UmbarThaa Economics
What I know about Economics will disappoint an icecream cone hoping to brim over with the cream of that knowledge. So, unable to figure this out myself, I solicit the knowledge (O! Hail ye!) of the economist-bloggers around. My question being thus:(Almost) Each weekend I travel from Bombay to Pune and then back. The mode of transport is a Volvo bus. Now, what puzzles me is why is the cost of a seat from Bombay to Pune (usually 160/- or 180/-) much lesser than a seat from Pune to Bombay (usually 220/-)? (Both costs are within the "weekend window" i.e. Sat morning to Mon morning, in which costs are higher than on a weekday).
I can't understand the asymmetry in costs in each of the directions because the conditions seem to be the same. Toll tax should be the same. Demand is likely to be similar, for how would you have more people coming in to Pune than going out to Bombay, unless there is some non-intuitive scenario that the excess people travelled to Bombay on weekdays! Do people coming from Bombay to Pune have more options than in the other direction?
If someone would care to comment?
{BTW, the title is obviously useless and the gag is surely known around these parts to anyone who has heard of the author and the Marathi word/film :-)}
Updates for those who valiantly volunteered to help me in this
* Weekday rates are typically lower by the same %age in both directions
* I use the same company (or equivalent, by which I mean that I use private operators who have same fares) both ways
* I do board and get down at both places. However, in my experience so far, the fare is flat irrespective of which stop you plan to get down
* Last point: I think Hirak (supported by Ajay) hits the nail on the head when he says that it could be related to the drops. We would agree that the inbound Pune bus would have lesser distances to travel in the city (standard route: stops at Wakad, Aundh, Univ, S'nagar, Station/Swargate), while a Bombay bus would go to a lot more places in the city (btw, I forgot to mention this was the Dadar bound bus; Borivali destined buses cost even more) and spend about an hour or more inside the city
I guess I forgot about the interiors because I usually get down at the periphery. Thanks very much, guys!
5 comments:
My economic knowledge would overflow a paper cone that carries 2 rupees worth garam-channa.
1)It would help to know what are the regular weekday rates? Different?
2)Are there more # of drops to be made in Bombay and the buses to Pune have only 1-2 pickup points in Bombay? And 1 dropff in Pune?
Dear Computer-guy blogger,
Do you use the same bus company both ways? The gentle folks over at the Maharashtra ST corporation charge a lot more than the private operators.
- An economist (in training) blogger
Hirak's theory sounds promising. I've seen that buses charge less from Kothrud than from Pune station or Deccan. Do you alight and aboard at the same places?
- One intro course in Economics
Statement of fact: Have been shuttling only on the Pune Stn.-Dadar-Pune Stn. route almost every week for the last 2.5 years using more often than not the MSRTC A/C buses (which thankfully NOW refer only to Volvo buses as opposed to the beasts made by Tata) and:
1. Never encountered the "weekend window" phenomenon you mention. Rates are same irrespective of the day of the week.
2. Rates on this route are same irrespective of the direction.
3. But yes, the rates do undergo frequent revision. They used to be 190 when I first started out then fluctuated 225-230-235. Now they've settled back down at 200. I was given to understand that oil prices have something to do with it. But that does not explain the recent DECREASE.
A medical guy blogger
(with some economics in my genes if you consider that my father is in SEBI)
My two cents on this. It could also be related to the timing of the bus in relation to the trains.
For instance if most busses from Bombay to Pune are running around the same time as the trains in that direction, then one would want to reduce prices in order to attract more travellers. If on the other hand one knows that there is no other option to go to Bombay around a certain time, you can demand more money bcause the supply is less. Demand and supply logic according to me.
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