7A: Testing the Hypothesis

Opportunity: GRID Bike Share on the University of Florida Campus

• WHO: Students, Teachers, Citizens of the Gainesville area, specifically on the University of Florida Cmpus
• WHAT: Lack of transportation efficiency - Lack of scooter affordability 
• WHY: Bikes & Scooters get stolen - Limited Parking Spaces on campus for cars - High Desire for Scooters so prices are high 

Hypothesis of the Opportunity: 

• Testing the WHO: I listed a substantial amount of people under the "who" category to highlight the people who have this need, but the "who" in this instance is limited to the people within my specific region. Lack of bike share is something many cities within the United States have, and the addition of this to campuses and busy cities around the world would be extremely beneficial. 
• Testing the WHAT: Lack of transportation efficiency isn't something that exists for everyone. Many students on campus do own cars, scooters, bikes, or walk places. Scooter or bike affordability is also something that not all people within the city of Gainesville have either, especially being that an exponential amount of people on campus do own Bikes and Scooters. This is more of an opportunity for those who lack these things.
• Testing the WHY: Not everyone holds all these same needs, and some people hold one of these needs but not the other. Many students own bikes or scooters, but aren't unlucky and manage to successfully have theirs in good condition for all four years. When it comes to parking spaces, some students live in areas where parking is good, affordable, or they never lose their spot. 

Interviews:

• Interview One: The first person I interviewed was my coworker who owns a car, but not a bike or scooter. Michael told me that it's helpful to have a car when it comes to traveling places off campus, but on campus is difficult due to lack of parking spots and the high chances of getting ticketed. He said he wishes he had a bike or scooter, to make his transportation on campus much easier, especially on days where he has to be at work by 8:00 am. 
• Interview Two: The second person I interviewed was my roommate, Erica. Erica takes the bus onto campus everyday, doesn't own a car, and doesn't own a bike or scooter either. She mentioned that although access to public transportation is very helpful, the bus doesn't always run at times she needs it, and on a few occasions, the bus doesn't even show up. She also wishes she had access to a bike or scooter to ease her transportation process. 
• Interview Three: I decided to change it up, and interviewed someone who does have a scooter, my sorority sister, Colette. Colette told me about how just last week, her scooter broke down and she was without transportation for three days. The company she bought her scooter from eventually let her rent one, but the days she had classes without a scooter were extremely difficult. She said that now she has her scooter back, her transportation process is extremely easy and she can get around campus very well. 
• Interview Four: In this interview, i spoke to my boss in the student ticket office. Brandon owns a car, but no scooter or bike. He mentioned that he lives off campus and takes his car to work everyday. Brandon has a parking pass for the stadium, so parking is never an issue, but if he wants to get around campus, he has to walk. He said he enjoys his walks to lunch, but sometimes it's extremely hot and he wishes he had a scooter or bike to ease the process.
• Interview Five: I decided to interview someone who owns a bike, but I don't personally know anyone, so I stopped someone who lives in my apartment complex and asked them a few questions. They told me that they've been riding a bike around campus since their freshman year, but this is their third bike because it has been stole twice before. She mentioned that the amount of times she's gotten her bike stolen probably would add up to the price of a scooter, but her parents said it never fit into their budget in order to purchase one for her. She enjoys biking places, and even emphasized she has a good bike lock, she just wishes her bike hadn't ever been stolen. 

New Found Information:

• From my interviews, I was able to gain a deeper, inside perspective into what it's like to either be an on campus or off campus student, or even just member of the UF community, as well as what it's like to own or not own a car, bike, or scooter. From these interviews, it really does seem to me that an opportunity for a bike share system on the UF campus really does exist. Although there are people who own scooters and bikes for easy, on campus transportation, issues can arise at times that cause bikes to be stolen, scooters to be broken, or maybe even affordability issues for both. For those who own a car, lack of parking is a very strong issue on the UF campus, and those who do find parking aren't always successful and occasionally have to deal with parking tickets. Although I interviewed people who are all involved on the UF campus, I still believe this is an opportunity for the city of Gainesville in general.