Surveying customer perceptions of road infrastructure comfort

Blom, Carron M.; Guthrie, Peter · 2015 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.1680/jinam.15.00007

archive: archived pipeline: cataloged verified

Get this paper ↗ (DOI — opens at the source; we link to it, we don't host it)

Summary

This paper investigates the alignment between strategic infrastructure objectives and operational measures, specifically focusing on customer perceptions of road infrastructure comfort in New Zealand. The study addresses the complexity of "comfort" from a user perspective, aiming to integrate customer feedback into decision-making processes to better align services with user needs. It serves as the second stage of a broader case study examining the relationship between the New Zealand Transport Agency’s (NZTA) strategic goals and its operational metrics, such as road smoothness. The research employed a comprehensive online survey developed in conjunction with customer focus groups to ensure cultural safety and relevance. The survey, hosted by the NZTA, collected 1,619 usable responses over two months, a sample deemed statistically representative of the New Zealand population. The methodology uniquely included both vehicular and non-vehicular modes (e.g., pedestrians, cyclists, wheelchair users) and covered all roads and paths, regardless of jurisdictional boundaries, to capture interface issues. Key findings reveal that while respondents were generally satisfied with roads and paths, significant barriers to mode augmentation exist, with safety and accessibility being the primary concerns. Safety was the most frequent barrier overall, particularly for potential cyclists, while accessibility issues heavily impacted bus patrons and those with mobility constraints. Contrary to technical assumptions, surface roughness was a minor barrier for most users, accounting for only 2% of total barrier issues, though it was critical for path users like skateboarders and wheelchair users. In terms of comfort factors, "appropriate speeds" and "road roughness/defects" were dominant for road users, whereas "kerbs/transitions" and "path roughness" were paramount for path users. Notably, customers expressed frustration with maintenance strategies, particularly patching that created rough edges, and highlighted that comfort is deeply intertwined with safety and accessibility rather than being a standalone metric. The study concludes that infrastructure management must move beyond technical paradigms to address the multidimensional nature of customer comfort. The findings highlight a disconnect between strategic intent and tactical reality, suggesting that current measures like road smoothness fail to capture the full scope of user experience, particularly for non-vehicular modes. The paper implies that effective infrastructure management requires broader engagement with diverse user groups and a reevaluation of how operational metrics are defined to ensure they reflect the complex realities of safety, accessibility, and usability.

Provenance

The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed.

Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-26; verification: verified.

Topics

Ranked by relevance to this paper. Hover a topic for its definition.

• perceptual countermeasures