Curve-ball: the mall I visit most often has separate entrance and exits. The best spot equidistant from both. I've spent way too much time on this problem in my head.
Where to park your car, according to math
21–30 of 53 posts
Re: Where to park your car, according to math
#22Earlier quoted context omitted.
I always try and park away from the busiest areas for the same reasons but, purely from observation, it's obvious most people don't since the area closest to the store entrance is almost always utilised the most. I do often wonder why people are so lazy or so busy that saving on walking an extra few yards is so important to them?
When our baby was younger we tended to park as far away from anyone else as possible to give us room to put her back in the car. It's amazing how often we come back to find someone parked right next to us.
Robot cars get lonely. Just wait until they start hunting in packs.
Re: Where to park your car, according to math
#23Other factors: getting a bit of exercise, wanting to be away from the busiest areas to avoid your car being dinged.
Other factors...
Being able to find your car when you leave.
Minimizing exit time when leaving an event where everyone gets out at the same time.
Being able to see the whole (or enough of the) lot upon entering-- so you don't have to guess.
Re: Where to park your car, according to math
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
I always try and park away from the busiest areas for the same reasons but, purely from observation, it's obvious most people don't since the area closest to the store entrance is almost always utilised the most. I do often wonder why people are so lazy or so busy that saving on walking an extra few yards is so important to them?
> I always try and park away from the busiest areas for the same reasons but, purely from observation, it's obvious most people don't since the area closest to the store entrance is almost always utilised the most. Walking through parking lot is not ideal. If it's outside, then you need to be dressed out for walking outside (and be prepared for rain etc. when coming back). When it's inside, it can smell of fumes and…
Are you American? It's absurd to me that you say you need to be "dressed for walking outside" to walk 200m across a parking lot.
Re: Where to park your car, according to math
#25I've never been called 'meek' before! But then I think I'm looking at the problem differently. I don't consider the walking time wasted, I don't mind the walk. I want to get the car parked as quickly as possible, not spend the least amount of time between entering the lot and getting to my destination. In fact, I will often park further away even when I can directly see that close up spots are free.
I would even consider the short walk to be a bonus! Also, you do not have to squeeze your car into a narrow slot, but can choose a spot with another free slot to your driver side -- or both sides, if you have a passenger!
Re: Where to park your car, according to math
#26In multi-level car parks I believe people overestimate vertical distance and underestimate horizontal.
In the carpark I park in, I often just speed down to the level where there first begins to be car spaces and I can often get much closer to the stairs which lead back up to the exit on the ground floor.
Extra vertical distance is only 4-5m but saved horizontal distance can be 50m.
Re: Where to park your car, according to math
#27Curve-ball: the mall I visit most often has separate entrance and exits. The best spot equidistant from both. I've spent way too much time on this problem in my head.
Isn't the best spot closer to the exit, considering you probably have to carry stuff/push a cart there?
Re: Where to park your car, according to math
#28I've never been called 'meek' before! But then I think I'm looking at the problem differently. I don't consider the walking time wasted, I don't mind the walk. I want to get the car parked as quickly as possible, not spend the least amount of time between entering the lot and getting to my destination. In fact, I will often park further away even when I can directly see that close up spots are free.
Same! For two reasons:
1) no need to worry about someone pulling out in front of me or pedestrians or carts hitting my car 2) I’m at a desk all day. A couple minutes walk every time I park adds up to count as exercise
Re: Where to park your car, according to math
#29OK, I admit it. I use the meek strategy. Why? because I believe the parking spots that minimize walking from car to destination should be left empty for people who need them more than I do.
On the rare occasion where I need to minimize walking (because I have something heavy to carry, for example) I park to minimize walking even if I have to waste some time and fuel doing it. In that case it helps me when other people use my default strategy.
Optimization-theory work like this paper has a fundamental flaw: it assumes the actor is a classic "econ" -- the ideal person (defined by classical economics) working to optimize purely personal utility. In fact, many people work to optimize community utility.
Studying that community-optimization model is harder. But it is probably worthwhile. Such large-scale systems as autonomous vehicles will require community optimization to succeed.
It's time to reread Kahneman and Tversky, and Richard Thaler.
Re: Where to park your car, according to math
#30From the paper:
"However, if there a few meek drivers while the majority follow the prudent or optimistic strategy, then the meek strategy is not bad because meek drivers will park a distance λ from the target."
I am a 'meek' driver for this very reason. My assumption is that the majority of other drivers are either 'optimistic' or 'prudent,' and as such the parking cost of the meek strategy is much lower. Would be very interesting to test this in the real world!