have started to question this approach, arguing that travelling is an activity on its own (Mokhtarian, 2005; Ohmori & Harata, 2008). This thesis falls within this second category. It follows Mokhtarian (2005) who points out, that daily travel is desirable for its own sake. According to his beliefs, it is an adventure, opportunity for both mental and health relaxation, social interaction, escape and curiosity.
When addressing the subject of travel time use more specifically, it has been stressed out that attention should be further paid to the activities undertaken while traveling. The travel time should not be thus perceived as a “wasted time”, rather the contrary, as a chance to engage in numerous meaningful activities ranging from relaxing, reading, working to socializing and communicating. Numerous scholars claim that being engaged in activity turns passengers’ attention away from the time passing (Maister, 1985; Pruyn & Smiths, 1998).
Several studies have addressed the topic of activities passengers undertake while travelling (Han et al., 1998; Lyons & Urry, 2005; Lyons et al., 2007; Gripsrud & Hjorthol, 2009; Russel et al., 2011; Lyons et al., 2012; Ettema et al., 2012). Some assessed the influence of activities that passengers engage in on journey satisfaction and subjective well-being (Olsson et al., 2011; Ettema et al., 2012). Public transport passengers are constantly engaging in activities, such as reading and window gazing, while travelling in order to attain specific affective states that impact their subjective well- being (Stradling et al., 2007; Ettema et al., 2012). Within the Dutch context there is also a unique study investigating waiting time
and role of the surrounding environment at the railway platform (Van Hagen, 2011). Moreover, rapid spread of information and communication technologies (ICTs) is considered to afford travellers with more activity opportunities (Mokhtarian 2003; Lyons & Urry 2005; Ohmori et al. 2006; Ohmori et al. 2008). As pointed out by Schawanen et al. (2008) the adverse effect of the ICTs rise is the weakening bond between human activities and the physical spaces.
In addition, the range of activities has been furthermore widened as a consequence of rapid spread of information and communication technologies. Electronic devices such as portable computers, tablets, electronic reading devices, mp3 devices and smartphones increased the travel time potential. Schwanen and Kan (2008) highlight that ICTs makes activities we perform less dependent on our actual geographical location. They let people undertake activities independent on the given time and space. However, we must be aware that there are also downsides to this ICT revolution. Using electronic devices and interacting with the virtual world actually weakens people’s ties with the surrounding physical environment, making them less engaged and present at the particular moment in a particular space. Indeed, the possibility to read a book, catch up on work or simply close your eyes and rest is one of the greatest advantages of mass transportation. Although outdoing personal cars in a range of activities that can its users undertake, public transport still faces problems in this matter. It is not uncommon for its passengers to view the trip as a waste of time or describe it as being boring or even frustrating (Ettema et al., 2012).
As discussed in the previous section, people recognise soundscapes through their potential for activities. In addition, studies with focus on auditory comfort in various types of transportation modes suggest that a causal relationship exists between the types of activities people do and the acoustic environment they are exposed to (Jacobson & Richards, 1976; Mzali et al., 2001; Nielbo et al., 2013). For instance, Mzali et al. (2001) found the same sound can be judged as “quiet enough to sleep” but “too loud to have a discussion” for passengers inside a train, and similar observations were founds inside aircrafts (e.g. Jacobson & Richards, 1976). Not only that too much noise or vibration can lead to a less comfortable journey causing annoyance, it may be further disturbing for cognitive processing affecting activities which passengers wish to perform during their travel time (Mzali et al., 2001, Iachini et al., 2012; Nielbo, Steele and Guastavino, 2013). For this reason it is
important to examine the in-vehicle ambience in terms of what activities can the environment accommodate. However, the actual ambient conditions can be often very different from what people expect.
2.4 EXPECTATIONS
Failing repeatedly to meet passengers’ expectations, transport operator risks decrease in quality of the travel and eventually also growing passenger dissatisfaction with its services. With respect to the level of the service quality of railways transportation, it is still low compared with other transportation modes. At present railways operation is still coloured with the delay, limited condition vehicle, and unclear train travel information that often disadvantage passengers, and many other services offered often failing to attract passengers. These conditions result in decreasing the quality of services and insufficient railways operation. One way of making a train ride more pleasant to current passengers and attract new users is to increase the level of comfort. Given that people nowadays spend more and more time travelling, it is noteworthy to turn our attention towards this subject. The focus on higher comfort level becomes even more important in light of the recent researches into the interdependencies between mode of travel and well-being (Schwanen et al; 2013). Edvardsson (1998) argues that service quality is when “the service corresponds to the customers expectations and satisfies their needs and requirements”. Additionally, Lewis and Booms (1983) proclaim the service quality is matching service with expectations. If this customer expectation is different from the application of the service standard, then complaints from the customers on the dissatisfaction of the services emerge. According to Oliver (1980) complaining equals dissatisfaction caused by failure of meeting customer expectations.
One the most common theories of customer satisfaction is the Expectancy Disconfirmation with Performance (EDP) framework (Oliver, 1997). A fundamental idea is that satisfaction or dissatisfaction is result of a comparison of expectations with actual performance.
Figure 1
The expectancy disconfirmation with performance model (Oliver, 1997)
The EDP model explains why people feel dissatisfied or satisfied with public transport. The feeling of satisfaction appears to have origin in a comparison of the level of performance perceived by the person using an evaluative standard, which usually consists of people expectations. Accordingly, disconfirmation can function as a process of change in the overall evaluation processes. When buying a service, customers have expect certain quality. They evaluate the journey depending on how well their expectations correspond to the actual performance. The expectations are based on previous experiences, social attitudes and the public transport users’ needs (Ibid.). In short, when the passengers‘ experience is below their expectations, they are dissatisfied with the service.
Although the importance of expectations in the passenger experience has been recognised in the transportation literature (Berry, Carbone & Haeckel, 2002; Hekkert & Schifferstein, 2008), no previous study has investigated the correlation between travellers’ expectations and the acoustic environment. Nevertheless, there is evidence that if expectations are not met, annoyance can be observed and satisfaction decreases (Bruce et al., 2009). In addition, passengers’ experience is of a great interest of researchers centre their attention in particular on airports’ environments.
Fodness and Murray (2007) claim to have improved on the previous research by concentrating on measuring passengers’ expectations. They took passenger responses from an unspecified airport website and used data from in-depth interviews and focus groups to compile a model of passenger expectations of the airport experience. The study shows that the services available to passengers during their discretionary time are corresponding to the way in which they view their experience. The authors argue that current research lacks a
“comprehensive profile of the experiences, expectations and perceptual influences of passengers” at airports (Ibid.). Yi (1989) and Spreng et al. (1996) underline the importance of expectations in understanding and improving customer experience in general. This has been confirmed in an airport situation (Norman, 2009; Harrison, Popovic, Kraal & Kleinschmidt, 2012).
On the other hand, there are also scholars who believe that in order to satisfy customers, one does not have to always match their expectations. While an understanding of satisfaction is important to all kinds of businesses there has been a lack of agreement on how it is measured (Jones & Suh, 2000). Yi (1989) and Harrison (2012) argue that satisfaction is the difference between the customers’ actual experience and what they expected to happen; an alternative view suggests that expectations do not always have to be met for customers to be satisfied with their experience (Spreng et al., 1996). Although the two approaches differ in their assessment of the importance of customer expectations, both underline the importance of customer experience.
As discussed above, passengers' expectations directly influence their travel experience. Apart from the train departing on time, passengers’ expectations can further relate to any other of the ambient conditions. It is thus natural that the ambient conditions are along with spatial layout and functionality, three fundamental elements included in a servicescape construct. Ambient conditions are factors, such as temperature, lighting, noise, music and scent. These directly impact the way passengers perceive the environment. Various empirical studies of restaurants (Milliman, 1986) and retail venues (Milliman, 1986; Yalch and Spangenberg, 1988) validate the influence of these factors with respect to the satisfaction with the services and quality perceptions.
Furthermore, the study of Fodness and Murray mentioned above, shows the importance of ambient conditions for passengers. Respondents in all three qualitative studies specifically mentioned them. Themes included: “An airport should be clean”, “An airport should have soothing music playing throughout its facilities and terminals”, and “An airport should offer as much natural light through windows, skylights, etc. as possible.” In other service settings, ambient conditions have been found to have either stressful or relaxing effects on customers (Milliman, 1982, 1986; Yalch and Spartenberg, 1988). In conclusion of their research, the authors propose that the ambient conditions also play a role in expectations underlying
service quality perceptions of airports (Fodness & Murray, 2007). Apart from the acoustic discomfort, other factors such as density of passengers in the carriages or absence of the fresh air, negatively influence passenger experience of public transport and discourage some potential users (Roy et al. 1986, Van Hagen, 2011).
When discussing passenger expectations, we have to be aware of one important element – subjectivity. People react differently to same situations. Hence it will never be possible to develop one single manual for a great passenger experience. Nevertheless, it is crucial to attempt to expand the understanding of a travel experience, for example by looking into passenger expectations with regards to acoustic conditions.
Quite frequently passengers today try to exclude themselves from the acoustic environment by putting on headphones and thus creating their own private closed space. In fact, evidence from previous research has shown that use of earplugs while traveling has doubled over the last 5 years. In some extreme cases the distracted passenger looses his or her nerves, which results in verbal confrontation or even fistfight, as it is well documented in number of videos posted online (Huffington Post, 2013).
2.5 GAP IN THE LITERATURE
Increasingly, the analysis of acoustic aspects in urban environment is becoming an established research field in many diverse disciplines including acoustic ecology, medicine, technical engineering, psychology architecture, urban design, etc. Yet, within the planning practice, as a result of the ocular experience dominance there is continuous under-recognition of the sound agenda. As the current studies of acoustic urban environment have cantered their attention primarily on noise pollution, more research needs be done in how the acoustic environment we are exposed to influences our daily activities. Further scientific research can help us thoroughly understand this relation and if leading to practical implications, it has potential to improve the quality of life and overall well-being. To implement sound not only in its unwanted form as a noise but also in positive terms, seems to be one of the future challenges to urban planning.
In addition, public transportation should be addressed from the perspective outlined in the first section of this literature review and included in the public space discourse. Furthermore, the nature and role of expectations is understudied service category in public transportation.
All three features – urban sound, activities and expectations – have been to a certain extent explored. However, innovative and more people- and activity- centred approach needs to be adopted. In the study that investigated how emotions such as happiness, pain, stress, sadness and fatigue vary during travel and by travel mode, bicyclists were identified as the happiest whereas bus and train riders according to the findings experience the most negative emotions. Recognition of the importance of the relationship between how we travel and how we feel offers insight into ways of improving existing transportation services, prioritizing investments and theorizing and modelling the costs and benefits of travel, points out Morris (Morris & Guerra, 2014) Thus, in-vehicle acoustic environment and its influence on activities undertaken while traveling provide for a highly relevant topic of scientific investigation.
To conclude, this chapter positions present work by reviewing the relevant literature on the four key themes – i.e. concept of public transport as a public space, how passengers spend their travel time, urban ambient sound and people’s expectations. Thus, the section offers a solid background for the investigation that follows into the relation between the latter three subjects. In addition, it identifies the knowledge gap that is further addressed by this research.
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY
Critically analysing and synthesising existing theories, the previous chapter has built a foundation for conducting the empirical part of the research. The following text gives overview of the research design employed for the purpose of this study. First section describes the scope of the study, followed by the conceptual framework description. Once the overarching theoretical framework along with the variables is introduced, more detailed hypotheses that originated from the theoretical background are presented. The remaining part of the chapter discusses the research design and is divided into two separate sections: 1) questionnaire survey, and 2) travel diary. It attempts to answer the following questions:
1) Why and how the particular units of analysis were selected,
2) What tools of the data collection were employed and how they measure the observed variables,
3) When, where and why the data were collected, and 4) How the data collected will be analysed
As stated in the introduction, this thesis combines quantitative and qualitative approaches, the former using a quasi-experiment and the latter a thematic analysis. Given that the focus is on hypothesis testing, the study classifies as confirmatory. The chapter is structured in a deductive manner, beginning broadly before narrowing the focus with each step. The reader should keep in mind that the author is aware of the methodological constraints, which arise from the choices documented below. These limitations will be addressed towards the end of this study.
As suggested in the part 2.2 passengers encapsulated in the moving vehicle are experiencing rather a microscopic part of the surrounding ambient sound in comparison to what the train, car, or bus, actually encompasses. Being isolated from the outer environment, the riders find themselves in rather specific listening situation. While travelling, they are subjected to the influence of the ambient conditions, including sound. The section 2.3 devoted to the theme of travel time use indicates that what individuals do during their travel time is related to the space qualities, such as smell, light or noise. In particular, the relation between passengers’ activities and acoustic environment was highlighted as one of the significant factors influencing passengers travel experience, the comfort level which has to do with the (dis)satisfaction with the journey, and perhaps more importantly, in the aftermath it further affects human health condition and well-being. Additionally, the theory focused on passengers’ expectations as discussed in chapter 2.4 proposes that the interplay between what one expects and what are then the real conditions plays a role in how we experience our travel time. Lastly, following the underlying rationale of this thesis, all of the three elements – acoustic environment, activities, and expectations – are examined in the context, which is provided by the definition of public transportation as a temporary public space. Although it is not yet fully understood how this characteristics impacts our public transport riding experience, what is known is that with the 21st century we have entered the
era of individualization. The process of individualization comes hand in hand with a lack of civil solidarity, a trend probably most visible in the public spaces.
3.1 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The largest transit agency of the Dutch railway system seems to be fully aware of the importance of passenger-centred approach, which was advocated by the theory in the previous chapter. As articulated in the Annual Report for 2012, viewed from the perspective of NS, the customer is king: “It is crucially important for NS to know its customers well in
order to be able to respond to their wishes. That is why we make sure our services offer a positive overall experience.” (NS, 2012) A glance back in time indicates that focus on the
service users is not a latest trend but rather a long-term strategy. To accommodate wishes of passengers who were seeking a more calm and quieter travel environment in reaction to a growing number of cell phone usage, NS introduced in 2003 a concept of stiltecoupé. Essential to stiltezone is to provide a quiet atmosphere without distractions. It is designed primarily for working, reading and relaxing activities. The etiquette of silent zone in NS trains asks customers to principally refrain from cell phone use. Conversations should be conducted in subdued voices and headphones should be used at a volume that cannot be heard by other passengers (NS, 2012). Currently, the service has been in operation for more than ten years and in fact, enlarging silent areas is in the core of the company train refurbishing strategy, which planned to be completed in 2020 (Interview with Van Hagen, 21st May 2014). Meanwhile, the idea has caught the eye of various rail providers throughout the world. Accordingly, American, Australian, British or German passengers also have the option to sit in quiet carriage and enjoy their ride without disturbance. However the question is, do they really?
The scope of this study includes a train route between the Amsterdam Central Station and the Utrecht Central Station. The duration of the train ride between these destinations is approximately 30 minutes. Hence, rides have enough time to engage in diverse activities. The NS with regards to the acoustic environment distinct the following two categories – “regular” and “silent”. According to the rules, even in the regular coach, you should be mindful towards the fellow passengers and do not disturb them with loud talking or phone calls. The stiltecoupé passengers are further asked to do not use their cell phones and talk (NS, 2014).
In addition, the study is limited to off-peak hours. Three aspects were considered when making this choice. First of all, it is difficult due to the crowdedness to collect the data during
morning (6:30-9:00 am) or afternoon rush hour (16:00-18:30). Secondly, when travelling off peak hour people are expected to be more relaxed and thus willing to participate in the research. Lastly, it is assumed that passengers travelling in rush hour are well behaved (i.e. respect the rules in the stiltecoupé) and have more or less similar expectations regarding the acoustic environment, whereas during off-peak hours their expectations may vary much more.
3.2 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
For the purpose of this study, a conceptual framework with four dependent and four independent variables was developed. The four dependent variables are: acoustic environment, activities, expectations and travel experience. The four independent variables are: passenger attributes, train specifications, type of train coupe and peak or off-peak hours.
Figure 2
Figure 2 shows the conceptual framework portraying the hypothesized dynamic interplay between the acoustic environment, passenger’s activities and their expectations within the context of the public transport, which is defined as a public space.
Beginning with the latter, to further elaborate on this conceptual model variables are briefly described and their effects are introduced. The four independent variables include two controllable and two uncontrollable variables. Due to the practical constraints it was not possible to control for the variable passenger attributes and train specifications. The term ‘passenger attributes’ encompasses elements such as the purpose of the trip, the familiarity with train environment or if the passenger travels with a companion. With respect to the train specifications, the technical parameters of the railroad car were not subjected to analysis, however the researcher is aware of their possible influence. What can be controlled for is the type of train coupe, since the train carriage is divided into the silent and non-silent zone. Hence, the type of train coupe represents the first controllable variable. The second independent variable, manipulated by limiting the study to off-peak hours, is the time of the day.
The above-mentioned independent variables impact the set of dependent variables, which are central to this study. To begin with, passengers board the train with certain expectations of what are they going to do during the trip. Moreover, they have expectations regarding the train ambience itself, including the auditory context. The two-headed arrow indicates that the nature of this relationship is reciprocal. It means that when passengers plan to engage in reading an academic article his expectations of the trip may differ than if they want to socialize. As seen in the diagram, there is also a link between the expectations and the independent variable ‘time of the travel’. Whether or not the trip takes place in peak hour influences passenger expectations regarding the journey.
The second dependent variable is activities that passengers undertake during the travel time. These can be either solitary, such as listening to music using headphones or reading, or social, such as having conversation with a fellow rider. They are affected by and concurrently are affecting the acoustic environment of the train car, the third variable. When talking on the phone, passenger is involved in an activity and simultaneously by producing sounds impacts the in-vehicle acoustics. The auditory element of the in-vehicle environment consists of two sounds sources – those mechanical generated by train and those produced
by human beings. The last dependent variable to be discussed is the travel experience. How passengers experience their train ride is connected to all of the elements depicted above this variable and their interrelations.
In short, the natural settings with the two manipulated independent variables enable to perform the quasi-experiment. Further described methodological structure is a result of the interdependencies between the four independent and the four dependent variables outlined in the figure above. Each of the methods presented in the following sections serve as a means of addressing one of the hypotheses.
3.3 RESEARCH DESIGN
Reflecting on the context of the Dutch railway transportation, the research offers comparison of the non-silent train carriage and the silent train car, so called stiltecoupé, presuming that their ambient sound conditions differ. In general, each hypothesis has its specific research design. In order to assess the H1 the study uses a quasi-experimental design. For the purpose of the testing H2, a thematic analysis was employed. The advantages of mixed methods research include the potential to offer more comprehensive understanding of a complex process (Greene, Caracelli, & Graham, 1989). By combining both quantitative and qualitative methodology, their weaknesses can be offset by the strengths of both, that is to say words can add meaning to numbers and numbers can add precision to words (Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004).
Arising from the thorough investigation of the relevant literature from several research fields, the set of two general hypotheses could be further elaborated into a range of more explicit sub-hypotheses.
Hypothesis 1 – There is a relation between acoustic environment and activities passengers
engage in.
Sub-Hypothesis 1.1: Passengers of the stiltecoupé experience less noise
disturbance than passengers in the regular coupé.
Sub-Hypothesis 1.2: Sources of noise disturbance in the silent and
Sub-Hypothesis 1.3: Occupants of the stiltecoupé are involved more in the
working/studying and reading activity than those individuals travelling in the standard train car.
Sub-Hypothesis 1.4: People sitting in the silent zone, which is customer
self-regulated, feel more civic responsibility for their surroundings, than passengers in the rest of the train.
Hypothesis 2 – There are certain expectations regarding acoustic environment.
Sub-Hypothesis 2.1: What passengers expect with respect to the in-vehicle
acoustic environment varies depending on the time of the day, that is to say whether is peak or off-peak hour.
Sub-Hypothesis 2.2: When intending to engage in studying/working or
reading, passengers expect and search for quiet environment.
Sub-Hypothesis 2.3: In case there is someone disobeying the silent zone
rules, passengers expect that the fellow riders or the conductor step in, relieving themselves from the personal responsibility.
The quasi-experiment, also known as ‘field experiment’ or ‘in-situ experiment’, is one of the most used instantiations of experimental research (Trochim, 1986; Saunders et al., 2003; Bryman, 2008). According to Bryman, quasi-experiments are designed to help the researcher to understand the intricate nature of the world by enabling them to investigate phenomena in real time (Bryman, 2008). The quasi-experiment is conducted in a natural setting but in this design, variables are isolated, controlled and manipulated (Asgari, Babtista Nunes, 2011). However, the leverage and control over the selection of study participants are limited. Accordingly, the ability to limit all the study variables and to the implication of the treatment on the study group may be restrained. Nevertheless, quasi-experiment still provides fruitful information for the advancement of research (Leedy & Ormond, 2010). Advantage of the quasi experiment is that it helps researcher to become explicit. It provides little room for fuzziness.
Given the qualitative nature of the data set in the case of the H2, a thematic analysis was selected as an appropriate method of the data analysis. The confirmatory analysis, i.e.
