Today's Editorial From the Telegram for Free Parking

It is debatable whether reinstating parking fees at Worcester Regional Airport when commercial flights resume in December would have a critical impact on the fledgling service. But for the modest net income the fees would generate, why take the chance? The question is timely.
Allegiant Air, an up-and-coming low-fare carrier based in Las Vegas, will be launching its service to Orlando in December, and serious talks now under way could bring in at least one additional carrier in the near future.

The issue was raised several months ago by Joseph Cohen, a former airport commissioner. He suggested that parking, which has been free since scheduled commercial air service ended in 2003, should remain free during the first year or so of any new service. Mr. Cohen’s rationale is compelling: The airport has not figured in people’s travel planning for 2 1/2 years, he noted, and free parking would serve as an incentive to get people back to the airport. We agree.

The issue was raised again last week by City Councilor Frederick C. Rushton, who warned that high parking fees would be “the death knell” of the airport and the new air service. Whether parking fees would be fatal is debatable, but he is right in pointing out that parking would be another way to separate the airport from others in the region. He favors keeping parking free or at a very reduced rate, the latter being the less appealing.

To serve as an incentive, a reduced rate would have to be so low that most of the revenue would be consumed by the cost of collecting the fee — and “reduced” certainly lacks the marketing punch of “free.” A few years hence, with air service on a solid footing, the issue can be revisited. Meanwhile, free parking is a potential marketing opportunity Massport and the city should seize.