Customer Acceptance and Service Continuation Intention of the Touch Travel Pass Terminals in Sri Lanka

The Touch travel pass system is introduced to the Sri Lankan market with the intention of automating the traditional bus ticketing mechanism. After five years of the product introduction, it is revealed that there are less acceptance and service continuation intention amongst the terminal users. Hence, the purpose of this study is to investigate the determinants of customer acceptance and service continuation intention of touch travel pass terminals in Sri Lanka. This study employs a quantitative methodology and survey strategy. Primary data was gathered from a sample of 150 bus owners and 150 bus conductors using a structured questionnaire utilizing a systematic random sampling technique. The theoretical framework and hypotheses were developed based on previous literature. The independent sample t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and multiple regression models were used through SPSS software in testing the hypotheses. Perceived usefulness, social influence, and trust show a significant positive impact on customer acceptance. Trust shows a higher impact on customer acceptance than the other determinants. Further, the findings disclose that demographic factors such as gender, age, marital status, and education do not show any significant impact on customer acceptance and service continuation. Moreover, it is implied that the perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and government influence have a significant impact on service continuation intention. Government influence shows a higher impact on service continuation intention than the other determinants.

The management should focus more on perceived trust, social influence and perceived usefulness in enhancing customer acceptance. Further, the marketers should focus more on perceived usefulness, ease of use, and government influence in enhancing the service continuation. Moreover, the government should also focus on developing a mandatory requirement for the use of travel pass for the enhancement of both customer acceptance and the service continuation. Further, the government should develop the necessary infrastructure facilities to smoothen the process. This study is the first to investigate the factors affecting customer acceptance and service continuation of touch travel pass terminals in the Sri Lankan context.