Please go through the business plan below, and help evaluate its practicality and shortcomings.
OverviewThe idea is to have a very simple and easily replicable transportation system in place for small towns and large villages all over the country. Anyone can rent out / purchase a standard minivan and set up the system. A circular route is decided for the given area, and the van goes around it using drivers in 3 shifts. The vehicle only stops at fixed stops for a set amount of time. The bus continues 24/7, regardless of the number of people getting on at a particular time.
BackgroundAt present, only the 5 cities in Pakistan have a proper public transport system. For a lot of smaller towns, people have to rely on using inter-city buses to get from one place to another within their own city. These buses don’t have a fixed schedule, and are almost always overcrowded. The biggest problem though is that these intercity buses merely pass through the smaller town, which means the majority of travelers have to walk long distances, or aren’t facilitated at all.
Initial Workflow of STCT1. A permit is obtained from the local government. It might be advisable to get a permit that an ordinary cab gets.
2. A route is figured out by going over the town’s map. The route must be such that the vehicle ends up coming to the starting point after every few minutes. Special care must be taken that all populated residential / commercial areas of the town are covered by the route. This route is then discussed with some local people, making sure that it will help as many locals as possible.
3. The entrepreneur then purchases a minivan to drive around the route. If initially there is not enough funding to buy the vehicle, it might be possible to rent it out from any number of sources.
4. Initially, it might be possible to start 1 shift only. For this purpose, the hours of 6AM to 6PM might work, since a single driver or the entrepreneur himself can work this shift.
5. There doesn’t need to be any office of the service. The passengers can pay the driver the fare as soon as they get on, on their way to the seat.
6. The fare must be kept the same regardless of the destination of the passenger. Paying the fare once should suffice for a whole round trip.
7. Income / cost should be calculated at the end of each month, and not on daily basis.
Later Improvements for STCTOnce the system is up and running, the following improvements / additions can be made to it.
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Shifts to be increased to cover 24 hours. Although this might sound counterintuitive, as there isn’t likely to be much user-base at night time, but this is the point that gives STCT an edge over other means of transportation. The system will come to be known as totally reliable. People will be able to plan their journeys and daily routines accordingly, as they will always know that an STCT van will be there for them any time they need it. -
Once all shifts are covered, it is possible to increase the number of buses, depending on passenger demands. -
Memberships can be introduced and people can get their travel cards made to get better rates. Of course, these cards will provide them special offers, and will be shareable between people. -
The entrepreneur can use advertisement on the van’s body, or via any radio system during travel. This can become an extra source of income.
Possible Shortcomings of STCT & Their Solutions1. In some situations, they service might not garner enough users during particular hours. The solution might be the use of technology. The buses can remain stationery if there is no passenger, but at every stop there must be a telephone or a beeper of sorts. This beeper should be able to ring the bus driver up at any time of the day, which will then get the van moving. The waiting passengers will know that no matter what time of day or night it is, the STCT van will be there within a few minutes of their pressing the beeper.
2. Traffic issues and crowded roads might be a risk to the system’s functionality and punctuality. However, because we are talking about small towns, this isn’t a realistic risk because there is rarely heavy traffic in these areas.
3. Maintenance cost of vehicles might be a bit high, due to the state of roads in towns and villages. This is something that the entrepreneur will just have to deal with.