Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
2 LITERATURE REVIEW
highways as the sole electronic toll collection oper-
ator, Touch 'n Go continually expanding its func-
tionality (Euromonitor International, 2011). This
card offered a wide range of applications includ-
ing in the public transport, theme parks, parking
lots, medical and health, movie, and restaurants as
well. The cards may either be linked to one's credit
or bank card with automatic reload facilities to
a stipulated maximum level once the amount on
the cards fall to a predetermined minimum level.
The cards may also be reloaded at some of the toll
booths or banks ATM terminals.
This card offers more convenient than currency
in many settings; some consumers are likely to
find cards physically easier to handle than coins
and paper notes. The total number of card in cir-
culation as at end 2006 was 6.5 million, and as at
December 2007, the number had increased to 8.1
million (Bank Negara Malaysia, 2011).
2.1 Smart cards
A smart card is a mechanism designed to store
and, in most cases, the process data. They are very
mobile (credit card size) and resilient (Lu, 2007),
which makes them suitable for many applications
involving identification, authorization, and pay-
ment. Since the creation of the cards in the 1970s,
the technology has evolved, and many features have
been further to the original concept (Shelfer & Pro-
caccino, 2002).
Smart card technology has begun to penetrate the
market, and attempts are being made to use them in
many parts of business activity. Attoh-Okine and
Shen (1995) reminded that Germans were using
the smart cards for health care since 1992, and it
has been adopted in France in support of postal,
telephone, and telegraph services. In actual fact,
smart cards (contactless or otherwise) are used in
many sectors: health care, banking, government,
human resources and, of course, transportation.
This card is used to identify the store, biometrics,
photographs, fingerprints, medical data, the results
of DNA, religious affiliation, banking data, trans-
port fares, and other individual data.
Transit agencies are keen in this type of tech-
nology, and a number of them are now using
smart cards to substitute the traditional magnetic
cards, or ticket, as a viable payment alternative
(Blythe, 2004). It is seen as a safe method of user
authentication and fare payment (Trépanier, Barj,
Dufour & Poilpré, 2004). Eventually, it also makes
the driver's job easier, because he no longer has to
collect fares. Moreover, smart cards improve the
quality of data, providing a more modern transit,
and offer new prospects for innovative and flex-
ible fare structuring (Dempsey, 2008). Although
smart cards are mostly used in Europe and Asia,
they have currently been implemented in Canada,
especially in Québec where the entire major transit
operator is equipped with smart card technology.
The United States government has expressed the
intention to establish world-class transit system in
the country and the smart cards are expected to
play a role in achieving this goal (United States
Department of Transportation, 2010).
2.3 Attitudes
Technology Acceptance Model or TAM is based
on the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) which
asserts that an attitude toward a specific behavior
and subjective norm have an impact on behavio-
ral intention, which in turn determines the behav-
ior displayed (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980; Fishbein &
Ajzen, 1975). According to TAM, the amount of
technology acceptance is reflected in the strength of
attitude or intention toward using the technology
(Davis, Bagozzi & Warshaw, 1989). An attitude can
be characterized as a person's negative or positive
evaluation of performing the target behavior. It has
been suggested that attitude can be split into its cog-
nitive and affective components (Fishbein, 1967).
Intentions are assumed to capture the motivational
factors that influence a behavior, and thus indicate
how hard people are willing to try or to what extent
they are planning to make an effort in order to per-
form the behavior (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980).
In the context of technological adoption, atti-
tude toward the act refers to the individual's assess-
ment of the desirability of adopting and using the
product. It is distinct from attitude toward the
product and one's behavioral intention towards the
product. However, in the consumer context, atti-
tude has been found to have a direct and positive
effect on intention to adopt technology (Bruner
II & Kumar, 2005; Dabholkar & Bagozzi, 2002).
2.2 Touch 'n Go cards
Touch 'n Go cards is owned by CIMB Group
Holdings Berhad, MTD Capital Berhad and PLUS
Expressways Berhad. A smartcard that contains
electronic cash is one of card-based e-money appli-
cation and one of the alternative payments widely
used in the transportation sector. Initially offer-
ing a contactless payment card for use on all the
3 METHODOLOGY
Questionnaires were distributed to 8 participated
restaurants which are listed in the Touch 'n Go direc-
tory for Food and Beverages outlets as to achieve
an adequate response rate. Surveys amounting of
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