Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 2

Alternative Evaluation

Interview 1: I continued to interview students who go to the University of Florida regularly travel around campus. The first person I interviewed was Chris, who is a junior here at the University of Florida studying Computer Science. I talked with Chris about the choices he has to make when dealing with traffic on campus. He told me that he travels around on campus mostly with the use of his scooter, but that traffic still frustrates him when trying to get to class. When I specified about the traffic congestion resulting from the crosswalks between the Reitz Union and the New Physics Building he immediately lit up with the fact that he has actually been late to class because he had to travel through this backed up area. He told me that he would appreciate any type of solution that can be done to clear up this traffic, no matter if it was the construction of a pedestrian bridge or just another stop light.


Interview 2: The next person that I interviewed was James, who is also a student at the University of Florida, but is studying Mechanical Engineering. Given James's studies, I thought that it would be a good idea to question him about the difficulties of implementing a pedestrian bridge. James told me that depending on the materials for the bridge, this concept could be very costly. He also informed me about the construction process that would be involved because he believed that this portion of the road would have to be blocked off for quite some time which could cause even more traffic on campus. James believes that the most efficient and cheapest way to clear out traffic on Museum Road is to create one pedestrian stoplight where all people would be directed to cross through. He also told me that he is very surprised that no one has spoken up about the mayhem that happens on this road as a result of cars trying to travel, but so many people trying to cross the road does not allow the cars to get anywhere.


Interview 3: The last person that I interviewed was Mike, who is an architecture student here at the University of Florida. When I asked him about the circumstances regarding Museum Road and the constant traffic on it, he rolled his eyes and expressed how annoying it is when he tries to travel through this area. He told me that he has even tried to find alternative routes to get around on campus, but the issue is that some roads have restricted travel during the day. I then questioned Mike about potentially building some type of structure to safely allow students to cross Museum Road and he was very for it. He even jokingly told me that if I were to wait a couple fo years, then he could be the person to design such a structure. Lastly, I questioned Mike about the costs that would be associated with building the structure I had in mind and he told me that this is an area where concern could be raised, but that he believes that the University of Florida would be able to find some kind of economic support. Overall, Mike urged me that the sooner something happens to fix the traffic in this area the better because once he graduates from the University of Florida, this will not be something that he has to deal with.



In conclusion, I think it is important to realize that my opportunity is one that only concerns students or faculty at the University of Florida. Outside of the school, I think it would be very difficult to find a customer that is even credible to answer on the idea of building a pedestrian bridge. However, in regards to the people that I did interview, I would say that people are very interested in "purchasing" some kind of solution. Whether the solution is my idea or a mixture of ideas, I think that is it is safe to say that people would be satisfied with anything that gets rid of traffic.