Commuters: Better service frequency
Transit: Do you want Wi-Fi on all the busses and trains?
Commuters: We want more busses and trains
Transit: You want RGB accent lights at the stations?
Commuters: Just don’t make me wait an hour at that station
Transit: How about colour LCD screens displaying the next stop?
Commuters: Spend that money on more vehicles!
Transit: We could have a McDonald’s right at the platform!
Commuters: Fuck it we’ll just drive.
Oh you want cheaper fares?
You’ll get an another stupid app for you phone instead!! It’ll track you and buy the cheapest available ticket automatically!! (The ticket still is expensive)
Or, it’ll track you and figure out when you’re desperate for a ride and jack up the prices. Airlines already do this, transit is the next logical step!
Wait what? Companies are allowed to use your data to boost the price for you individually when they know you’re desperate? That is some seriously dystopian shit if you’re not joking. Sets a pretty fucked precedent too.
Airlines are well known to price flights awkwardly in response to the market. They often price connecting flights lower than direct flights, even if that direct flight is part of the connecting itinerary. It is alleged that they use client data (generic such as time of day or specific such as device/location) to reprice their flights, but I think the limitations of the GDS1 prevent this from happening.
What companies want to do is sell their product at the maximum price each client is willing to pay. This is already done in some ways by intentionally segmenting the market, such as by having multiple cabins on trains and planes, despite them all providing fundamentally the same service (transportation from point A to point B). More data from each client helps them target the cost of their product to each client and maximize their revenue.
I wouldn’t be surprised if user data is used more in the future to price products, especially as AI is getting more and more capable.
[1] https://hostagencyreviews.com/blog/what-is-gds