Well, I hold no brief for the current system, which is not fair. But
cancellations only go to people on the list. So they do go to the
wait-list pool and they therefore act to shorten the waiting list. But
they don't shorten it much. People with open lives work the list by
getting on it in the open period of a particular year. Obviously, they get
on at the tail end. Then, they autodial until they get one of that year's
cancellations. Thus they fall off the list, and those behind them advance
1 list-unit. This is no help to those of us who need to be able to
schedule a trip with kids, spouses, and friends, and who have gotten on the
list years before.
If NPS anticipated that a third of permit holders would cancel,
>then they could hand out 50% more permits. One third of those cancel, and
>you've got 100% use by people on the waiting list. The waiting list moves
>50% faster. Easy. And much fairer.
Administratively, this would certainly work out in a balance over a time
period. But during popular periods of the year, it could result in launch
crowding. An alternative would be to overbook on a 2 - 3 year basis, which
would produce the scheduling leeway many of us need. That is, overbook 50%
for this year with the proviso that if you took one of the over-trips,
you'd have a 3-year window opening immediately during which you could (had
to) book it, then 50% for next year, etc. But why not simply use a hunting
permit system such as others on these servers have mentioned, wherein you
apply for and get a trip for up to N people, and YOU decide whether to run
it yourself, hire a guide to help you run it yourself, or go with a tour
operator?
>
>The status quo favors people who've been down before, who have the
>experience to put together a trip quickly, but there's no logical reason
>the system has to work that way.
The commercial part of the status quo favors the rich to very rich. The
noncommercial part favors the patient and the almost-instantly available.
I don't find this particularly desireable, as a boater. It also doesn't
seem to me much in keeping with the spirit of, and perhaps even the letter
of, the various acts under which the Parks are to be administered.
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