Carpooling to solve parking problems on campus

Carpooling to solve parking problems on campus

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Problem statement
Parking can be a very tricky issue to deal with especially in institutions such as college communities. There are many students in colleges, others live on campus and others outside. They all need ample parking even as new admissions. I believe carpooling is the solution to the parking problem in the campus. Bray (2014) car-pooling as the concept of  joining the use of a private car by several individuals frequently commuting along the same journey at mutually compatible times.  Therefore, car-pooling is usually associated to a very simple idea:  some neighbors, whose  workplaces are relatively close each other, decide to commute together, by taking just one single car of theirs and by sharing its travelling costs. Such costs include fuelling, parking, and insurance and general car maintenance.
Business concept with industry analysis.

Carpooling to solve parking problems on campus

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The number of students in university campuses is increasing by the day therefore making on-campus accommodation unavailable for many. Housing near the campuses is also become expensive for students, forcing them to seek accommodation in far off places. Some of these places are not accessible using public transport, therefore necessitating the use of private cars. The problem is that not all the students can afford personal cars. Moreover, if all the students could drive to campus in their own personal car, then the number of cars would by far outnumber the parking slots available. The university may not be keen to increase parking space for cars at the expense of other pressing needs like expanding the learning facilities. This calls for the adoption of carpooling among students and campus staff. It is estimated that in 2009, carpooling represented 43.5% of all trips in the US and 10% of commuter trips. Most of these pools were made by families and accounted for 60% of the total car pools. It is therefore evident that the concept of carpooling is slowly but steadily gaining prominence (Litman, 2006).

Carpooling to solve parking problems on campus

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Competitor analysis
The major competition to carpooling is the existence of public transport and college shuttle services. However, this may not be of much help to off-campus students especially those who live off routes. Most of the public transport vehicles and college shuttles ply main routes and may not get the students to their final destinations. This exposes them to harsh conditions like robberies.
Target market

This service is targeting the students who live off campus. For the beginning, new students will be the major target. This is because it has believed that they usually find movement to campus a daunting task, as they have to learn their way around. They also have few friends with whom they can share costs. Female students are also a viable market target, since they are more vulnerable as compared to their male counterparts. They also find it more difficult to build trust among peers.

Carpooling to solve parking problems on campus

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Strategic positioning
The service will be buoyed by the fact that students tend to live together in housing complexes near the campus. This is an advantage in that the students can organize themselves in batches according to their class hours. This will make scheduling easy. Special schedules can be made for those who stay in isolated areas and a convenient meeting point can be mutually agreed on. These arrangements reduce the number of cars required, therefore reducing the operating costs. These savings on costs will be passed on to the users in terms of reduced charges.

Critical Risks
The major risk will be posed by insecurity, especially for students leaving in isolated areas. This is due to the fact that they will be required to congregate at a central place. It may be risky for them as they move from their residences to the meeting points, depending on the timings.

Carpooling to solve parking problems on campus

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Step 2
Carpooling to class to reduce the need for parking space on campus
·    Value proposition
This being a new concept among the campus population, carpooling promises to reduce the number of cars parking within the campus compound. As a result, the time wasted looking parking space will be reduced, and students will not be late for classes. The service also promises convenience as it will the cars will be dropping the students at locations convenient to their residential areas. It is also expected to help students build trust amongst them. The university is also bound to benefit. The University of Waterloo, for example, estimates that carpooling will reduce its costs by between 20%-40%.  These costs are associated with personnel recruited to direct cars to the parking spaces, security personnel to guard vehicles.
·    What problem is the business solving for the customer?
The service is designed to reduce the number of cars parking within the campus grounds. One of the problems associated with car parking in high densely populated areas like campuses islocation of parking slots. This is due to the fact that the provision of car parking services is usually an additional benefit attached to the employment contract for university employees and they don’t pay anything for parking their cars. Students too don’t pay for parking on campus. According to Galizzi (2007), this is an incentive for many students and employees to use their personal cars when coming to campus. The time spent looking for a parking lot has seen many students miss lessons, and employees reporting late to class.

Carpooling to solve parking problems on campus

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·    What makes this idea special?
With the ever rising campus population, many students are likely to seek off-campu- accommodation. Commuting to and from campus for the off campus residents, therefore they may need to use their personal cars. Although not all the students will be able to afford personal cars, the number of cars using campus parking space is bound to increase beyond capacity. This poses a problem of having to struggle for parking space. So this idea is to help the university provide parking for all. Nonetheless,  in the process, the interests of the students are being served as well. This is not a business venture. It was created out of need. However, with proper implementation, it can be financially beneficial for both the students and the university. Not only will the university will be able to deal with the need of parking spots better, but they will also be able to make profit of selling more parking spots. The university will be sharing the profit with the students by reducing the price of the parking spots.
·    Why I am especially suited to address the problem?
This is an idea mooted by the students. They are the ones finding it hard to get to class on time due to wastage of time while looking for parking space. Therefore they know the real problem, and a solution by them is more welcome.
·    How will I reach the market?

Carpooling to solve parking problems on campus

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This will be initiated the beginning of each semester when new students are joining campus. Parking is mandatory for commuting students. So they will check emails about it. There will be reminders at the time of parking pass purchase with the benefits. It will be visible on the university website for easy viewing.

·    What is my sustainable competitive advantage?
Apart from the obvious advantage of reducing the number of cars parking in the campus compound, carpooling is also considered to be environmentally friendly as it reduces the number of cars on the roads thus reducing carbon emission and congestion on roads. To some extent, it reduces the cost of maintaining roads (Galizzi, 2007). The extra funds allocated to road maintenance could be channeled to other areas of the economy. This brings a broad economic benefit to the whole country. Other hidden benefits include savings on time due to less time spent on roads as a result of less congestion. It also has social benefits as it brings people together. It also reduces health problems associated with driving for long hours, as in this case, driving is shared among the people in the pool.

Carpooling to solve parking problems on campus

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Work Cited
Bray, Charli. “Carpooling: The solution for parking problems?” The Oracle 21 November     2014. http://www.tntechoracle.com/news/view.php/857003/Carpooling-The-solution-    for-parking-prob
Carpool incentive programs for university employees”. Web. 10 May 2015     https://uwaterloo.ca/parking/alternative-commuting/carpooling
Galizzi, Matteo, M. The Economics of Car-Pooling: A Survey for Europe. New York:     University of York and University of Insubria, 2007.
Litman, Todd. “Parking Management: Innovative Solutions to Vehicle Parking Problems”.Planetizen 27 March 2006. http://www.planetizen.com/node/19149

Carpooling to solve parking problems on campus

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By admin in Essays on February 11, 2017