<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Doppy:
Maybe you guys could lobby the government to set up self service gate pass kiosks that, for $2.50, will give you a pass to get through security.
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The average cost may be $2.50, but the marginal cost is much less than that (similar to air travel, with fixed costs). Someone going through security who is not going to board a plane should not have to pay more than the marginal cost of the screening, as that person does not benefit from the (supposedly) increased security for air travelers.
I figure the marginal cost is around 25 cents. 50 cents tops. The administrative cost of collecting 50 cents outweighs the benefit of the collecting the 50 cents to begin with. In fact, if they simply didn't check boarding passes and ID's, it would save time and money for everyone. Showing ID three times for one flight does not improve security.