My Belief -
- What?- There is not enough parking available for students at UF
- Who?- Students
- When?- In the three years I have been here this has been an issue, and it has gotten worse as more students enroll in school at UF and the school builds in existing parking lots.
- How?- Many people have turned away from driving cars and use scooters/motorcycles, public transport, walk, bike, or skate.
- % Sure- I am 95% sure this opportunity exists based off my personal experience.
This interview was with an individual who used to park on campus while living on campus, but now that he lives off campus he doesn't even bother trying to for the most part. He would rather walk to class than deal with buying a parking pass or using another mode of transportation.
Reflection #1
After this first interview, I have noticed that this might just be an issue for off campus students. He said that parking was relatively close to the dorm he lived in and wasn't as much of a problem with more parking available. Off campus students have fewer options to park. I was also surprised that at this point driving to campus is not even considered and that he would prefer to walk over most other options.
Interview #2
This interview was with a student who also lives off campus. In his case he has never had a car, rather he bought a motorcycle. This was a combination of seeing the problem with parking cars on campus but also for the most part it was more convenient to have a motorcycle for the short trips around campus and Gainesville.
Reflection #2
I was most surprised to find out that even parking a motorcycle/scooter isn't as great as I thought it was. He pointed out that the scooter lots are often over-parked and still are not located in areas that are a huge improvement in terms of distance to class. This again shaped my opportunity to include scooter/motorcycle parking.
Interview #3
In this interview we talked about the difference between on-campus living and off-campus living. Ramon told me that on campus, some of the dorms do not have any parking within a ten to fifteen minute walk. Living off-campus he says he doesn't even try parking on campus but uses public transport and that this is meeting his needs, but he would like to find some way to fix parking for students.
Reflection #3
I was most surprised to find out that even living on-campus he had such a problem with parking. I was starting to conclude that this was mainly an issue for off-campus living, but his example showed that it depends on where you live. It still sounds like this is an issue that affects students off-campus more frequently, but is not perfect for those living on-campus.
How much of my original idea is still here?
I think that most of my original idea is still here. I do think that it has shifted more to focus on those who live off-campus, rather than all students.
Do you believe your new opportunity is more accurate than when you started?
I believe so. To lump all students in together would be a huge umbrella. I think through the interviews I was able to narrow the focus. I still have a large focus simply because of the scope of UF.
How much do you think entrepreneurs should 'adapt' their opportunities based on customer feedback?
I feel like entrepreneurs should always adapt their beliefs based off of feedback. The worst thing to do would to think the idea is perfect and refuse to adapt anything. That being said, not every little comment is a reason to change the product/service, however, if an entrepreneur is conducting interviews and notices a common trend they should probably look into this idea.
Chris, I think you chose a really important and relevant opportunity belief that any of your fellow UF students can agree with. Lack of parking at UF and just an overall inefficient system has been an ongoing and serious problem for years now, especially with the growing student population like you mentioned. I don't even purchase a decal at all or even attempt to bring my car on campus hardly at all anymore because of the amount of problems I have run into over the last couple of years. I agree with you that there can absolutely be an improvement with this issue, and seeing the amount of scooters, bikers, etc., I think everyone else can agree too. Being a girl who lived in a dorm for freshman year, I can also say that safety was a concern too. The closest parking lot for my decal was a minimum 10 minute walk if I could find a spot, and up to 20 if I had to go to another lot. If I came back at night, walking back alone was always really sketchy and uncomfortable. The lack of parking and lack of action being taken to fix it is a problem continuously raised by UF students, and I think your interviews just add to that even further. Great topic and great post.
ReplyDeleteChris when I went down to Gainesville for my orientation for online even with instructions on where to park I found it very difficult to find a parking spot. I intend on moving down there for a couple semesters just to get a feel for the college experience. I'm glad however to have read this post, because it make me aware of the prominent issue even between semesters. I will definitely be planning to purchase a scooter for heading down to Gainesville. EXCELLENT POST!
ReplyDeleteChris,
ReplyDeleteThis is an overwhelmingly relevant topic that I have also pursued myself! Last year my project group for Professional Communications for Engineers decided to investigate the parking issues at UF and compiled a couple years of recent data concerning parking spots and distributed decals. Unfortunately with the background of this campus, we certainly were not built with the expectation to provide parking for such an exponential growth in student capacity. This issue certainly has lead people to rely on other modes of transportation such as scooters, motorcycles, and the RTS bus system. Gainesville is actually home to a very large motorcycle and scooter community, and I can only wonder if this has spawned from this parking issue. I can 100% say that I am sure this opportunity exists based on my personal experience, research, and collection of accounts from fellow students. I also very much agree with your response to the question concerning entrepreneurs and their adjustments with respect to customer concern, my response practically mirrors yours. Fantastic post.
my post: http://elementalentrepreneur.blogspot.com/2016/05/forming-opportunity-belief.html
Chris, I have always lived off campus since my freshman year and parking was always such an issue. My first year I lived near Southwest gym and it was such a pain to have to attend class when it rained or when it was scorching hot and wanted to use my car. My second and third year were not too bad because I lived next to sorority row so my car was parked in a spot. However, I did buy a scooter to use around campus, in which parking was also an issue due to spaces being scarce. I believe that UF should possibly invest in making two or three more parking garages over current parking lots, and possibly assign them to different groups such as off-campus students, etc.
ReplyDeleteHey Chris,
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely a big issue and one that needs to be addressed. I look forward to seeing what you come up with throughout the semester!
- Ryan