Bumalift to University, Carpooling & Parking Management

About the Client

Bumalift to University was launched in October 2016 at the University of Malta (UoM) with the objective of solving both traffic and parking issues using an innovative online carpooling platform catering for both University and student requirements.

The Challenge

The University of Malta wished to promote greener methods of transportation and to reduce the number of cars around the area while improving parking space management. UoM had previously allocated 35 places to carpoolers in order to encourage students to share rides with each other and empowered the University Students’ Council to manage all University parking permits.

Students were also desperate for transportation alternatives as they globally perceive public transport as unreliable and face a lack of options – solutions that apply to other countries such as tramway or cycling are often not suited to Malta. Carpooling quickly emerged as the most realistic choice.

Our Solution

Within the first 2 weeks, more than 400 students had already registered to Bumalift to University and created 200 routes to join the carpooling revolution in Malta.

Bumalift to University is a 360⁰ online platform structured around 4 main systems:

1. Bumalift.com is the website that is used to convey information about the Bumalift to University initiative through different sections to accommodate all audiences (Students, potential partners, etc.). It is also the point of entry for all new registrations, with a clear step-by-step explanation of the whole process.

2. The Bumalift to University mobile app is available to both Android and iOS. It is the heart of the project. Through the app, students are able to create, search, and join carpool routes. We have bounced ideas and concepts back and forth, created thousands of mockups, hundreds of prototypes to finally develop a robust mobile app that is simple to use, engaging, and effective.

3. Bumalift Parking Admin Panel is the back office website that is used by the University Students’ Council to identify all parking permit holders. We have developed a custom solution to automatically generate and assign QR codes as a parking permit. These parking permit stickers replace old-fashioned paper permits that were previously recorded manually.

4. Bumalift Parking Verification is a Progressive Web App that allows parking wardens to scan the QR codes printed on parking permits so they instantly receive data about the permit owner: Is the permit valid? Did the owner carpool today giving them access to the exclusive car park?

The Outcome

With Bumalift to University, Incredible Web has delivered a unique solution that covers new technical grounds. And more. It is indeed a well-thought product that has been articulated around a tight timeline with expertise and proficiency. Indeed, we have also put in place a network of analytic reports which allow for constant monitoring in terms of performance but also user behaviour.

Finally, we also directly engaged with users through interviews and assists students at every step of their user journey to maximise the positive impact of the platform on the University ecosystem.