kean and kean ocean shuttle service rough draft

Kean Ocean Shuttle Service

1.0 Executive Summary

Kean University has expanded to the Ocean County region and has setup another campus

that is based here in Toms River. However, the current curriculum here at Kean-Ocean is

very limited. The pain we are trying to alleviate for the students, and faculty alike, is to

provide students with a way to expand their education in a more convenient and cost

effective manner and also provide the faculty with a means of transportation that will

help reduce the wear and tear on their vehicles as they travel from the Northern parts of

NJ to the Toms River area here in Ocean County to teach the young minds of tomorrow.

This service will provide students of Kean-Ocean the ability to take classes at the Union

campus thus providing students with further flexibility in scheduling and also provide

them with a safer and cost effective method for travel.

1.1 Testimonial

A previous Kean-Ocean Student wanted to earn a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary

Education with a focus on Mathematics. However, the curriculum at Kean-Ocean did not

offer this major and the student was forced into making 2 choices: Make the long and

costly drive to the Union campus or pursue a different major. Due to financial constraints

the person opted to pursue their major in English instead because of the cost for items

such as: gasoline, wear and tear on the vehicle, and tolls.


1.2 Mission Statement

The mission of the Kean and Kean-Ocean Shuttle Service is to provide students, such as

the student in the testimony (and others alike), with a cost efficient way to expand their

options for class times and dates by transporting them from the Kean Union campus to

the Ocean County campus. At the same time provided Kean-Ocean faculty with the same

opportunity to reduce their costs associated with the long drive.

1.3 Keys to Success

The keys to a successful shuttle service is to gain enough student and faculty interest to

make the trip from the Union campus to the Ocean campus (and vice versa) cost efficient

for both the school, the teachers, and especially the students because the students would

be the main users of the service.


2.0 Company Summary

Kean is a NJ based University that currently has a student population of about 15,000-

plus students and faculty members. The Kean and Kean Ocean Shuttle Service is

intended for the private use of Kean and Kean Ocean Students and Faculty only for the

sole purpose of transporting these members from the Kean-Ocean campus in Toms River,

NJ to the Kean University main campus located in Union County, NJ. It will be a non-

profit service run by Kean University employees that are already employed by the

University. But will charge a minimal fee to all students and faculty for the use of the

service to cover costs for service operations.

2.1 Trademark

The service is being run by Kean University employees and will therefore bear the Kean

University logo as its trademark.


2.2 Advertising

Students at Kean and Kean Ocean are easily accessible for advertising purposes. Some of

the many ways the students can be reached include, but are not limited to:

1) Postings on Bulletin Boards

2) E-Mail Blasts

3) Use of Social Media

a) Facebook

b) Twitter

Just to name a couple. These two methods are already used by Kean University to reach

its students with ease. The same means would be used to advertise to the students to

encourage them to use the shuttle service to expand their horizons. As of right now the

service does have a Facebook page located at the following URL:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kean-university-shuttle-service/1572906459605357

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kean-university-shuttle-service/1572906459605357


3.0 Target Market

The target market for the shuttle service is geared towards all students and faculty that

attend/instruct classes at the Union campus or the Ocean County campus.

3.1 Market Segmentation

There are over 15,000 students and faculty currently at Union and Kean Ocean. The

current ratio of students to faculty members is roughly 17:1 according to College

Navigator. College Navigator is a government website that provides educational data for

all Colleges and Universities based in the United States.

91%

9%

Total Students and Faculty (Fall 2013)

StudentsFaculty


3.2 Feasibility Survey

A survey consisting of 65 students was taken to find out the interest of shuttle service. Of

the 65 students that were surveyed only 1 of those students deemed the Union campus as

their “home” campus. All other students were Kean @ Ocean students.

Kean Ocean0

20

40

60

80

100

1

64

Students Surveyed by Campus

"Home" Campus

# of

Stu

dent

s Sur

veye

d

The second question asked pertained to whether or not students have ever had to travel to

the campus that they do not deem as their “home” campus because certain courses were

not offered at their “home” campus.

YES NO0

20

40

60

80

100

10

55

Travelled to Other Campus?

Attended Non-Home Campus

# of

Stu

dent

s Sur

veye

d


The third question asked of the students was whether or not they had to travel to the

opposite campus because the times/dates available at their “home” campuses did not fit

their schedule.

YES NO0

20

40

60

80

100

14

51

Due to time/schedule restraints

Have travelled?

# of

Stu

dent

s Sur

veye

d

If the students had responded “YES” to either question 2 or to question 3 they would

proceed to answer questions 4 through 6. If a “NO” appeared for both questions 2 and 3

then the student would proceed to answer question 6 only.

Question 4 asked students how many days a week they had to travel to a campus other

than their “home” campus to take classes.

36%

64%

Times a week travelled?OnceTwiceThreeFourFive


Question 5 then proceeded to ask students about their approximate costs for travel based

on how many times a week. Of all the students that replied “Yes” to question 5, 43% said

that they paid below $50 dollars a week in travel expenses. The other 57% said that they

typically paid an estimated $50 to $100 in travel expenses. None of the students claimed

to have travelled more than twice a week between campuses.

43%57%

Average Costs per Week for Travel

Less than $50Between $50 and $100More than $100

The sixth and final question of the feasibility study asked students to rated their interest in a

shuttle service that would transport them between campuses at a low cost.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1005

10152025

12

4 63

93 5

85

10

Scale

1 - Highly Unlikely to 10 - Highly Likely# of

Stu

dent

s Sur

veye

d


3.3 Challenges

The biggest challenge faced by the project is the ability to get enough interest from Kean

Union campus students to offset some of the costs that would be incurred by the Kean

Ocean students and subsequent faculty members that also use the service.

4.0 Kean Ocean Students

Kean and Kean Ocean can be compared in many ways consisting of approval ratings by

their subsequent students, the classes that are offered by each campus, as well as the

facilities that are available to the students of each campus.


4.1 Kean Ocean Satisfaction

A group of Kean Ocean students were asked 2 questions pertaining to their experiences at

the campus. Question one asked students about their satisfaction with the campus.

Yes33%

No22%

Somewhat44%

Students

YesNoSomewhat

4.2 Recommended Improvements

Question 2 asked the students what recommendations they would make to the campus.

StudentsStudents


4.3 Course Comparison

As has been stated several times over the course of this business plan. The biggest issue

that students face while at Kean Ocean is the lack of available classes. The only major

that has Kean Ocean ahead of Kean University is the nursing program. All other majors

have a considerable as it pertains to the Kean Union campus.

Economics

Education

Management

Marke

ting

Nursing

Finance

Accounting

Criminal Ju

stice

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Kean Union Kean Ocean


Just to provide a sample of the courses that can only be taken at the Union campus:

Accounting Majors

ACCT 3230 Federal Income Taxes I ACCT 4270 International Accounting

ACCT 3231 Federal Income Taxes II ACCT 3280 Gov. and Fund Acc.

ACCT 3240 Cost Accounting ACCT 3700 Accounting for Sustainability

ACCT 4210 Advanced Accounting ACCT 2200/2210 Principles of Acct.

ACCT 4803-4806 Cooperative Education Accounting

Finance Majors

ECO 3021 Intermediate Microeconomics FIN 1300 Personal Finance

FIN 3380 Introduction to Derivatives FIN 3380 Derivatives

FIN 4300 Investments and Portfolio Mgmt. FIN 3350 Int. Business Finance

FIN 3320 Preparation and Analysis of Financial Statements

Criminal Justice Majors

CJ 2610 Criminology CJ 3610 Correctional Systems

CJ 3685 Substantive Criminal Law CJ 3620 Probation and Parole

CJ 4610 Issues in Criminal Justice CJ 3600 Police Organization

CJ 3630 Police Role in the Community CJ 4700 Justice and Police Power

CJ 3700 Proof and Verification CJ 3690 Role of the Prosecutor

CJ 3675 Research Methods in Criminal Justice

CJ 3641 Comparative Criminal Justice Systems Travel Learn


5.0 Operations and Implementation

The operations of any company is key. From efficiency to effectiveness, the ability to

provide the customer with the best product possible will determine whether or not a

company can be successful. Our ability to provide our customers with an efficient and

quality service will ultimately determine the effectiveness of our service. In order to

achieve an efficient service with the highest standards of quality there will be a proposal

for 3 separate plans that we will can provide this type of service. We expect the service to

run during the spring and fall semesters only due to the lack of students available during

the winter and summer semesters.

5.1 Security

A major issue for concern is the ability to keep none students and none faculty from using

the shuttle service. As of now, the Ocean County College campus uses a sticker system

that needs to be updated each semester in order to use the campus facilities. This is a

system that we would also like to implement to solve the issue of keeping these non-Kean

and non-Kean Ocean people from using the service for free. The stickers would indicate

either “Spring Semester” or “Fall Semester” on the bottom right hand corner of the

student or faculty member’s identification card.


5.2 Driver Licenses and Driver Certifications

In accordance with state (NJ) laws the driver of a bus and/or shuttle must have a valid NJ

Driver’s license. In addition the driver(s) must also be able to obtain or have already

obtained a valid CDL (Commercial Driver’s License). The Driver’s must also possess the

following endorsements in order to abide by state law.

1) (P) endorsement which allows the driver to carry passengers.

2) (S) endorsement which is required to drive school busses.

The driver(s), in accordance with Federal Regulations, are required to submit to random

drug and alcohol abuse testing.

5.3 Personnel Plan

Currently Kean University already employs the vast majority of personnel that would be

required to run this service. Our recommendations would be to employ 1 or 2 more

driver’s in order to support the work flow required to drive between Kean and Ocean on a

5 day work schedule that will typically run 12 hours per day.


5.5 Operations Plan A

The shuttle service would make 2 trips beginning at the Kean Ocean campus because that

is where the bulk of the business would come from.

Spring Semester

7:00 – Depart Ocean County campus

11:00 – Depart Union campus



Fall Semester





We are also proposing that an additional pickup/drop-off be initiated at the Cheesequake

rest stop on the NJ Garden State parkway

This is the cheapest option but clearly has its flaws as it relates to flexibility for the

customer.


5.6 Operations Plan B

The issue with plan A would prevent instructors who have morning classes from using

the services until the 2nd trip. Plan B tries to accommodate that by including a secondary

shuttle bus.

Spring Semester

Bus A Bus B

0700 – Depart Kean Union 0700 – Depart Ocean County

1100 – Depart Ocean County 1100 – Depart Kean Union

1500 – Depart Kean Union 1500 – Depart Ocean County

1900 – Depart Ocean County 1900 – Depart Kean Union

This plan would provide for better flexible and allow the drivers to return to their original

departure stations for their final trip. However, the costs of operation would go up and the

usage per bus would be expected to go down. The volume of customers would be

expected to remain the same as Plan A, but the costs per student and faculty would

increase to counter the costs of 2 shuttles.


5.7 SWOT Analysis

Strengths

Union campus located near major access routes.( NJ Turnpike, Garden State Parkway)

The Union campus is located in a large metropolitan area and contains the bulk amount of students

A large student interest with Kean-Ocean students (pending survey results.

Alleviates parking congestion for both the University and the students

Opportunities

Increasing number of Kean-Ocean students

The potential to partner with companies such as First Transit to expand business to do more than just transport students between campuses


Weaknesses

Lack of a large enough student interest from Union campus students.

Construction on Garden State Parkway could cause potential schedule conflicts.

Threats

Fluctuating and high fuel costs could pose a potential budgeting issue

Expected or Unexpected construction delays could pose potentially scheduling conflicts


8.0 Financials

The financials portion of this plan will discuss a wide variety of items to include: a

comprehensive breakdown for the approximate costs to students who would drive a

variety of different size vehicles if they were to make the drive from the Toms River

campus to the Union campus, the approximate costs for running a shuttle bus from Kean

Ocean to Kean bases on the use of 1 and/or 2 busses, estimated driver salaries based on

Department of Labor Statistics, and proposed payment plans that students and/or faculty

will have the option to enroll in for the use of the service.

8.1 Student Travel Costs

This section shall provide a comprehension breakdown based on a variety of different

sized vehicles, to include: compact cars, a mid-sized car, full-sized car, small SUV, and

full-sized SUV. The spreadsheets will include the costs for each vehicle based on 1 trip

per week and 2 trips were week.


Estimated costs of students making 1 trip per week for smaller vehicles.

Car Compact Car Mid-Sized Full-Sized

MPG 30 25 22

Distance 120 120 120

Est. Usage 4 5 5

Fuel Costs $2.75 $2.75 $2.96

1 Trip Cost $10.98 $13.18 $16.16

Cost P/Semester $164.76 $197.71 $242.35

Toll Cost/Semester $60.00 $60.00 $60.00

Totals $224.76 $257.71 $302.35

Miles Driven 1,800 1,800 1,800

Dep. Per/Mile $.14 $.14 $.13

Total Depreciation $246.60 $246.60 $241.20

Total Cost/Semester $471.36 $504.31 $543.55


Estimated costs of students making 1 trip per week for larger vehicles.

Car Small SUV Full SUV____________________________

MPG 22 15

Distance 120 120

Est. Usage 5 8

Fuel Costs $2.75 $3.15

1 Trip Cost $14.98 $25.18

Cost P/Semester $224.67 $377.64

Toll Cost/Semester $60.00 $60.00

Totals $284.67 $437.64

Miles Driven 1,800 1,800

Dep. Per/Mile $.16 $.16

Total Depreciation $286.20 $288.00

Total Cost/Semester $570.87 $725.64


Estimated costs of students making 2 trips per week for smaller vehicles.

Car Compact Car Mid-Sized Full-Sized

MPG 30 25 22

Distance 120 120 120

Est. Usage 4 5 5

Fuel Costs $2.75 $2.75 $2.96

2 Trip Cost $21.67 $26.36 $32.31

Cost P/Semester $329.52 $395.42 $484.69

Toll Cost/Semester $120.00 $120.00 $120.00

Totals $449.52 $515.42 $604.69

Miles Driven 3,600 3,600 3,600

Dep. Per/Mile $.14 $.14 $.13

Total Depreciation $493.20 $493.20 $482.40

Total Cost/Semester $942.72 $1,008.62 $1,087.09


Estimated costs of students making 2 trips per week for larger vehicles.

Car Small SUV Full SUV____________________________

MPG 22 15

Distance 120 120

Est. Usage 5 8

Fuel Costs $2.75 $3.15

2 Trip Cost $29.96 $50.35

Cost P/Semester $449.35 $755.28

Toll Cost/Semester $120.00 $120.00

Totals $569.35 $875.28

Miles Driven 3,600 3,600

Dep. Per/Mile $.16 $.16

Total Depreciation $572.40 $576.00

Total Cost/Semester $1,141.75 $1,451.28


8.2 Profits and Losses

The Profits and Losses section of this business plan will show a breakdown of the income

and expenses that would be incurred. Students can use the shuttle for as little as $2/week

with one shuttle bus or as little as $4/week with two shuttle buses.

Income One Shuttle ($28/student) Two Shuttle’s ($56/Student)

Students $26,432.00 $52,864.00

Total Income $26,432.00 $52,864.00

Expenses

Drivers $11,520.00 $23,040.00

Insurance $1,692.00 $3,384.00

Gasoline $10,940.00 $21,881.00

Parts/Oil $792.00 $1,584.00

Maintenance Labor $1,320.00 $2,640.00

Total Expenses $26,264.00 $52,528.00

Net Profit $168.00 $335.00


8.3 Payment Plans

Students would have the option of paying on a weekly, monthly, or by semester.

Payment Plan for One Shuttle Payment Plan for Two Shuttles

Semester $28.00 Semester $56.00

Monthly $7.00 Monthly $14.00

Weekly $1.75 Weeks $3.50

9.0 Miscellaneous

The miscellaneous portion of this business plan will cover miscellaneous items such as:

What the project start date is and what we see in the foreseeable future.


9.1 Project Start Date(s)

Our forecasted start date for the service would be for the Fall 2015 semester. However,

we would like to see the school begin to provide the service as early as the Spring 2015

semester.

9.2 The Future

Clearly one of the things that we would like to see in the future is an increase in student

usage. However, we also see this as an opportunity for Kean University to expand the

curriculum down here. Access to cleaner water ways and the Pine Barrens could possibly

allow Kean University to increase the majors/minors it offers to such degree programs as

Marine Biology.

kean and kean ocean shuttle service rough draft

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