What became of drive-by ticketing?

Unified Taxi Workers Alliance (UTWA) went into action. We met with the Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA)’s Taxicab and Limousine Division (TLD) first, then with some of PPA’s Board. Stu Bykofsky wrote an article in the Daily News. We collected evidence from drivers experiences and GPS records.

The PPA’s response was: It doesn’t exist; Drivers are driving away when being ticketed; You are accusing us of being criminals; and your evidence is insignificant compared to the amount of drivers there are.

A protest was organized. MIND TV did a documentary on it. We shut down Market Street at the PPA’s main office. We shut down 9th and Filbert. Ticketing has decreased but there are still unresolved issues.

The PPA has given us an option to contest tickets before appealing by calling 888-591-3636, and when finally getting a live person, we can request a GPS investigation which will put the ticket on hold until the investigation is complete. A big issue is the fine attached to the ticket because the driver didn’t know about the ticket. Since you have 15 days to pay a parking ticket from the day it is issued, any time after that includes a fine.

We are still going to pursue drive-by-ticketing. There should be no fine attached to tickets before the driver receives the ticket. If you receive a ticket that was not given to you, you should let us know. You should be ready to protest if necessary. On the other hand, let's be courteous to the on-street ticket writers just doing their job under the policies of their management. They should understand and appreciate that we are doing ours, and that most of the ticketing issues arise out of the “hospitality initiatives” of their management , such as the rules and regulations for credit cards and receipts. A source of ours tells us that the PPA’s TLD may be getting a dollar for every parking ticket they collect. Is that an incentive to keep drivers suspended or unable to renew their taxi license? The TLD is suppose to be “self-sustaining”!

Originally printed in "Waiting Times," UTWA's member newsletter.

click for full image