Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

College Transportation System

·   Opportunity:

o   Current transportation systems not fast enough especially for college students who only need to travel within college grounds and need to get these within a few minutes.

§  The who: College students who need to travel within the University

§  The what: There is no quick and cheap transportation

§  The why: Buses are too slow and indirect, and current transportation systems such as Uber and Lyft are too costly and not fast enough for students who need to travel within college campuses quickly.

·    Testing the who: Not just college students have this need, as people all over the world need to travel to places quickly for a cheap price. However, I am limiting my opportunity to densely populated areas where people require transportation within close proximity such as college campuses; students everyday need to travel from classes to classes or if they live close from their dorms/apartments to other places within or around campus.

·    Testing the what: Currently there are no quick and cheap transportation services that can transport students around campus. Sometimes students need to travel to locations that far enough that they cannot walk or drive there because they are pressed on time, but is within campus. Imagine if a student was needed to travel from one side of the campus to the other and they were pressed for time; there would be no way for them to get there on time.

·    Testing the why: Though buses are a cheap transportation system, even free for some schools, they are indirect and not fast enough for some cases. Buses have schedules, stop at certain bus stops during certain times of the day. This requires students to wait at bus stops for the next bus, arrive at the nearest bus stop to their destination, then walk from the stop to the destination. There are other transportation systems such as Uber and Lyft, but they also are not fast or cheap. Using these ride systems, students would still have to wait for a driver to accept their request, and wait for the driver to arrive at the pickup location. As well, uber rides aren’t cheap as the minimum ride costs upwards of $5.

·    Interview #1: Male Freshman, Lives on Campus

   He says that though it does not happen very often, he does agree that there are situation where he needs to get somewhere within campus fast and is late. An example of this is when he wakes up 10 minutes before his 8:30 lecture which is across campus. He says he blames himself for not waking up early enough and knows that there is no way he can get to class on time. When asked about his opinion on a transportation system that uses scooters to transport students within campus that would be cheaper than Uber and Lyft, he agreed that there would be times where he would use the service.

·    Interview #2: Male Freshman, Lives on Campus

      He says that he has back to back classes from Heavener Hall to the New Physics Building. He only has 15 minutes to make the walk, and though he can manage arriving on time he has to rush a little. As well, there are times when he gets out of the first class late and cannot make it to the other class on time. He does not own a bike or a scooter but does own a car. However, he agrees that drive from one class to the other would take longer than just walking there as he would have to fight traffic and find parking. When asked about his opinion on a transportation system that uses scooters to transport students within campus that would be cheaper than Uber and Lyft, he said that he is not comfortable with riding in a scooter as he has never been on one and is concerned with the safety.

·         Interview #3: Female Junior, Lives off Campus

This student lives about a mile off campus and drives to school everyday. However, she parks her car in one spot and walks from class to class. Her classes are not non sequential  so she has time to walk from class to class. However, there are day that she has an 8:30 lecture and wakes up late, but still has to make the drive and park, which causes her to be late. When asked about her opinion on a transportation system that uses scooters to transport students within campus that would be cheaper than Uber and Lyft, she said she would rather not be that close to someone she doesn’t know.

·    Interview #4: Male Sophomore, Lives off Campus

This student lives about a couple hundred feet away from UF (across University Ave )and bikes or walks to campus. He says there have been situations where he could not get to class on time because he overslept. When asked about his opinion on a transportation system that uses scooters to transport students within campus that would be cheaper than Uber and Lyft, he said he would utilize the service when he is running late for class. He agrees that is has great potential, but concerned about safety.

·    Interview #5: Male junior, Lives off Campus

This student is the roommate of the student I previously interviewed. He bikes or walks to campus as well. Like his roommate, he has been situations where he could not get to class on time because he overslept. When asked about his opinion on a transportation system that uses scooters to transport students within campus that would be cheaper than Uber and Lyft, he said he would utilize the service often. Since it would be cheap, he would use it often to get to Southwest Rec when he needs to go for his recreational soccer matches.

·    Given your interviews, what do you know about the opportunity that you didn't know before?

   After interviewing the students, I learned that most student only have the problem when they are late to class; therefore, would rarely utilize the scooter transportation service. As well, some of the students I interviewed were concerned about the safety of riding on a scoot as a fall would directly injure them. One student pointed out that she did not feel comfortable riding behind someone on a scooter as she would be too close to them. I still definitely think there is an opportunity. If the service was to be created, it would have to provide riders with safety equipment such as helmets.