sba on transportation problems

1. School Based Assessment
Name: Jillian Richards
TITLE: Problems faced by Meadowbrook High School students on the number 31 bus route
Subject: Social Studies
School: Meadowbrook High School
Territory: Jamaica
Candidate #: 100075____
Centre #: 100075
Teacher: Miss Grey
Year: 2014- 2015

2. 1
Problems Faced by Meadowbrook High School Students on the Number
31 Bus Route

3. 2
Table of Contents
Title Pages
Acknowledgement 3
Statement of the Problem 4
Reason for selecting the Area of Research 5
Method of Investigation 6
Instrument Used to Collect Data 7-9
Procedure Used to Collect Data 10
Presentation and Explanation of Data 11-18
Analysis and Interpretation of Data 19-20
Findings 21
Recommendation and Implementation of Data 22
Bibliography 23

4. 3
Acknowledgement
The researcher would like to acknowledge the following persons who helped to contributed to
this project.
First of all the researcher would like to thank her mother Sherien Richards and her neighbor
Simone Smith who helped me to come up with my questionnaire. She would also like to thank
her social studies teacher for helping her assignment and correcting her through every step of the
way. She would then like to thank her friends for their continuous support and finally she would
like to thank God for giving her the strength, courage and understanding to accomplish this
school based assessment.
Thank You All

5. 4
Statement of Problem
What are the problems faced by Meadowbrook High students on the number 31 bus route?

6. 5
Reason for Selecting the Area of Research
The reason this topic was selected is because the number 31 bus route which runs from
Downtown via Weymouth Drive, Spanish Town Road, Duhaney Park to Meadowbrook is
seemingly slow and unorganized and most times takes hours for a bus to arrive.
Therefore by doing this topic the researcher hopes to achieve results on how to remedy this
chronic problem faced by the Meadowbrook High School students who travel this route on a
daily basis.

7. 6
Method of Investigation
The researcher’s method of investigation is in the form of a questionnaire. This method of
investigation was chosen because it is relatively quick and easy to collect and analyze data,
questionnaires provide a sense of secrecy which allows for a person to freely give his/her
opinion, questionnaires are also easy to understand which will make persons more willing to
answer them, questionnaires also take very little time to answer thereby making people feel that
they are not wasting a large amount of their time and lastly questionnaires can be easily
distributed to a number of persons to allow the researcher with larger base of opinions and will
not take a lot of time to analyze them. These are the contributing factors that caused the
researcher to choose a questionnaire as the method of investigation to distribute to Meadowbrook
High School students who travel on the number 31 bus route.

8. 7
Instrument Used to Collect Data
Questionnaire
This questionnaire is to help the researcher to find out and understand the problems faced by
Meadowbrook High School students on the number 31 bus route so please answer the following
questions truthfully and honestly thank-you.
1. What is your gender?
□Male
□Female
2. What age group do you fall in?
□13-14
□15-16
□17-18
□19-20
3. What grade level do you fall in?
□7-8
□9-10
□11-13
4. When do you take the number 31 bus?
□School days
□School days and weekends
5. What are the problems that you face on the number 31 bus?
□Overcrowding
□Rude drivers’
□Late arrival of buses

9. 8
6. How often do these problems occur?
□Everyday
□A few times a week
□Once in awhile
7. Which of the following are reasons why the number 31 buses have problems with its
schedule?
□Traffic
□Few Buses
□Damage roads
□If others please specify
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8. In your opinion do you think that the Meadowbrook High School students are treated poorly
on the number 31 bus?
□Yes
□No
9. If your answer is yes to question eight how so? Do they
□ Speak to in a demeaning matter
□Force you to give up your seat to a healthy capable adult
□If others please specify
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10. Does the schedule of the number 31 bus affect your arrival time for school?
□Yes
□No
11. If your answer is yes to question ten how often?
□Once in a while
□On a daily basis

10. 9
12. Does the schedule of the number 31 bus contribute to idleness among Meadowbrook High
students?
□Most definitely
□Not really
□No
13. Which of the following words would you use to describe number 31 bus drivers?
□Nice
□Rude
□Indifferent
□Other
14. Have you made complaints to the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (J.U.T.C) officials
regarding the schedule of the number 31 buses?
□Yes
□No
15. What are some of the methods you could suggest to help improve the number 31 bus route
for Meadowbrook High Students?
□More Buses
□Better Scheduling
□Other

11. 10
Procedure Used to Collect Data
A sample consisting of 20 individuals from the Meadowbrook High School was selected to assist
the researcher in gathering information for this investigation. The sample was made up of (9)
males and (11) females with grades ranging from 7-10th grade. The sample the researcher used
was chosen at random, the researcher started by choosing 5 students from each grade level until
the required number for the sample was achieved.
In order to collect data the researcher used a questionnaire that was approved by the researchers’
teacher in order to gather the necessary information. A time of 15 minutes was given to complete
the questionnaire. This was issued within the respondents lunch period so as not to disrupt their
class schedules.

12. 11
Presentation and Explanation of Data
The researcher presented the data in the form of a pie chart and a bar graph
Question 5
Bar graph showing the problems faced on the number 31 bus by Meadowbrook High School
students
Figure 1
Figure 1 is bar graphs showing which of the following are problems most commonly faced by
Meadowbrook High students. Six (6) said overcrowding, two (2) said rude drivers, and twelve
(12) said late arrival of buses.
overcrowding rude drivers late arrival of buses
Series1 6 2 12
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14

13. 12
Question 7
Pie chart showing reasons believed to be why the number 31 buses may be having problems.
Figure 2
Figure 2 is pie chart showing which of the following reasons are why Meadowbrook High
students feel the number 31 buses have problems. Three (3) said damaged roads, one (1) said
traffic, fifteen (15) said few buses on the route and one (1) selected the other option.
Traffic , 1
Few Buses, 15
Damaged
Roads,3
Others, 1

14. 13
Question 10
A doughnut graph showing how the schedule of the number 31 bus affects Meadowbrook High
School students’ arrival time for school
Figure 3
The doughnut graph in figure 3 shows responses, as to whether or not the schedule for the
number 31 bus affects Meadowbrook High School students’ arrival time for school. Sixteen (16)
said yes and four (4) said no.
yes, 16
no, 4

15. 14
Question 11
Side cone graph showing how often the schedule of the number 31 bus affects the arrival time
for Meadowbrook High School students for school
Figure 4
Figure 4 is a side cone graph showing responses as to how often does the schedule of the number
31 bus affects the arrival time for Meadowbrook High School students for school. Five (5)
persons said 1-5 days, five (5) persons said 2-3 days and ten (10) persons did not give a response.
2-3 days
1-5 days
No answer
5
5
10
Series1

16. 15
Question 12
Bar graph showing if the schedule of the number 31 bus contributes to idleness among
Meadowbrook High students
Figure 5
Figure 5 is a bar graph showing responses as to if the schedule of the number 31 bus contributes
to idleness among Meadowbrook High School students. Six (6) said most definitely and twelve
(12) said not really.
6
12
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Definitely Not Really

17. 16
Question 15
Pie chart showing methods that can help to improve the number 31 bus route for Meadowbrook
High School students
Figure 6
The pie chart in figure 6 shows methods which may be used to improve the number 31 bus route
for Meadowbrook High School students. Eight (8) said more buses on the 31 route, six (6) said
better scheduling and three (3) said other.
More buses
22%
Better
scheduling
45%
Other
33%

18. 17
According to the questionnaires that were issued and returned. From the sample it is shown that
Meadowbrook High School students face many problems on the number 31 bus. These problems
need to be corrected in the near future to better improve traveling for Meadowbrook High School
students.
Figure 1 illustrates a bar graph which showed the different problems faced by the students on the
number 31 bus. Six (6) persons said overcrowding, two (2) persons said rude drivers, and twelve
(12) said the late arrival of buses.
Figure 2 is a pie chart that shows the causes for the problems of the number 31 bus schedule.
One (1) person said traffic, one (1) person selected other, three (3) persons said damaged roads,
and fifteen (15) said few buses.
Figure 3 represents a bar graph showing the amount of persons who think that the schedule for
the number 31 bus affects Meadowbrook High School students arrival time for school. Sixteen
(16) persons said yes the schedule of the number 31bus affects students’ arrival time for school
and four (4) persons said no.
Figure 4 is a side bar graph which asked the question ‘how often does the schedule for the
number 31 bus affect your arrival time for school?’ the chart showed that five (5) persons said 2-
3 days, ten (10) persons said 1-5 days, and five (5) persons gave no answer.
Figure 5 illustrates a bar graph which shows the amount of persons who believe that the arrival
time for the number 31 buses contributes to idleness among Meadowbrook High School
students’. Six (6) persons said it most definitely contributes to idleness among Meadowbrook
High School students, and twelve (12) persons said no.

19. 18
Figure 6 is a bar graph which shows methods that could help to improve the number 31 bus route
for Meadowbrook High School students’. Eight (8) persons said add more buses to that route, six
(6) said to better schedule the running of the number 31 buses, and four (4) persons selected the
‘other’ option.

20. 19
Analysis and Interpretation of Data
The responses from the data collected by the researcher were taken from students from the grade
levels of seven to ten (7-10).
From the responses received from the questions the researcher discovered that Meadowbrook
High School Students face many problems on the number 31 bus route.
The fifth question showed a few of the problems faced by the Meadowbrook High School
students’ on the number 31 bus. Six (6) persons said overcrowding, two (2) said rude drivers and
twelve (12) said late arrival of buses. It is in the opinion of the researcher that this is a chain
reaction problem; this is believed because due to the late arrival of the buses, there would be a
large number of students at the bus stops which would result in the overcrowding of the number
31 bus. And most times overcrowding results in an increase of the noise levels which may irritate
and annoy the bus driver to an extent where they start to behave in a rude and irate manner.
In the seventh question it showed what possible causes there are, to the problems faced by the
number 31 buses. One (1) person said traffic, fifteen (15) persons said there are few buses on this
route, three (3) persons said damaged roads, and one (1) person selected the other option. The
researcher believes that due to the insufficient amount of buses this would actually be the main
problem that plagues the students of the Meadowbrook High School who traverse on the 31 bus
routes. This is because when there is an insufficient number of buses on a route persons may try
to suggest that it may be caused my common factors such as damaged roads, traffic etc. For if it
were the cause that damaged roads were the main problems then the conditions of the bus would
be in a deplorable condition which could have caused the insufficient number of buses on the

21. 20
route and with regards to the traffic problems this could cause the overheating of the buses for to
keep the engine running for long periods of time can exhaust the engine hence damaging the
mechanical structures of the buses and for the respondent who selected the other option this
person may have considered other factors such as construction of roads or violence along the
number 31 bus route.
The researcher also deduced from the tenth question that the scheduling of the number 31 buses
affect students’ arrival time for school. For when the researcher asked the question ‘Does the
schedule of the number 31 bus affect your arrival time for school?’ sixteen (16) persons
responded Yes while only four (4) said No, which shows that there is a serious problem . And
when asked in the eleventh question (which was a follow up question to the tenth question) how
often does this occur. Five (5) persons said once in a while, ten (10) persons said on a daily basis
and three (3) persons gave no answer. The researcher believes that if the JUTC implemented a
systematic scheduling route that the many problems faced by the number 31 buses would be
significantly reduced. For instance if they were to monitor the times at which the buses are
stationed at each terminus and what time the traffic was the heaviest they could coordinate a
schedule that would allow for the number 31 buses to avoid the traffic or at least not be caught in
it at its busiest hour. For if a better scheduling system is not places the researcher realized from
these finding that the scheduling of the number 31 bus may cause late arrival to school for
Meadowbrook High School students which may cause a student to miss classes, get detention
and if late arrivals happen too often may lead to a suspension.
From these findings the researcher has concluded that the number 31 bus route has many
problems which affect students and make travelling to and from school an unpleasant experience
for them.

22. 21
Findings
Based on the data that the researcher collected, the researcher was able to clearly identify three
(3) main findings.
1. Meadowbrook High School students’ arrival time for school is affected by the
schedule of the number 31 buses. This was exemplified by Sixteen (16) of the
respondents said yes their arrival time for school is affected while only four (4)
said no.
2. The insufficient number of the number 31 bus seems to me a main problem faced
by the number 31 buses.
3. Overcrowding seems to be a problem faced by Meadowbrook High School
students on the number 31 bus.

23. 22
Recommendation and Implementation of Strategy
From the research carried out, the researcher recommends that:
1. The Jamaican Urban Transit Company (J.U.T.C) implements a better scheduling
system for the number 31 buses so that long waiting periods will be put at a minimum
and to ensure that the schedule is followed deploy inspectors at each terminuses so
drivers do not stay in one location for too long a period.
2. The Jamaica Urban Transit Company (J.U.T.C), could deploy more buses along
routes such as the 31 that experience heavy usage among school children, with more
buses during peak hours on school days. This will assist in reducing the wait time for the
many students who travel along this route. The researcher thought a good implementation
of better scheduling for the number 31 bus is to do a survey among the students to find
out the different time slots in which they depart from school so that a proper scheduling
system can be made so that buses can be deployed at times before students are to released
so that the number 31 buses can make their rounds and arrive at the terminus in time for
students arrival time at the bus stop so students do not have long waiting periods for the
number 31 buses.

24. 23
Bibliography
R. Ramsawak and R. Urman (2001) Modules in Social Studied Caribbean Educational
Publishers.