ABSTRACT
Cities are beginning to use demand-based prices to manage their on-street parking. San Francisco created SFpark, which adjusts the prices at 7,000 parking meters to achieve a target occupancy rate for on-street spaces. The program has received much publicity for adjusting parking prices based on demand. In the SFpark program that makes demand-responsive adjustments to on-street prices, San Francisco also implements demand-based pricing for public parking garages. In addition to varying hourly prices based on demand, SFpark's garage policy addresses non-price factors. For instance, rush-hour garage queues cause drivers to lose time. SFpark adjusts off-street parking prices every three months based on the parking demand at each garage during five different time intervals in the day. The city aims for each garage to have an average occupancy no lower than 40 percent and no higher than 80 percent at all times.
