$5 "SuperSaver" parking at MKE
Driving to MKE today I noticed parking signs on the Aiport Spur changed to show remote parking rebranded as "SuperSaver" parking for $5, a reduction from the previous $8/day. The branding appears to be an in-process task because the freeway spur signs have the new logo, but the entrances to remote parking itself are not rebranded yet. The MKE website parking page shows it, but in the detailed section below it still speaks of "remote" as $8/day.
I'd guess two key reasons stand behind this:
(a) Marketing, especially to Northern Illinois residents, to differentiate costs. If they just wanted to reduce the remote parking cost there's no reason to create a new branding and logo for remote parking.
(b) Increasing the difference between daily garage ($12) and remote ($5) will encourage more people to use remote and take some pressure of the parking structure. Peak travel periods pretty much filled the daily section of the structure in the past, and they need to plan for the additional passengers expansion will bring. The amount of capacity planned for January is likely real overkill, but spring break or next summer could be a different story. Regardless of concerns about the upcoming expansion being profitable or even long-term sustainable, the traffic that could plow through MKE next summer could be crushing and the airport needs to plan for it as best they can.
On a side note from my drive to MKE this morning, has anybody else noticed the Southwest billboard on the airport spur? A plain goldenrod billboard with fhree dots, tagged Kansas City, Milwaukee, and Baltimore, connected one to the next, and the Southwest name. That's about it. If the visual says anything, it makes it look like Milwaukee is simply a stop between Kansas City and Baltimore. For a company known for an irreverant, out-of-the-norm image and unique marketing and a sense of fun, I was absolutely dumbfounded.