> --- Xianhang Zhang <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > This would be true if it were possible to charge > > different people different prices for parking based > > on congestion. > > It is possible, and is done in practice. > Many parking lots charge more during peak times than > in other times. There is predictability, because the > typical usage does not vary much.
Yeah, but it's weird pricing. In Chicago, there are "early bird" rates where you get in by a certain time and get a cheap fixed price for as long as you want that day -- if you come in later, you pay by the hour, which could result in a higher or lower charge than the fix price, not to mention a higher or lower rate per hour. And after a certain time, you get the evening rate, which is fixed as long as you get in AFTER a certain time. There is clearly more going on than simple congestion, or the people who get in at 7am and stay the whole day would pay more than the people who come in for two hours in the middle. (It is quite possible to have something like 7am-7pm for $12 and 11am-3pm for $25.) > > cost of admitting an extra person is NOT zero > > because it requires you to drop prices which means > you lose the revenue from all the other > > parkers/theatre goers. > > I don't follow this. Why does charging zero at some > times require a drop in price when the lot is full? > > Fred Foldvary I think he was assuming that the ticket price had to be the same for everybody. That may not be necessary, but you didn't assume the opposite. --Robert Book [EMAIL PROTECTED]
