Green light to gouge commuters

The San Jose Mercury News is reporting that private parking lot/garages downtown are taking advantage of commuters during the BART strike:

From his sidewalk flower shop at Mission and Spear streets, Gary Thorn sees the bustling South of Market neighborhood every day. "They're jacking (prices)," he said of nearby parking lots. "They are sticking it to people. But people are coming in four to car." At a garage near Mission and Main streets the rate was $40 to park all day, with the $40 portion of sign at the edge of the sidewalk taped over a $25 sign that was still underneath it. "It's not good," said a man who walked out of the garage into the J.P. Morgan Chase building nearby. An attendant at the garage declined to discuss its fees and referred questions to a company office where a phone message was not returned. Despite the price, the garage was filled before 10 a.m., with the attendant placing orange cones to block the entrance ramp which was filled with cars.

Maybe City Hall will step in and put a stop to this gouging? Not likely, since the city itself routinely preys on unwary out-of-towners who drive into SF in their "death monsters," aka motor vehicles.