For students still struggling to find a way to travel around campus and the Atlanta area, Tech’s new GOTCHA Carts may be the next solution.
“The GOTCHA Carts are a new initiative coming out of the Campus Services Department,” says Nicholas Picon, Vice President of Campus Affairs.
GOTCHA, which stands for Green Operated Transit Carrying Humanity Around, was founded by an entrepreneurial group from Atlanta, two of whom studied at Florida State University.
According to Picon, the GOTCHA service would work in conjunction with the Stingerette, by providing a more efficient and prompt service to students in times of less frequent service.
One student, however, expressed some dismay at the idea of the implementation of this service on campus.
“What does it have to offer more than the Stingerette? The Stingerette carries the same need”, said Justian Meyer, a second year CS major.
The carts being used hold a maximum of six passengers and are electrically powered, helping to promote a greener environment. The cars are also capable of being driven for two hours on a fully charged battery and are street legal.
The GOTCHA system provides potential for a convenient way for students to accomplish day to day errands that often times require considerable planning, such as grocery shopping or reaching a MARTA station. Furthermore, this transportation service would be operated by students in and around Tech’s campus.
The motivation behind their car service was to provide transport to University of Florida and Florida State University students. The cars provide transportation around campus and around their communities. Instead of taking taxis or public transport to go to nearby areas, Florida students would instead, request the GOTCHA transport service. GOTCHA proved to be a solid transportation option for students out late needing a safe and reliable ride back to their dorms or apartments.
The creators of GOTCHA see this service opportunity as a way for corporate markets to target the young adult demographic by promoting their brands on these vehicles. On their website, GOTCHA promotes itself as “Outdoor, Mobile, Interactive and Peer-to-Peer.”
In addition, these GOTCHA carts offer an additional source of revenue due to their advertising capabilities. According to the website, 80 percent of young adults remember specific ads due to their exposure to marketing tactics like television commercials and billboards, the latter of which is used with these carts.
The GOTCHA service is currently available at three universities, Auburn University, University of Florida and Florida State University.
While there are seemingly many benefits, a plan has yet to be finalized and remains in a discussion and conference phase.
“The goal is to provide more resources for safe and easy transportation for Tech students,” Picon said.