Idea Napkin 1

1.     I am a first year pre law student at UF studying General Business with a minor in Entrepreneurship. I have always been money motivated and created an online marketplace back in high school as an avenue to sell shoes and electronics. I have good management/organization skills and excel in public speaking due to my debate and political experience. My aspiration is that the new version of SNAP can be reliable and free of ‘bugs’. If this business were a reality, it would play a significant role in my life as my primary mode of nightly campus transportation.

2.     My improved version of SNAP would be a welcome change to on and off campus students alike. Currently, the SNAP application and van system is glitchy, inconsistent, and downright frustrating.  The improvements I proposed will ensure that students have a clear idea of when their ride will arrive and drop them off so that they can be confident that they have a way to get around at night.

3.     This service will mostly benefit on campus students but off campus students are not exempt from reaping the benefits of a SNAP 2.0 so to speak. SNAP operates on campus but it has many stops scattered around the perimeter of campus. What all my customers have in common is that they need a free and safe method to traverse the ‘Greater UF Area’ at night.

4.     Customers don’t need to pay for SNAP service, because it is included in their dues as a UF student. Students legitimately care about their transportation options on campus because a lot of events go on late at night. Teleportation is not a thing as far as I am aware, so everyone needs a set of wheels to get them where they need to go.

5.     What sets SNAP apart from other businesses is that it is in its own category of transportation. It is a student operated and student used system that costs nothing (extra) to us. Uber is great but no one wants to pay for something that they can get for free. Improving SNAP would mean that broke college students could save money and achieve peace of mind that they had a safe, reliable way to get around at night.

I believe that these five elements fit together perfectly and that there are no inconsistencies or other issues. The concept of SNAP is pretty engrained within University culture, and not just at UF. All students want a free, on time ride to the party and a free, on time ride back home. It just so happens that here in the Gator Nation, our student transportation system (SNAP) isn’t as efficient or reliable as it should be. We deserve an application that helps students figure out their way around campus and we deserve proper implementation with more than 3 vans for the whole student population!