Applying The "Demand-Based" Pricing Model To Campus Parking

Inside Higher Ed traces campus parking angst back to the 1980s, when UCLA surveyed its students and found that most of them worried more about finding parking than about their academic skills or course workloads.  Colleges and universities are still wrestling with how to quell that anguish.  Since it costs about $18,000 to build a space in the average concrete parking garage, schools are experimenting with more affordable options.

Typically, common campus parking permits are sold for a flat fee.  Permit holders may use them to find open spots located throughout campus.  Several schools are now considering switching to a “demand-based” pricing model, increasing permit prices for high-demand lots and decreasing them for low-demand ones.  

The University of Pennsylvania has adopted this pricing model.  Beginning in 2012, it increased the price of permits by 5% for “prime” garages and by 1 to 3% for distant lots.   As a result, one garage’s wait list disappeared and the other two decreased.  Some people decided that keeping their distant spot and longer walks was worth it compared to a bigger parking bill.

Oregon State University plans to implement demand-based parking prices this fall, and Stanford University will soon attempt the change as well.

Source: publicsafety.tufts.edu