INTRODUCTION

Mumbai always runs, and so do we. Mumbaikars are extremely adaptable

and get accustomed to situations very fast. They don’t even bother about
things forget grumbling about it. Day-to-day transport to office or college
is an example of such a habit. We hardly hear complaints about heavy
traffic on streets or terrific crowd in Mumbai’s local trains. But does not
mean that it does not trouble the commuters. College students, by and
large travelling in public transport for the first time and that too with big
bags could reflect the situation the best. Hence we decided to study them
to understand the issue better.

The main objective of this study was to understand students of St.

Xavier’s college pertaining to their day-to-day conveyance to college.
First of all, we underwent a focused group discussion (FGD) to identify
the main attributes of this prospective study. The objectives of the study
were broadly formulated as below-:
• To identify the mode(s) of transport used by the students.
• To correlate the mode, the time spent on travel everyday
and the distance between college and house.
• To assess time utilization while travelling.
• To analyze the factors which affect the kind of activities
carried out during the travel.
• To check whether the students have an option to their
existing mode(s) of transport and evaluating the options if any.
• To list out the problems they face regarding their current
mode of transport.

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 • To study the satisfaction level and also the improvements
that they find are necessary with regards to student travellers.
• To study their take on the monetary aspect of this necessary
transport.
• To take a comment on the efficiency of their current mode of
transport.

Based on the FGD, we prepared an interview schedule to gather detailed

information on our objectives. It was administered on 100 current
Xavierites. The data was subject to various analysis techniques and
outcomes of the same are presented in the report. The most practicable
conclusions being the improvements as stipulated by the respondents are
presented in the end.

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Research methodology-:

Research design-:
A combination of descriptive and exploratory design.

Type of study-:
Quantitative and qualitative both.

Sampling-:
The sample size was 100 and the population was selected as the students
of St. Xavier’s College: a representation of the youth of Mumbai. The
sampling method adopted was ‘clustered sampling’, wherein, there was
equal representation FY junior college, SY junior college, FY senior
college, SY senior college and TY senior college. In addition; arts,
science, commerce, BMM and BMS faculties were given equal
representation. Also, the sample comprised of equal number of males and
females. Thus, the sample obtained was representative of its age, gender
and economic status.

Method of data collection-:

Secondary data- Literature study was done in the following three
libraries-:
• St. Xavier’s college library
• Xavier’s institute of social research
• Xavier’s institute of communication

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No material relevant to our topic could be found. The literature only
detailed either ‘tourism’ travel, travel to other countries for further
education or certain articles on student travellers in the US.
Primary data- Generated through in-depth interviews using the
interview schedule (Please find the interview schedule used for our
survey in the exhibit). A pilot study of size five was done and necessary
amendments made in the interview schedule before undertaking the
actual survey.

Data processing-:
The data is tabulated using Microsoft Office Excel. Certain responses are
recorded manually and then processed either mathematically or
otherwise. Analysis has been done according to the aspects to be studied
and mode of transport-wise. As the data was mainly qualitative, the
analysis is descriptive but it is also supported by statistical inferences
drawn from its quantitative counterpart.

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 1. MODE OF TRANSPORT

It is the first and foremost important aspect of our study to identify the
various modes of transport used by current Xavierites to travel to college
daily.

Train
84%

Cab
2% Bus
Personal
Walking vehicle 6%
5% 3%

GRAPH NO. 1

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As we can see in the pie chart, train is the most used mode of transport
among Xavierites; be it by choice or not. 84% of our sample travels to
college by train. The 5% who walks to college and 2% taking a cab are
the ones who stay nearby to college; within maximum 5 kms. radius. The
3% who commute in their personal vehicles also stay nearby but this can
not be generalized if we observe the population carefully. But in the case
of our sample, these 3 students also stay in the neighbourhood. The 6%
who travel in a bus do so mostly because that is the most feasible option
they have. Railway station is not near and non-public transport is too
expensive to be used everyday is how they explain their choice for the
BEST.

Even if the share of modes of transport other than train is very low, each
one of them is studied separately. It is important to understand the
reasons due to which other modes are not used by many people.

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 ACTIVITIES

The kind of activities the students undertake while travelling to college

on daily basis is an important part of this study. Because travelling to
college everyday is a task in itself. For the students who travel up to 10
minutes one way, travelling is not a significant part of the day. But for
others it is. The activities they carry out during the travel time is an
interesting detail to be studied.

In our study, we asked our respondents to mention the kind of activities

they do or they would want to undertake during their daily travel to
college. The most common of those were listening to music, reading
books, chatting etc. The kind of activities that they undertook depended
on their gender, the time at which they travel, company they have etc.
The activities mentioned by the respondents can be broadly divided into-:
Ai) Productive activities viz. studying, finishing work, reading novel etc.
Aii) Relaxing activities viz. listening to music, sleeping, chatting with
friends.
Bi) Regular activities viz. listening to specific radio programs, reading
daily newspaper.
Bii) Need specific activities viz. reading notes before an exam etc.

The subdivisions of the activities were inclusive. Like a student who

would generally like to relax or take a nap in the train would be very sure
to be studying if it was an exam day. Or be it a productive activity or a
relaxing one, most of them were habituated to it.

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 Many factors can affect the kind of activities a given student would
undertake. The most important would be his choice. But apart from that,
the mode of transport, amount of time they travel for, the surrounding
created by such and other factors certainly make an impact on his
activities. Some of them are analyzed below-:

i) THE AMOUNT OF TIME TRAVELLED FOR-:

AVERAGE
TIME INFLUENCE OF AMOUNT OF TIME
TOTALS
TAKEN
(in mins) YES NO
0-20 2 9 11
20-40 4 25 29
40-60 2 17 19
60-80 5 21 26
80-100 2 9 11
100-120 2 2 04
Totals: 17 83 100

Table no.1

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According to the above table, 83% of the sample units are not affected by
the amount of time they travel for. It does not affect the activities they
undertake while travelling. Around 85% of them say that the main reason
is that they are used to train travelling and timings, by now. The others
find this time duration “PERFECT” for undertaking their choice of
activities. Among the 17% who said that the amount of time they travel
for does affect the kind of activities they do or would like to do; 70% of
them claim to have positive influence. They find it fitting to the exact
time that they would want in order to conduct activities. But at the two
extremes i.e. very less travelling time and a whole lot of time for
travelling; it is found that time is either too less or too much for
undertaking their choice of activities.

ii) TIME AT WHICH THEY TRAVEL-:

Graph no.2

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The above graph shows the different academic classes of Xavierites on
the X-axis and the ‘TIME-FACTOR’ while travelling to college on the
Y-axis. The FYJC Bar shows 80% girls and 15% boys finding time a
major concern while travelling. The main reason put forth by a majority
of them is that since it is their first experience at travelling, they are still
adapting to it though it is tiresome. The Arts students in fact face even
more problems due to late timings of college. The Science category
doesn’t have that problem as their college begins early. The SYJC Bar
shows 40% of Xavierites, 35% being girls among them, who find time
cumbersome mainly because of the HSC tuitions and studies which
become a major factor at the SYJC level. The FY DEGREE college in-
house students do not find it problematic as compared to those newly
admitted in the college. They face the similar FYJC dilemma of
adjustment. The SY DEGREE college bar is practically negligible, their
reason again being that they are used to it. The TY DEGREE college bar
though much insignificant deals with 14% of Xavierites facing problems
like late trains, poor infrastructure, etc. Being an important and the last
year, time plays an important role here.

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iii) THE PLACE FROM WHICH THEY TRAVEL-:

NO. OFPEOPLE
70

60

50

40
30 NO OF PEOPLE
20

10

0
0-20 20-40 40-60 60-80 80-100 100-120
mins mins mins mins mins mins

Graph no.3

The above graph displays the Average Travel Time that Xavierites travel
for on the X-axis and the ‘Effect of the Place’ from which they start their
routine travelling to college. There are time durations on the X-axis
because the place from which they travel basically converts into the
amount of time they travel for. The 1st Bar shows 25% of students whose
travel time ranges from 0-20 mins having sum random problems from
their area of travel. The 2nd Bar also shows a measly 27% of students
having problems of crowded trains. The 3rd Bar shows 50% of students
facing situations of crowded trains, bad roads, etc. The 4th Bar shows a
sudden decline i.e. 40% in the effect of the place on the student while
travelling.

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The reason behind this is that most of them have first class passes and
travel in less crowded and better comfort trains. The 80-100 mins Bar
shows a large number of 50% with difficulties like bad crowd,
hooliganism specifically in the men’s compartment, fights due to high
rate of irritability in crowds, no place to sit or stand comfortably, bad-
mouthedness of co-passengers, etc. The last Bar also shows the same
problems but at a higher magnitude that is 66%. Thus students travelling
from far taking a whole lot of time to travel, face more problems with
respect to the ‘PLACE’ of travel as compared to the students who stay
nearer and take less time to commute to college.

It is also important to see how the environment created by all these three
factors affect the kind of activities undertaken. Because even if a person
is travelling at peak hour, if the people around are not making noise, one
can still listen to music without being interrupted. Or even if someone is
travelling for more than 50 minutes, if he gets to sit the journey would be
more comfortable.

We have analyzed the improvements in the later part of the report but we
must mention that the kind of activities that are undertaken certainly
make an impact on their satisfaction level with the mode of transport.
Hence examining the activities undertaken by student travelers was an
essential part of this study.

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 MONETARY ASPECT

Spending the least for the best is every traveller’s dream wish. And
for college students even more than a wish as travelling costs are usually
cut off from their pocket money. But thanks to the various concessions
provided by the governmeny for college students, the monetary factor in
college travelling is not too cumbersome and much of an issue.
Presenting below are some of the key points in the economicity of
travelling to and from college, of course as stated by our respondents.

• Students travelling by train, both First and Second Class, find the
railway concession very appropriate for their travelling needs. Thus
there is no major monetary problem for the train travellers.
• Students travelling by buses expressed two extreme opinions about
the monetary aspect of their travel. Some said that the bus
concession provided by the college is sufficient and that is one of
the main reasons for them using bus as a mode of transport;
alongwith the other reason being that bus takes them from door to
door. The other bus commuters were totally unhappy with the
concession provided. But in general, all the bus travellers
commented that the railway concession given to other students is
much better than what they are provided with.
• Students travelling by taxis and auto-rickshaws, usually travel
short distances thus having not much monetary problems. But a
significant number i.e. 5% of other respondents mentioned that
they do not commute in a cab because it is expensive.

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 • Students travelling by private vehicle accept that even if it is the
most expensive mode of transport, they can not complain about it
as it is their choice.

In general, even if the respondents showed moderate dissatisfaction with

the monetary aspect of their travel; they had to actually think on it. Only
the cab commuters had a top of the mind response on this issue. For
others, it is become just a part of their lives. They know it would be better
if they have to spend less money but it does not trouble them time and
again.

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 IMPROVEMENTS

90% of our respondents stated the need for some or the other
improvement in their respective mode of transport. All these
improvements border along the same line. Along with suggestions as
specific as that of different luggage setup in Mumbai’s suburban trains,
those concerning to the infrastructural developments came out more
strongly. A general note on these improvements is given below.
 Students travelling by train face the biggest trouble with the comfort
level in this mode. The respondents do not mind travelling at the
peak hour in worst crowd. But their bags often put them in trouble.
The size of the bag is always an issue. They need special
compartments or atleast a different luggage system.
 Apart from that, those travelling by harbour have major issues
regarding the frequency of trains.
 Punctuality of Mumbai’s suburban railways, the maintenance of
stations, faster availability of tickets, more convenient and
economical offers on travelling, maintenance of tracks, etc. were the
other issues of concern mentioned by the respondents.
 Students travelling by Public transport other than train i.e. Buses,
Taxis, Auto-rickshaws, etc. face problems due to bad conditions of
roads and tremendous traffic caused by several reasons. In fact these
are some of main reasons for not using these modes of transport even
if the option is available; as seen in earlier study.
 This category of students would like to see improvements in the
frequency of buses, the punctuality of buses, better roadway

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 infrastructure leading to lesser traffic, better surveillance of
roadways, etc.
 Students travelling by Private Vehicles i.e. Cars, Bikes, Cycles, etc.
are the most privileged and they accept it to be so. In case of this
category of students, improvements in the overall infrastructure of
the city, lower prices of fuels and faster and easier routes of roadway
travel are demanded. But more important are the improvements they
have marked for public transport. Most of them are analyzed as the
reasons for them not using public transport. But it is important to
consider them because that might help getting more and more people
to avail of the public transport. In turn, reduce the load on the system.
 In general, each respondent irrespective of the mode of transport he
or she uses mentioned the need for special facilities for student
commuters. It ranged from special buses/compartments in trains to
more economic travelling options for students.

The set of improvements; as demanded by the respondents is the

backbone of this project. The ones stated by them are just a sketch but as
stated earlier, it is the most practicable set of data. An extensive study of
this population and framing the rough improvement suggestions into
more concrete ideas can lead to better transportation system here in
Mumbai.

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 CONCLUSIONS

As mentioned earlier, this study was to take an overview of college

student travelers in Mumbai and for representation and convenience we
chose our population to be the current students of St. Xavier’s college.
The conclusions that can be drawn from the study are as below-:

 Local trains are the most preferred mode of transport for the
college students.
 The average time any given student travels to reach is ‘dream
college’ is about 40 minutes one way.
 Due to the young age, they are more adjustable to the different
problems they have to face with respect to their mode of transport.
For example, the crowd, irregularities etc.
 There are a variety of activities undertaken by the students while

travelling. Most of them utilize the travel time efficiently and treat
it as another span of time they can use fruitfully i.e. they are good
at time management.
 The major issue with the student travelers is that of the time factor
of their transportation i.e. the time at which they travel and amount
of time for which they travel.
 The place from which a given student commutes makes an impact
on his choice of mode of transport and hence all the factors that
follow.

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  The problems as specified by the respondents are specific to the

mode of transport, but in general most of these problems arise from

the lack of appropriate infrastructure and inefficient administration.
Even if a student is used to travelling in a train where he can barely
stand, he would certainly be benefitted if some provision is made
to make the travelling more comfortable for students.

Being a student has never been easy and to be a college student in a city
like Mumbai, travelling to college everyday adds to the challenges. But
with other observations and conclusions too, we were mainly reassured of
the common and much appreciated attitude of Mumbai city and its
residents of being extremely adjustable, through this study.

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 INTERVIEW SCHEDULE
Name: ____________________________________________
Class of study: _____________ Gender: ___________
Area of Residence: __________________________________

1) Which is your main mode of transport? How much time do you

take to travel one-way on that mode of transport? (Select any 1
and mention the amount of travel time you spend)

□ Train: __________ hour/minutes

□ Bus: __________hour/minutes

□ Personal vehicle: __________hour/minutes

□ Auto-rickshaw: __________hour/minutes

□ Walking: __________hour/minutes

□ Taxi/ Cab: __________hour/minutes

2) At what time of the day do you travel to college?

To college-:

Back home-:

3) What are the activities that you generally undertake

while travelling to and fro college?

______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
__________

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4) Does the ‘TIME’ at which you travel have any effect on
your daily commuting? What effect?

□ YES □ NO

_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
__________

5) Does the ‘PLACE’ from which you travel have any effect
on your travelling? What effect?

□ YES □ NO

_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
__________

6) Does the ‘AMOUNT OF TIME’ you spend travelling

have any effect on your choice of activities or your travelling
experience? What effect?

□ YES □ NO

_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
__________

7) Does the ‘SURROUNDING’ or the ‘ENVIRONMENT’

in which you travel have any effect on your travelling or
activities? What effect?

□ YES □ NO

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_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
__________

8) Do you have another option to your existing mode of

transport? Do you use it? If ‘NO’ why?

If yes, which? Please mention the reasons for not using the
optional mode of transport.

_____________________________________________________
_____

9) How do you find the monetary aspect of travelling? And

why?

□ GOOD □ BAD

_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
__________

10) Would you like any kind of improvements in your

current mode of transport? What would they be?

_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_________

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