Forming an Opportunity
1. Anyone that has ever visited the University of Florida in recent years knows there is no reliable place to keep your car while visiting, and almost every single student with a scooter has gotten a parking citation at some point.
2. The need we all need met is more parking!! When having visitors at my off campus dorm last year, there would not be any street parking and if they did find a spot they needed a temporary parking pass from our leasing office. Somehow scooter parking is even worse. Scooters are on top of each other at Library West. It is a feeding frenzy right before class starts with people hovering constantly for a spot before they are late for class. Some people suck it up and park outside the lines knowing they will most likely come back to a citation. UF is accepting more and more students, but they do not expand scooter parking. This has become a problem in recent years with more people driving scooters and more students being on campus in general. UF is addressing this problem by giving out citations to all of the scooters over flowing outside of the parking lines, which does not solve anything. Sometimes there will be up to 30 scooters outside of the lines, because they do not have another option. I am 100% sure this is a problem in Gainesville, I personally have experienced it multiple times and witness it on a daily basis.
3. Sophomore, lives on campus, has a car here.
4. This customer brought her car to Gainesville to take around town and also around campus. She quickly learned at the beginning of the year that you can only park in a specific zone of the decal you bought. So, she can not take her car around campus or to class, for there is no way to park. She is forced to take the bus or have friends drop her off at class everyday. She can still take her car to some places around campus like the Reitz Union or the Southwest gym, but it useless for her everyday activities. To park on any of the streets surrounding campus you need city decals, so she cannot even drive her car to her friends' houses because she would have to park on the street. Now, she only uses her car for when she is going home or going to a restaurant or store with a parking lot, which is not ideal.
3b. Sophomore, lives off campus, lived in a dorm last year with a car.
4b. This customer at the beginning of freshman year did not have any form of transportation, but soon realized she needed her car in Gainesville for the amount of times each month she would go home. Once she brought her car she quickly learned there was never any parking on campus near where she lived and did not want to pay for a decal to not have a guaranteed spot near her dorm. She ended up having to keep her car miles away at her friend's house on their property. It was such a hassle for her to get to her car every time she wanted to use it. She now lives in an apartment and is able to keep her car in their parking lot with a decal.
3c. Mother of a UF student who frequently visits her daughter here.
4c. This customer frequently visits her daughter who lives on campus in family housing and does not see the need for more parking. I was blown away when she did not understand my frustration with parking! Her daughter is recovering from chemotherapy treatments, so the college granted her a handicap pass and permanent visitor passes for her parents when visiting. I believe this extreme case is one of the only solutions I have found for this problem.
5. I learned that it is not just me that gets citations and has problems with parking, it is a struggle for everyone. The most surprising thing was I actually met someone that found a loop hole to the parking situation with the handicap sticker and visitor passes. That scenario is so extreme that it is not a practical solution to this ongoing problem.
7. Much of my original opportunity is still there, it is an understood problem here that there is not enough parking and you need a specific decal to park anywhere. During the interviews I was going to focus and stress scooter parking, but having a car seemed to be a harder problem to solve and ended up becoming the main issue. I think entrepreneurs should most definitely adapt what they are doing to fit the customer need. After all, these are the people that are going to be buying and using your products to fix their problems, so it has to fit their needs as best as possible.
2. The need we all need met is more parking!! When having visitors at my off campus dorm last year, there would not be any street parking and if they did find a spot they needed a temporary parking pass from our leasing office. Somehow scooter parking is even worse. Scooters are on top of each other at Library West. It is a feeding frenzy right before class starts with people hovering constantly for a spot before they are late for class. Some people suck it up and park outside the lines knowing they will most likely come back to a citation. UF is accepting more and more students, but they do not expand scooter parking. This has become a problem in recent years with more people driving scooters and more students being on campus in general. UF is addressing this problem by giving out citations to all of the scooters over flowing outside of the parking lines, which does not solve anything. Sometimes there will be up to 30 scooters outside of the lines, because they do not have another option. I am 100% sure this is a problem in Gainesville, I personally have experienced it multiple times and witness it on a daily basis.
3. Sophomore, lives on campus, has a car here.
4. This customer brought her car to Gainesville to take around town and also around campus. She quickly learned at the beginning of the year that you can only park in a specific zone of the decal you bought. So, she can not take her car around campus or to class, for there is no way to park. She is forced to take the bus or have friends drop her off at class everyday. She can still take her car to some places around campus like the Reitz Union or the Southwest gym, but it useless for her everyday activities. To park on any of the streets surrounding campus you need city decals, so she cannot even drive her car to her friends' houses because she would have to park on the street. Now, she only uses her car for when she is going home or going to a restaurant or store with a parking lot, which is not ideal.
3b. Sophomore, lives off campus, lived in a dorm last year with a car.
4b. This customer at the beginning of freshman year did not have any form of transportation, but soon realized she needed her car in Gainesville for the amount of times each month she would go home. Once she brought her car she quickly learned there was never any parking on campus near where she lived and did not want to pay for a decal to not have a guaranteed spot near her dorm. She ended up having to keep her car miles away at her friend's house on their property. It was such a hassle for her to get to her car every time she wanted to use it. She now lives in an apartment and is able to keep her car in their parking lot with a decal.
3c. Mother of a UF student who frequently visits her daughter here.
4c. This customer frequently visits her daughter who lives on campus in family housing and does not see the need for more parking. I was blown away when she did not understand my frustration with parking! Her daughter is recovering from chemotherapy treatments, so the college granted her a handicap pass and permanent visitor passes for her parents when visiting. I believe this extreme case is one of the only solutions I have found for this problem.
5. I learned that it is not just me that gets citations and has problems with parking, it is a struggle for everyone. The most surprising thing was I actually met someone that found a loop hole to the parking situation with the handicap sticker and visitor passes. That scenario is so extreme that it is not a practical solution to this ongoing problem.
7. Much of my original opportunity is still there, it is an understood problem here that there is not enough parking and you need a specific decal to park anywhere. During the interviews I was going to focus and stress scooter parking, but having a car seemed to be a harder problem to solve and ended up becoming the main issue. I think entrepreneurs should most definitely adapt what they are doing to fit the customer need. After all, these are the people that are going to be buying and using your products to fix their problems, so it has to fit their needs as best as possible.
Thank you for sharing your idea about the need for parking on and around campus to be solved. Your answer covers most of the requirements in the assignment and address them in a clear and concise manor. Campus parking is definitely a problem that needs to be solved. I have been late to a night exam because I couldn't find any parking in the area where my exam was so I needed to park across campus and walk there.
ReplyDeleteHi Corla! I wrote my “Forming an Opportunity” on the parking issue in Gainesville. The people I interviewed had some of the same issues as yours. However, I did not address the problems with scooter parking because I have never had a scooter. Overall, I think you identified a need all UF students have experienced and hopefully there will be a solution to this problem.
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