I think an opportunity exists to improve the efficiency and punctuality of the RTS public transportation system. The RTS buses are known to vary a lot in arrival times both to and from stops. Anyone who uses the RTS buses knows that they can be really early or really late so an improvement would affect all riders. As far as I am aware this is something that has always affected the RTS bus system as well as many others like it around the country. The fact that the RTS bus system is run by the city of Gainesville means that there are probably specific people that are involved with it to try to make RTS buses run as smoothly as possible. With that considered, I do still think that there's a 50-60% chance that there is a legitimate opportunity to improve the RTS bus system and deliver more accurate and punctual arrival/departure times. I think the problem could be solved with more investment in order to add more buses/service lines to allow for almost constant service.
The prototypical customer for the RTS bus system is anyone living in Gainesville that wishes to use the bus as a means to travel around Gainesville and/or the University of Florida.
Questions asked:
-How often do you use RTS?
-Is RTS your main form of transportation?
-Have you experienced delays or inconsistent arrival times?
-What's your overall opinion of the RTS bus system?
-Have you decided against using RTS because of its reputation of inconsistencies?
-Does the problem have a solution? And if so, is more investment the answer?
Customer 1 20-year-old female UF student:
I spoke with a classmate of mine and asked her the above questions to get her take on RTS and if there is an opportunity for improvement. Right off the bat, she mentioned that she has a love-hate relationship with RTS. As a student who lives close to campus, she does not own a car and uses RTS to make her way to and from campus/class. She did, however, mention that she has hesitated to use it recently as there have been many times where the bus was late to arrive at her stop and forced her to walk to class and arrive late. Overall she said that because RTS is her only form of transportation she just has to deal with the inconsistencies but does wish that something would be done to improve the consistency of the buses whether it be through more investment or more efficient time schedules.
Customer 2 22-year-old male Santa Fe student:
I asked my roommate what he thought about RTS since he has a unique perspective by being a Santa Fe student. He went on to explain that because he works he has a car that he can use to commute from work and class back home. Because he has an alternate mode of transportation he has not RTS as much as he would have if he had no other option. He said that even though he hasn't used RTS much, the times he has used it have been completely normal. He did mention that he had heard that the service was inconsistent but that was not the case the few times he has used it. When I asked if he thought if more investment was the answer he brought up the counterpoint that more busses would cause more traffic thus slower service.
Customer 3 18-year-old male UF student:
I spoke with a friend of mine that is a freshman and brand new to UF and Gainesville as a whole. Because of this fact, he has relied heavily on RTS to move around campus and the city. His overall experience with RTS was positive and he went on to mention how he has not had many issues with delays or inconsistent times. He did say that although RTS does have a reputation for the occasional late bus it should not take away from the fact that it is a free service for students that makes life a lot easier. When I asked if there was a problem that needed solution he did recognize that more buses/routes would make traveling much easier and efficient.
Reflection:
After speaking with these three individuals I realized that my opportunity was not seen by everyone like I thought it would be. Although these three people fit the prototypical customer that could benefit from the solution that takes advantage of my opportunity, it does not seem that all customers would agree that there is a benefit or even an opportunity to exploit. I was surprised to hear that only one of the three had decided against using RTS because of its inconsistent arrival/departures. As someone who has walked many times instead of riding the bus for that very reason, it did surprise me that sentiment was only shared by one of the customers.
Summarize:
I believe that very little of my opportunity is left after speaking with the customers. After looking over what they had said it became apparent that the problem I had Identified as an opportunity for improvement was not seen as a problem by many and thus would not receive much support. I think that the opportunity is not accurate as it is not as big of a problem as I thought and thus is not an opportunity for exploitation. I think that for entrepreneurs to be successful they need to be able to adapt to the market and the constantly changing landscape of public opinion. Customers drive markets so the most agile and efficient entrepreneur can extract the most out of the opportunities they find available in the market,
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