BCOM 3311.

007
The University of Texas at Dallas
800 West Campbell Road
Richardson, TX 75080
September 22, 2014
Enactus
The University of Texas at Dallas
800 West Campbell Rd
Richardson, TX 75080
Dear Enactus:
In 2012, about 133 billion gallons of gasoline, or 3.18 billion barrels, were
consumed in the United States, which equates to a daily average of about 365.65
million gallons (8.71 million barrels). Given that the national average for gas is
around $3.45/gallon (based on September 15, 2014 data), this in turn can be
attributed on a local scale to why so many commuting students here at the
University of Texas at Dallas spend a sizeable portion of their money on fuel costs.
Along with frequent complaints about not being able to find parking and the disuse
of a wide section of supposed faculty parking, commuters have a valid reason in
suggesting there needs to be some change in the way parking here at the university
works. We in turn have come up with a proposal to help alleviate this serious
problem here at the University of Texas at Dallas by implementing High Occupancy
Vehicle (HOV) parking in the 100 metered parking spots in the two parking
structures.

Background & Goals

The problems that have arisen due to the inconvenience of finding parking
are not new. The university has taken note by building new parking lots and
converting some of the current lots into the parking structures that exist today.
However, there are some key benefits to why HOV parking at the university would
be a good idea. For example, one of the main benefits is that HOV parking
encourages students to carpool with one another so that they do not have to worry
about spending large amounts of time searching for parking, not to mention that it
will save them expensive fuel costs. Also, the metered parking in the parking
structures is rarely used, as an average of only 25 of the 100 spots were used in
each of the parking structures at noon, considered to be the busiest part of the
school day, in a study conducted over the course of one week. A significant portion
of the metered parking (up to one half of the metered parking) could be turned into
HOV parking, thereby helping to efficiently allocate parking space in the often
nearly empty bottom levels of the parking structures.
HOV parking will also help to reduce carbon dioxide emission from cars, as
one car can currently emit an estimated 1,630 pounds of carbon dioxide into the
atmosphere every year. By taking just a few cars off the roads every day, we can
help the environment by preventing a good amount of harmful carbon dioxide from
being released into the atmosphere. What benefits does HOV parking provide for
the university? By replacing approximately 100 metered parking spaces in the

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bottom levels of the parking structures with HOV parking, the university should be
able to make an estimated current revenue of around $11,200, assuming that 70 of
the 100 spots are taken, at a cost of $80/person.

Proposed Plan
Implementation. Our plan for implementing HOV parking at the University of

Texas at Dallas begins with constructing two parking booths and repainting around
100 parking stops blue (the proposed color for HOV parking) by outside private
contractors. We also plan to create a database system that helps keep track of the
users personal information and entry/exit logs when they utilize HOV parking.
Finally, we plan to design an online application form on the UTD parking website to
allow users to begin registering for the chance to apply for HOV parking on a first
come, first serve basis. And after all of these steps are completed, we will then
allow current students here at UTD to begin applying for HOV parking, and after
accepting an online agreement laying down the ground rules for HOV parking and
paying for their permit (at $80/individual per year), and commence using the
parking passes at the start of each school year.
Some of the aforementioned ground rules include the basis that there must
be at least two students in the vehicle when they drive up to the parking booth, and
they both must insert their Comet Cards into a card reader to check to see if they
are authorized to use HOV parking, and then they will be allowed access to the HOV
parking section. They will be assigned parking spots at the beginning of the
semester. Also, there can be up to three people in the same carpool. The blue
parking permit must be present on the bottom corner of the drivers seat, similar to
other parking permits. Any other student that wishes to cancel their HOV parking
will not be refunded, and any student that wishes to join will have to pay the full
yearly fee regardless of the point in time of the year. The users are allowed to enter
alone a week, in the event they do not have at least two people in the car when
they approach the booth, along with 10 complimentary guest passes a year in the
case there are more than 3 people in the car (every extra person will count as a
guest pass). Vehicles that have other colored permits that wish to park in the other
levels of the parking structures simply needs to approach the stop arm of the
parking booth and wait for a camera sensor to detect the permit, and then they will
be allowed in. And finally but most importantly, they are not allowed to park in any
other colored parking spot on campus, and any users caught using the HOV parking
illegally will be fined according to the current UTD parking citations.

Survey. We developed a thorough yet short survey designed to target those that

commute to UTD and to see their responses to 5 questions regarding commuting.

The survey was polled to 26 random individuals that commute using the online
survey tool Survey Monkey over a course of two days. The questions included those
of commute time and distance, if they carpooled, number of times they drove to
school per week, and openness to the proposed HOV parking.

Report. The data collected from the survey was as follows:

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The average commute time to school was between 10-20 minutes.

The average distance travelled to school one-way was 5.1 miles.
The average number of times travelled to school per week was around 5.4.
Only 3 of the 26 individuals polled carpooled to school at least once a week.
Half of the respondents were willing to use HOV parking if it was
implemented.

The data received was as we had expected for commute time, distance
travelled one-way, and number of times travelled to school per week, but as the
data represents, only a few people actually carpool to school, although half of the
individuals were willing to use HOV parking if it was available. Our original estimate
was approximately that one-third of the individuals would use the HOV parking. The
data shows otherwise, which is positive news because it suggests that at least half
of the people surveyed are willing to give HOV parking a try. This is encouraging
news.

Schedule. With your approval, we have created the following schedule for the
implementation of the HOV parking to be started within the next 12 months.

Approval for Erik Jonnson School of Engineering & Computer Science students
and faculty to work on database.
Early January
Search contractors to work on parking booths and database if request denied
for ECSS to work on it.
Late January
Begin working on parking booth and repainting parking stops
March 16-21
Add application for HOV parking to UTD parking website
May
Design permits
May
Begin accepting applications and issuing permits
August 15
Students may start using HOV parking
August 24

Staffing
The University of Texas at Dallas Facilities Management team will be contacted with
the details and specifications for the construction of the two kiosks in Parking
Garages 1 & 3. If they do not have the time or resources or expertise to execute this
project, a private contractor will be hired based on recommendations from senior
management. The Facilities Management team will also be responsible for
repainting 50 spaces in Parking Garage 1&3.
The development and installation of the parking software system will be offered as a
project for students to the Erik Johnson School of Engineering & Computer Science.
If the development of this program is declined by the school, we will contact and
hire a private contractor.

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Paperwork, student registration, and permit distribution will be handled by the

Bursars office.
Finally, Parking & Transportation will work in conjunction with the Office of
Sustainability to execute the marketing and communication efforts needed to raise
awareness of this program and the benefits it offers to campus.

Budget
Expenses
Kiosk Construction (Parking Garage 1 & 3)
$6,000
Parking Software System Development and Installation
$15,000
Repainting (50 spaces each for Parking Garage 1 & 3)
$400
General & Administrative Fees
Marketing and Communication
$200
Paperwork, Student Registration, Pass Distribution
$1,000
Total Costs
$22,600
Revenue
Parking Pass Revenue (Semester)
$2,000*
*Revenue estimate based on 100 purchased passes (50 spaces each for 2 people) at a price of $40 a
semester

Authorization
Enactus, we are thoroughly convinced that our HOV carpooling program will provide
significant environmental and social benefits for the campus of the University of
Texas at Dallas. Through this initiative, we plan on reducing motor vehicle emissions
and air pollution, while simultaneously increasing the availability and affordability of

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parking. Upon receiving your approval, we can begin implementing this program
according to the prepared schedule. The rates and dates listed in this offer are
considered current only until November 1st, 2014.

Sincerely,
Ernest Sliter, Praveer Reddy, Edward Cao, and Eric Katz
Enclosure