Surveying customer perceptions of road infrastructure comfort

This paper continues an exploration of the relationship between strategic performance setting and operational measures in infrastructure management. The overarching study considers the use of road smoothness within the New Zealand context and its relationship to the strategic objective of improving customer comfort. The paper highlights the complexity of comfort when viewed from the customer’s perspective, and the importance of customer engagement in informing technical decisions. In addition, the study has wider infrastructure management implications and highlights a broader issue with the alignment of strategic intent and the tactical reality of day-to-day infrastructure operations.