POINT OF VIEW
‘Free’ Wi-Fi, Another Day in DC, Easier to Pay Than Fight?
By John Van Horn
My experience is that when things are “free,” they don’t seem to work very well.
This is particularly true for “free” Wi-Fi. When you try to log on at airports or in coffee shops, there are issues. The signal is weak, or the 4,000 people trying to run on the system means the bandwidth shrinks and speeds slow to old dial-up modes.
When you pay for Wi-Fi, however, it seems to work better. Companies that are receiving the money want you to be happy, so they build their networks to fit the needs of the community. As the traffic increases, the network grows to fill the requirements. An opinion forum blogger on
WashingtonPost.com comments that many coffee shops in DC are limiting or doing away with free Wi-Fi because people are moving in and taking space from paying customers. They are sitting on sofas or at
one part of the government has a
policy that flies in the face of another part of the government …
tables, maybe ordering one coffee, and spending hours writing the great American novel or surfing for great deals on Groupon. com. Sound familiar?
The blogger then noted that this situation is similar to another one: In a way, free Wi-Fi is like free parking. Sometimes it makes sense for businesses, because it’s a means to get people in the door. Sometimes, if you don’t have Wi-Fi (or parking), some customers will go elsewhere. But in a major city [such as DC], seats
in coffee shops (and free parking spaces) are in short supply and high demand. Having a few seats (or parking spaces) that a small number of people hog all day long simply doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t matter if free Wi-Fi (or parking) is what people are used to. This is just the new reality.
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“Free” isn’t of course free. The cost of Wi-Fi is charged to all customers in the price of their grande latte, whether they use it or not. Having singles taking tables that could be used for couples makes the coffee house less attractive as a meeting place.
And as the blogger points out, in major cities, real estate is expensive, and the margins just aren’t there to cover the costs of allowing people to hang out, with their laptops taking space that could be used for more profitable activities. The law of unintended consequences seems to be alive and well. Well-meaning “free” Wi-Fi can also mean abuse, and that can lead to problems.
“The new reality?” I disagree with the blogger quoted above. This issue has always been the reality. It’s just that we are now becoming aware of the pitfalls that surround the word free.
Heh – seems the federal government has been subsidizing parking fees for its workers at the Department of Labor (DOL). Now they are considering removing the subsidy. How much? About $200 or so a month, according to a commentary at WashingtonExaminer. com. The average parking in the area is $225, Labor Department employees pay $35 a month. Are they hot or what?
•••
I have no problem with employers subsidizing parking. It’s done all the time. The irony is that the Feds on the one hand are trying to get people to carpool and take public transportation and on the other are subsidizing their parking to the tune of $2,400 a year. I would say it makes no sense, but then mentioning “the government” and “sense” in the same sentence is an oxymoron. A local chapter of the American Federation of Government Employees union is threatening to file a complaint, possibly leading to a class- action lawsuit. The DOL is holding firm. Here’s what I think is happening. The Labor Department is actually paying someone the $200 or so a month for the parking. If there are 750 parkers, that amounts to $1.8 million every year out of the department’s pocket.
Continued on Page 8 Parking Today
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