So, they decided they needed more money at DTW. They wanted to keep airline ticket prices down, so they raised the parking fees. Read about it here. They raised prices 60%. That’s right, Sixty percent. In one go. And a strange thing happened. People voted with their pocketbooks. They carpooled. They dropped people off. They parked in cheaper off airport lots. And the revenue actually decreased.
WHAT THE HELL DID THEY THINK WOULD HAPPEN? Here’s a classic situation where the government makes decisions without regard to the market place. They simply needed more money, so they raised the prices to fit. Of course their customers said NO!
Drivers aren’t stupid. They don’t pay just because you ask. If there is a cheaper alternative, many will find it. The marketplace rules. DTW learned a valuable lesson. Had they raised rates slowly, a buck or two, it just might have worked.
JVH
