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The problem is the /length/ of the line at security. Apparently they plan for average rate not the peak rate. Capacity for peak rate would mean a small line, an
by paulsutter 10y ago
The problem is the /length/ of the line at security. Apparently they plan for average rate not the peak rate. Capacity for peak rate would mean a small line, and a lousy target.
It's easy to fix by establishing metrics, and any budget could easily be covered by adding fees to tickets. Then you start firing TSA managers that allow the lines to get long.
EDIT: Budget can be solved with ticket fees, I'm happy to pay more to get a predictable wait at security. in Japan I never, ever had to wait in line for security so it's definitely possible.
- Spooky23 10y ago>It's easy to fix by establishing metrics, and any budget could easily be covered by adding fees to tickets. It's actually a really hard problem. You have to balance dollars, demand and shifts. Demand varies based on flights departing from different terminals. You can't schedule people to come in for two hours, and reassigning staff introduces wastage as they redeploy from one place to another. That said, TSA manages it poorly, but the root issue is not enough money for the task at hand.
- enraged_camel 10y ago>>You have to balance dollars, demand and shifts. Demand varies based on flights departing from different terminals. Don't forget events. Austin airport is usually pretty nice, with short lines. During SXSW however, it gets insanely crowded, with security checkpoints containing hundreds of people in close proximity. It's just not a good situation.
- nradov 10y agoTSA can get approximate passenger counts and departure times from airlines weeks in advance. They could schedule extra shifts and overtime if they wanted to, and had the budget to pay for it. Perhaps a better solution to the budget problem would be to increase the security fee during peak travel periods at each airport, sort of like charging a congestion fee to drive on busy roads during rush hour. That would fund the overtime for security personnel, and encourage some travellers at the margins to schedule their flights at less busy times.
- Zigurd 10y agoI'm not convinced it is a very hard problem. The catering services manage to deliver the right number of meals based on the load the airlines estimate based on their reservations systems. Maybe the TSA could deliver enough TSOs.