Introduction

Students attending college today have a variety of mobility needs. Many college students attend classes during the normal business day of 8 am to 5 pm. Students are involved in numerous other activities that occur outside the time schedule of classes. During these time periods students schedule jobs, study time at the library or with friends, sporting events/activities, exercise, and shopping as well as social events. Students may attend multiple activities before starting their daily studies later in the evening, which may not be at their own residence.

This provides a glimpse of the importance of mobility for college students. Some students worry about the availability of a mode of transportation, particularly during the evening hours, and, when not available, they may need to bypass holding a job or participating in some other activity.

The students who have vehicles can get around easily; however, for the Concordia College students who do not have vehicles (about 23 percent of the student body) the task is more challenging. The Fargo-Moorhead Metro Area Transit (MAT) provides bus service to the Concordia College area. The day time fixed route bus service runs from 6:15 am to 6:45 pm with half hour intervals. The evening bus service runs from 5:30 pm to 10:15 pm with 45 minute intervals, and focuses on a north-south route. The north route covers business in north Moorhead and along Highway 10. The south route goes to West Acres, movie theaters in south Fargo, and businesses in south Moorhead. Concordia College students have the option of purchasing a $35 semester pass to ride the MAT. However, there is a void in low cost public transportation between the hours of 10 pm and 6 am. Concordia College students who do not have automobiles are without affordable transportation after 10 pm when MAT services close. The taxi is available, but at current market prices. There is a possibility of offering a taxi service during these hours at a $2 per person per ride fare.

A study was conducted to determine the potential acceptance and usage of a taxi service with a $2 fare serving Concordia College.

The two primary objectives of this study were:

• To determine the travel patterns of Concordia students living on and off campus.
• To establish potential taxi usage for night and late night travel in the local community.

The second section of this report will identify the research methods used and the third section reports the results of the survey.

Research Methods

The Concordia student body association and Mr. Tom Iverson identified questions they wanted to include in the survey. The Small & Urban Rural Transit Center (SURTC) worked with them to develop the finalized version of the questionnaire and hosted the survey. The survey instrument included nine questions pertinent to information useful in identifying a potential taxi service market. In addition, students were asked two demographic type questions: If they lived on or off campus, and their year classification. Their name, phone number and e-mail address were optional and the students were guaranteed confidentiality.

The student body association sent an e-mail message to 2,750 Concordia students asking them to complete the on-line survey. The e-mail message included the reason for the survey, location of the survey, and request for the students to complete the survey. Six hundred and twenty one students responded to the survey request. This response rate generates a 95 percent confidence level.