The idea apparently came from one of the students who gets drenched on raining days as there is no sheltered walkway from his home to the train station. He also does not like carrying a wet umbrella in his bag for the whole day.
"It's a basic need," exclaimed one of the project members.
A 10-day trial was conducted at two train stations by placing a kiosk of 10 umbrella each on both sides of the road and observing from a distance.
The umbrellas are marked with stickers and a prototype similar to supermarket trolley system was created. You insert a $1 coin to dispense an umbrella which will be refunded when you return it to the kiosk on the other side.
To prevent people from stealing the umbrellas, they've actually made the umbrellas quite ugly so that it's not something people want to take away.
On average, 200 commuters used the umbrellas in one hour.
It was conducted under light drizzles and heavy downpours situations.
The students themselves were surprised that no umbrellas were stolen at all.
Of course, the result of the 10-day trial may not be an accurate representation of what will actually happens if this initiative is roll out island wide.
What's interesting is how the idea actually came about.
A student got drenched because there's no sheltered walkway to the train station from his house. He also does not like carrying an umbrella around.
Now, what is the problem here?
He is leaving home to go to the train station. If it happens to be a sudden downpour, then that probably explained why he did not has an umbrella with him. But if he knows that it looks like going to rain or it's already raining, why doesn't he bring an umbrella? How many people would be like him?
So does the problem lie in the fact that he finds it troublesome to carry an umbrella around all day even though he knows that it's going to rain or it's already raining?
Now, let's applies this situation under a different scenario.
It's a sunny day and you've left house without an umbrella. You reach your destination and realized that it's raining heavily.
If it's a slight drizzle, would you still use this service? Perhaps you would if you're dressed to the nines or if you have an important meeting that you do not want to appear unkept. Or would you just quicken your steps. Bearing in mind that the direction you are going to may not have a kiosk for you to return the umbrella.
If it's a heavy downpour, would an umbrella helps much in any way? For a short distance, perhaps. And how many people would actually choose to wait for the rain to stop unless they feel it's going to be a long wait?
The trial measured the number of people who used the service. But did it measure the number of people who did not use the service? Did those people did not use it because there's no umbrellas available? Who are the people who used the service? Are they youngsters like the students? Elderly? Parents with kids? What is the ratio between the different groups? If there are no elderly using it, was it because they do not know how the system works?
There were no umbrellas stolen during the trial. Was it due to the ugly design of the umbrella? Was it because of the $1 refund? Is it because they suspect they might be monitored since its a new service?
Should more trials be conducted then? What if there are more trials at more locations? How many kiosks should there be? Where should they be placed? Are there alternatives such as taking a bus to reaching the train station instead of walking through the unsheltered walkways?
If more locations are available, how likely are commuters to take an umbrella from one location and return it at another train station? Will they hold on to the umbrella on long rainy days?
The students have probably thought about all the possible problems and scenarios that may happen. That is why you see them coming out with measures to prevent them. For example, the $1 refund idea to encourage people to return the umbrellas. The ugly design of umbrella to deter people from stealing.
All these initiatives are measures to make the project a success.
What if they set out to test why the project will fails?