Market Research Presentation on the Late Night Transportation options available at Elon University. Final project for Marketing Research course.

1. Late Night Transportation Services at Elon May 16, 2009 BUS 414 Catherine Pearson, Paige Hannah, Jessica Lindsay Avery Goldman, Peyton Hairston, Chris Mudry

2. Research Problem Overall students safety 1,700 students die each year from alcohol related injuries 599,000 students unintentionally injured under the influence Driving Intoxicated 2.1 million college students drive under the influence Harassment/assaults 696,000 students are assaulted by other students who have been drinking Low utilization of current transportation options at Elon Sources: 1.http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/statssummaries.aspx

3. Information Gap Information Gaps DOES HAPPEN: Students do not fully utilizing late night transportation service of Safe Rides, E-rides and Escort Service COULD HAPPEN: Students could have safe and efficient modes of transportation DOES HAPPEN: Students regularly make dangerous decisions about drinking and driving and walking alone during late night hours COULD HAPPEN: Students could have sober transportation provided and avoid these problems

4. Research Objectives Determine if students would use a late night transportation system at Elon Find out where students currently participate in activities at Elon Find out where students would want to go out at night at Elon Discover if students are willing to pay for transit at Elon

5. Target Market Elon University Students age 21+ - 1946 students 59% students live on campus 41% students live off campus 59% female 49% male

6. Secondary Data Gain background information on late night transportation provided by other universities Looked at different universities and colleges’ late night transportation services Picked four states at random Looked specifically at: Size City Private vs. public Price Average hours of operation

7. Ohio Kent State 34,056 students, Kent, Public University Portage Area Regional Transportation Late Night Shuttle Service PARTA Miami 17,161 students, Oxford, Public University Miami Metro Bus System Night Time Door to Door Service Ohio State 59,091 students, Columbus, Public University CABS Central Ohio Transit Authority Sources: 1. http://www.hdg.muohio.edu/ParkingAndTransportation/ 2. http:// partaonline.org 3. http://www.tp.ohio-state.edu/

8. North Carolina UNC 26,878 students, Chapel Hill, Public University The P2P Express Chapel Hill Transit ECU 22,767 students, Greenville, Public University SafeRides Wake Forest 6,504 students, Winston Salem, Private University Public Shuttle Service Sources: http://www.dps.unc.edu/Transit/transitnav.cfm http://www.ecu.edu/parking/ http://www.wfu.edu/police/shuttle.html

9. Texas Texas A & M 48,039 students, College Station, Public University The Transit Texas Christian University 8,696 students, Fort Worth, Private University Cabs Bus System Rice 3,001 students, Houston, Private University City Metro Bus System Sources: http://transport.tamu.edu/ http://www.utexas.edu/parking/ http://park-trans.rice.edu/campus.cfm

10. California California -Berkeley 25,151 Students, Berkeley, Public University Night Safety Service – Owl Line Owl Service Stanford 6,759 students, Stanford, Private University Midnight Express 5-Sure UCLA 26,928 students, L.A., Public University L.A. Metro Evening van service Sources: http://pt.berkeley.edu http://transportation.stanford.edu http://map.ais.ucla.edu/portal/site/UCLA/menuitem.3f8e7342ad4ca217b66d4ab4f848344a/?vgnextoid=e590cd255551c010VgnVCM200000dd6643a4RCRD

11. Secondary Data Summary Majority of schools researched = Public Universities Average number of services offered = 2 Average price of transportation = Free to students Average hours of late night transportation services = 8:30pm – 3:00am All this information helped us determine our focus group questionnaire

12. Focus Group Conducted a male and female focus group Female and Male moderators helped facilitate the discussions First half: Gathered students' opinions on transportation for late night activities Second half: Got recommendations for late night modes of transportation

13. Focus Group

14. Focus Group Findings Opinions People want a late night transportation service Current services unreliable and long waits Currently have sorority/fraternity drivers, drunk driving, E-Rides, Safe Rides or walk Most popular locations are West End, Lighthouse and Brown and Co Recommendations More interested in Burlington venues if service offered Prefer advertisements by email, facebook, E-Net Have a loop route system Prefer bus vs. van Average price around campus under $1 Willing to pay more for off campus locations Method of payment by cash and phoenix card

15. In-Depth Interviews Conducted a few in-depth interviews 2 = female participants and 1 = male participant Asked similar questions as focus group but was able to elaborate and get more truthful answers We believe that both sources of information are reliable but in-depth interviews allow participants to share their honest opinions

16. In-Depth Interviews Senior Female Communications Student “Two shitty cars and a van. Not sufficient. The only bad experience is the wait.” referring to Safe Rides. “I would call a sober friend before I called a cab, I wouldn’t waste my money.” Senior Male Business student “All though Elon has a nice façade of safety and responsibility they offer very little in the way of safe transportation for inebriated students.”

17. Qualitative Data Summary Elon students are not happy with transportation options Secondary data helped us clarify ideas and research focus Primary data helped us figure out specific information on the logistics of a transportation system at Elon Qualitative data enabled us to design our survey.

18. Development of Survey Looked at focus groups and in-depth interviews answers for: Price, location, time, advertising, ideas for improvement, etc. Came up with questions and options Example: Focus Group: “Do you go out at night during the week?” Survey: “How often do you participate in late night entertainment each day of the week?”

19. Screening Questions Do you ‘go out’ at night to locations that require transportation? Clarify how many students need the service Nominal, Frequency test How often do you go out during the week for late night entertainment? How often does the service need to be available Interval, Mean test Into which range does your age fall? Screening question for survey results Ordinal, Percentage test

20. Transition Questions Transition: A group of Elon students are interested in starting a late night transportation service which will transport students to and from areas around the campus until early morning. How appealing is the idea of a new late night transportation service? Is there interest for a new transportation service Interval Scale, Mean Test How likely would you be to use the services of this new late night transit the next time you are ‘going out’? Is there a need for a new transportation service Interval Scale, Mean Test What system of transportation would you prefer to ride in? What mode of transportation is most desirable Ordinal, Frequency Test

21. Warm-Up Questions How often do you engage in each of the following types of late night entertainment? What would the transportation service be used for Interval Scale, Mean test How often do you participate in late night entertainment on each day of the week? When should the transportation system be available for students Ordinal, Means test How satisfied are you with Elon’s current transportation? Determine the need for improvement in transportation services Interval Scale, Mean test To where would you like to be able to take a late night transportation service? Figure out different stops on the route for the students to use Ordinal, Percentage test

22. Transition Questions How likely would you be to ride on a late night transit service when going out during these semesters? When are the most popular times of use for the service Interval Scale, Mean Test How important are all of the following to your transportation to late night spots? What students want the transportation service to offer Ranking Scale, Frequency Test Where would you want a stop to be located in regard to your housing? Logistics of the location of bus stops Categorical, Frequency Test

23. Transition Questions Would you be willing to pay for a late night transportation service? How to fund the transportation service Nominal, Frequency Test What payment method would you most prefer for this service? What payment methods to offer to students Ordinal, Frequency Test Do you think this service should be included in tuition cost? What payment method to offer for students Nominal, Frequency Test

24. Transition Questions How much would you be willing to pay for a one way late night transportation service? Clarify what students would pay for this service Interval Scale, Mean Test How often do you use the following modes of transportation for ‘going out’? Establish a need for the service Ordinal, Frequency Test Where would you expect to see ads for this new late night transit service? Ways to advertise to students Categorical, Frequency Test

25. Qualification Questions What year are you at Elon? Figure out what groups of students would prefer certain things Ordinal, Frequency Test How many hours are you taking this semester? Help determine target market Ordinal, Frequency Test What is your gender? Determine what gender would be more willing to use this service Nominal, Mode

26. Qualification Questions Where do you live at Elon? See where the transportation system would run Nominal, Frequency Test If you live off-campus, where do you live? See where are target market is located Categorical, Frequency Test

27. Data Collection Methods Distributed surveythroughSurveyGizmo to students at Elon Survey was open for a week Had 120 responses Conducted Non Probability Sample: Convenience Sampling Used high traffic areas such asFacebookand email This method complimented our target marketing allowing us to get a large sample of those over the age of 21

28. Survey Findings Screening Questions: Do you ‘go out’ at night to locations that require transportation? Go out = 89% How often do you go out during the week for late night entertainment? Average number of nights people go out is 2.71 Into which range does your age fall? 21 – 25 of age = 42.3 %

29. Survey Findings Warm Up Questions: How often do you engage in each of the following types of late night entertainment? Least popular = movies Most popular = Friends homes and clubs/bars How often do you participate in late night entertainment on each day of the week? Wednesday and Thursday = twice a month Friday and Saturday = each week How satisfied are you with Elon’s current transportation? Highest Mean = 3.30 which is barely above neutral/have no experience To where would you like to be able to take a late night transportation service? Bars around campus = Sandy’s (69.1%) Westend (77.2%) Bars off campus = Red Bull (48.8%) Alamance Crossing (42.3%)

30. Survey Findings Transition Questions: How appealing is the idea of a new late night transportation service? Mean = 3.92 meaning somewhat to very appealing How likely would you be to use the services of this new late night transit the next time you are ‘going out’? Mean = 3.56 meaning somewhat to very likely What system of transportation would you prefer to ride in? Bus (running routes) = 26.8% Van (Large party call in) = 36.6% No Preference = 20.3%

31. Survey Findings How likely would you be to ride on a late night transit service when going out during these semesters? Summer = 54.5% Not likely Fall = 40.7% Very likely Winter = 43.1% Extremely likely Spring = 39% Very likely How important are all of the following to your transportation to late night spots? All variables were not answered properly – must be faulty survey engine Where would you want a stop to be located in regard to your housing? Majority were around the biggest housing complexes and around intersections at key locations

32. Survey Findings Would you be willing to pay for a late night transportation service? Yes = 46.3% What payment method would you most prefer for this service? Pay per trip = 57.7% Pay per semester = 35% Do you think this service should be included in tuition cost? No = 62.6% How much would you be willing to pay for a one way late night transportation service? On campus = $1-$2 Off campus = $2-$3

33. Survey Findings How often do you use the following modes of transportation for ‘going out’? Drunk Driver = 51.2% one to two times a week Designated Driver = 68.3% never use Walk alone = 35.8% monthly Safe Rides = 28.5% monthly E-rides = 40.7% never Where would you expect to see ads for this new late night transit service? E-net = 86.2% Moseley Ads = 81.3% Ads in Bars = 80.5%

34. Survey Findings Qualification Questions: What year are you at Elon? Freshman = 4.9% Sophomore = 25.2% Junior = 56.9% Senior = 10.6% How many hours are you taking this semester? 13-16 hours = 56.9% 17-18 hours =27.6% What is your gender? Male = 30.9% Female = 66.7%

35. Survey Findings Where do you live at Elon? Live on campus = 31% Off campus = 69% If you live off-campus, where do you live? House within 1 mile of campus = 43% Sheridan = 14% Oak Hill = 9.2% West End Apart = 7.5%

36. Conclusions: Qualifying Questions 68% females answered survey as 70% were Juniors

37. Conclusion: Where Target Market Lives 68% live off campus with 55% of people living in a house within 1 miles of campus

38. Conclusions: Going Out 74% people go out during the week with the average of 3 times per week. Friday and Saturday nights are most popular.

39. Conclusions:Current Situation Almost 90% students go to friend’s homes , 50% go to bars/clubs and currently get there by walking and drunk driving, and are neutral with their satisfaction with their modes of transportation.

40. Conclusions: Future Wants Most people prefer transportation during summer, fall, and winter seasons with stops by major intersections and housing complexes. Specific locations include West End, Sandy’s, Lighthouse and Red Bull. The payment method would be pay per trip with average price on campus being $1-2.

41. Strategic Recommendations We believe this could be a successful business! Offer the transportation: Off –campus Wednesday – Saturday Fall, Winter and Spring Pay per trip around 1 – 3 dollars depending on destination Invest in either a van and or bus Offer pick up locations at popular areas (Bars, apartment complexes, etc.) Advertise via E-net, Moseley boards, and bars Marketing campaign focus on curbing drunk driving

42. Appendix Focus Group Guide/In-depth Interview Questions Survey with date coding