San Francisco Officials to Give Concept of 'Supply and Demand' a Try
The most efficient way to allocate a parking spot in an overcrowded neighborhood? Start a bidding war! And that's exactly -- or I should say, "sorta, kinda" -- what the city of San Francisco is going to attempt this spring.
More than four years in the making, SFpark aims to use demand-based pricing to influence where and when people park. City officials released more details of the potentially epochal scheme last week.
Rates at curbside meters in the project area will be adjusted block by block in an attempt to have at least one parking space available at any time on a given block.
That way, transportation planners speculate, drivers will spend less time circling for parking, resulting in less traffic congestion, ozone-depleting carbon emissions and aggravation.
The hourly rate to park at a meter in San Francisco currently ranges from $2 to $3.50, depending on the neighborhood. Agency officials anticipate the price will fluctuate between 25 cents and $6 under SFpark.
The price could jump as high as $18 an hour for special events, such as popular ballgames, street festivals and Fleet Week. However, the special event rates initially will be closer to $5 an hour.
"This isn't about pricing to raise revenue," said Nathaniel Ford, executive director of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. "This is about getting drivers off the street quicker."
In theory, I think the SFMTA is on to the right approach. But color me skeptical for two reasons: 1) You simply cannot achieve a true supply and demand model if you introduce price ceilings into the equation. With the top hourly rate hitting only $6 an hour in busy areas where many desperate drivers would be willing to pay $10 an hour for a space, you'll still see a shortage of parking spots; 2) As a resident of San Francisco, I'm a firsthand witness of the city's serious shortcomings in the department of efficiency. They simply lack the experience with market based solutions to pull something like this off.
And besides, I shudder at the thought that the city will be squeezing even more money out of me.
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Comments :
Mar '11
Re: San Francisco Officials to Give Concept of 'Supply and Demand' a Try
I wonder if the special Handicap Parking Permits will be exempt from the " market"? As I recall there was a bit of a scandal when it was discovered that there were 3 or 4 of these permits for every parking meter in the city....
Dec '10
Re: San Francisco Officials to Give Concept of 'Supply and Demand' a Try
The horror! Now only the rich will be able to park (I hope you know I'm kidding).
May '10
Re: San Francisco Officials to Give Concept of 'Supply and Demand' a Try
"...and the more the plans fail, the more the planners plan." -Ronald Reagan, A Time for Choosing
The problem here is that these jack*sses hate cars, because cars symbolize everything they hate about America - they're powerful, independent and free, and these planners can't stand that people use them independent of grand plans. I suppose they plan for you to take your demented granny to her Alzheimer's appointment on the handlebars of your bicycle in the rain, or on an unreliable, crowded, and sometimes dangerous bus. No thanks.
Another reason to avoid San Francisco like the plague.
May '10
Re: San Francisco Officials to Give Concept of 'Supply and Demand' a Try
Well, since this pricing method functions better to reduce the discrepancy between the quantity of parking spots demanded and the quantity of parking spots supplied than the previous, free parking spot method, its is an improvement.
Aug '10
Re: San Francisco Officials to Give Concept of 'Supply and Demand' a Try
The parking price on the street shown in the photo will be bid up by the thousands of tourists who want to photograph those particular houses. The "Painted Ladies" are probably the most photographed private houses on planet Earth.