Testing the Hypothesis Part 1

My Opportunity

Who: UF/Gainesville Parking 

What: There is limited parking on and around campus making people waste time trying to find parking

Why: There is such little parking and the available spots are scattered around campus making people drive all around to find an open spot, 

Interview 1 (a girl living off campus in an apartment)

She does not drive for class because there is no where to park that is convenient for her classes so she rides the bus. At night she has club meetings to go to and for those she drives because parking is lifted. She think Gainesville city parking convenient and if she did not have a pass with her apartment complex she would get a city parking pass because it would allowed her to park in various spots around town and closer to campus. She believes that there has to be a quicker way to solve this problem besides putting up a parking garage that will take a whole year.

Interview 2 (a guy who lives on campus at a fraternity house)

He is only a sophomore so he has only lived on campus at his time here at the University of Florida. He think the parking is not hug problem partly because he has a scooter and it does not affect his time getting places as he does not have a car at school. When he drives with his friends and comes back to park on campus he says they have to park in the garage behind Hume sometimes because parking on fraternity row sometimes runs out. He has no real opinion on Gainesville city parking just because he does not have a car.

Interview 3 (a grad student living far off campus)

She lives off campus and farther away because she wanted cheaper rent. For her graduate program she does not have many classes on campus and the ones that she does only are two days a week. She says she has trouble getting there and just takes the bus because it is free and the most convenient options with parking out the window. She says the bus ride takes her about 30 minutes so she definitely believes there must be a solution to this parking problem. She is did not go to UF for her undergraduate program so this situation is all new to her.

Interview 4 (a guy living behind midtown)

He lived on campus for the first year and these past two years have lived behind midtown. He said he realized how bad of the parking is on campus so that is why he specifically moved to a location convenient for him to get to his classes. He has the city parking decal and he raved about how useful it is. He said he can go to other places behind midtown to visit his friends and he can park his car close to them. He said he never taken a bus even when he was on campus so he was not sure how efficient they are as a way of transportation for commuting students. 

Interview 5 (a girl that lives south of campus)

She lives far from campus because of the rent prices and her financial ability only allows her to be far from campus because of the rent prices increases. She has a car and can only drive it in the evening time which she complained about because she wants to take her car to campus to make it more accessible to get to campus. She says the bus has a stop by her apartment complex  just the bus schedule is hit or miss with the time she has to leave. I asked her about Gainesville city parking and she said she has thought about the option but did not want to pay for a decal she would use like 3 days out of the week.

I see a opportunity in the parking situation at the University and I am realizing the solution has to be immediate rather than a whole year for another garage that is place in a location not really useful for student commuting to campus.