09-23-2019, 02:27 PM
(09-23-2019, 02:07 PM)KevinL Wrote:Quote:Kitchener Parking has an extremely broken pass pricing model in so many ways. There's one price for all surface lots, and a separate higher price for all garages, regardless of location.
I have to assume they price based on maintenance costs - a garage is more intensive to maintain than an asphalt lot.
That seems likely, but I strongly feel that it's a totally inadequate way to view the costs. The forgone revenue of selling an empty lot downtown is effectively a cost. There's also clearly excess demand for surface parking, given they have huge waiting lists. If Kitchener really wants to run their parking enterprise like a business that should be a strong indicator it's time to raise prices.
At the same time, why do they charge for garages in the evening when surface lots are free? I suspect the garage costs are pretty fixed regardless of whether people park in them in the evening, when there's clearly excess supply. Nevermind that all their EV charging stations are in the garages, penalizing those that at least try to be more environmentally friendly in their use of cars, by requiring they pay for parking to be able to pay for charging.