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Is This The End of the Annoying Parking Ticket? Probably Not, But a New App Will Fight Them for You — It’s Our Non-TV Story of the Day

Feb 26, 2014  •  Post A Comment

A new iPhone app launching this week is designed to help people get rid of a particularly annoying problem — the unfair parking ticket.

CNN reports: "Now there’s a new iPhone app, Fixed, that will fight parking tickets for you. The app … will do the heavy lifting of contesting a ticket: suggesting reasons it might be invalid, gathering supporting evidence and submitting the proper appeals paperwork."

Motorists who beat their citations pay Fixed 25% of what the fee would have been on the ticket. If the ticket holds up, the Fixed service is free.

"In this way, Fixed hopes to add navigating bureaucracy to the list of urban tasks and nuisances — catching a cab, ordering food, finding a place to crash — made easier by popular tech startups," the report notes.

Said Fixed co-founder David Hegarty: "When you mention parking tickets to people it engenders such an emotional reaction … because so many people think they’ve received an unfair parking ticket."

CNN adds: "That emotional response, as well as a desire to not shell out $100 for blocking a couple inches of someone’s driveway, could make Fixed a hit. But its success will depend on how good the service is at navigating parking laws, which are often a confusing hodgepodge of local and state ordinances."

The piece reports: "Here’s how Fixed works: When someone gets a ticket, they snap a photo of it on their iPhone and enter the violation code. The Fixed app will tell them what percentage of those types of tickets are usually overturned and then show a list of possible reasons it could be found invalid. For example, a street cleaning sign might be obscured by a leafy tree, or a parking meter could be broken.

"If the motorist thinks they have a case, the app will prompt them to capture any additional photographic evidence with their phone and then digitally sign a letter."

The service is initially launching only in San Francisco, the report notes.

2 Comments

  1. Swell for scofflaws, especially those who intentionally damage meters with bits of paper. Next time some idiot blocks your driveway, you can thank this app for letting them skate. Unless you accidentally deflate one of their tires.

  2. Most parking violations, AND moving violations, are simply another tax. Here in California, the CHP is just another taxman.
    We need more civil disobedience, not less.

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