Is surge pricing the fairest way to manage demand?

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From The BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page)

In the 1950s, the New York subway faced a problem that will be familiar to users of public transport all over the world.

At peak times, it was overcrowded; at other times, the trains were empty.

The mayor commissioned a report, which concluded the problem was subway riders paid a flat fare. No matter where you boarded, how far you travelled, or when you made your trip, it would cost you 10 cents.

Might there be some more sophisticated approach? Perhaps so. The report's foreword singled out a proposal from one of the 17 authors, economist William Vickrey.

"The abandonment of the flat-rate fare in favour of a fare structure which takes into account the length and location of the ride and the hour of the day is obviously a sensible step provided the mechanical problems involved can be solved," he said.

Long article continues

[CyclingSid]

The railways don't have flat fares and the prices do change according to time of day. Or is the drift being that it moves towards RyanAir/EasyJet model? Potentially the customer service would be even worse than it is now on the railways?

[Robin Summerhill]

The railways don't have flat fares and the prices do change according to time of day. Or is the drift being that it moves towards RyanAir/EasyJet model? Potentially the customer service would be even worse than it is now on the railways?

Quite. This is a complete non-story written by someone who has probably never been on a passenger train, because ii they had they would (or certainly should) know that this is exactly what is happening now

You want to travel at peak hours? Then you pay for a peak rate ticket (aka Anytime)
You want to avoid the peak? Then you can buy an of peak, or in some cases a super off peak, ticket. They are cheaper than peak fares - often a lot cheaper
You want an even cheaper fare? Then book an advance ticket in much the same way as you would with an airline. I understand that the fares on these are also demand-related, in that when the cheapest ones go you have to spend a bit more - once again just like the airlines.

[TonyK]

You want to travel at peak hours? Then you pay for a peak rate ticket (aka Anytime)
You want to avoid the peak? Then you can buy an of peak, or in some cases a super off peak, ticket. They are cheaper than peak fares - often a lot cheaper
You want an even cheaper fare? Then book an advance ticket in much the same way as you would with an airline. I understand that the fares on these are also demand-related, in that when the cheapest ones go you have to spend a bit more - once again just like the airlines.

The cheaper fares are the ones I usually go for, as I have flexibility and imagination in greater store than cash. The airlines have a more complex way of doing, in that fares are very low when first released, jump dramatically on Day 2, then vary slightly over a period. If the flight isn't full a few days before departure, they drop again, which makes for bargains sometimes, but never certainty. The difference is often greater than on trains - on a flight to the Canaries that I paid under £30 for, the man next to me had paid over £280.