Faiz Siddiqui wrote about experiments in surge pricing for parking spots:

• In D.C. its estimated that 25% of downtown traffic congestion is merely due to drivers circling the block looking for parking – a classic case of demand outstripping supply.
• Demand based dynamic pricing, which could prices to go up to $8 an hour or more in the future, is expected to help reduce traffic.
• Critics say that this is a revenue raising measure which will increasingly price poor people out of certain areas of the city.
• However, when a similar program was run in San Francisco it was found that while in 31% of cases parking prices increased, on average they declined by 4% as prices plummeted during periods of low demand.
• In Los Angeles congestion decreased by 10% and average parking prices were lower at 60% of parking spots.
• Parking spots in the D.C. pilot are being fitted with sensors so that in the future it may be possible to track your car through an app.
• The aim is to have at least one open space on every block, although the cost of that last spot could be eye-watering.

Read more about the experiment, its supporters, and its critics here.

Source: The Washington Post

Via: Marginal Revolution