Michael Kosta Explores Courtesy Towing, Philadelphia’s Flop Parking Program | The Daily Show

[@frisco557]

Absolutely insane that the towing company is putting cars in illegal spots and the city doesn't seem to care.

[@ruger8412]

It's not private towing companies its a city owned dictator ran government entity.

[@christopher.m.dickinson0315]

It's probably because it's a racket. tow companies get a contract from the city to tow the cars. And then the city gets money from the tow company illegally parking the cars. It's a win-win for them.

[@ThunderHOWL16]

@@christopher.m.dickinson0315that’s a bingo!!

[@LegacyOfKane]

I guess it's NOT always sunny in Philadelphia 😏

[@longlivedemocracy756]

@@LegacyOfKaneNope. 😑

[@paulpollack9262]

Where are the lawyers? Seems like a class action lawsuit.

[@jeanetteadamo9039]

Probably getting a kickback as well.

[@jbmlk]

it’s the government

[@LC-sc3en]

There have been several class action lawsuits as far as I can tell the big question is, how can one or a citizen initiative be used to change the system.

[@HuskyOwner-bl1jf]

That was my thought as well If someone tows your car and puts it in an illegal parking spot they should be responsible for the fines

[@cliveklg7739]

qualified immunity

[@ChrisHessJD]

I lived in Philly for over a decade for school and the PPA has always been a corrupt nightmare. It even spread to Philadelphia traffic court which had to be disbanded due to the corruption.

[@JasonOGrady]

I lived in Philly for over 20 years and everyone knows (and hates) the PPA. The old joke was that you could drag race an old jalopy with no doors and no plates, blind-folded, the wrong direction on a one-way street, three sheets to the wind, but if you stop at a local Wawa, you'd have a parking ticket in under 30 seconds! True dat!

[@tpad6]

What emoji is that

[@dulcezamora1882]

Wow that’s crazy 🤯

[@anndixon4577]

I have lived in Philly for over 30 years. This sharing of our pr pain feels cathartic.

[@JohnnySplendid]

Fun fact: PPA isn't actually run by the city! It's a six-person board appointed by the state government. And the PPA's rules are completely arbitrary. You can get a ticket for parking too close to a corner. Meanwhile, a block, away someone's F250 is double parked in a crosswalk with no violations.

[@VitalyTaratut]

It run by the MOB

[@saurabhpericherla5454]

I also got a ticket for parking too close on a corner and I wasn’t blocked anyone.

[@madmaximilian5783]

​@@saurabhpericherla5454I had to limit my time and visits to Philly because of the bogus parking tickets.

[@bqing87]

If you have a blue lives matter sticker; see it constantly, on your car you apparently don’t get tickets are towed if you’re literally parked on a sidewalk. Which is equally as problematic has parking in the cross-cuts seeing that people with wheelchairs cannot go down those streets and need to take even longer to get arround or in some cases have to go multiple blocks or be forced to go into the street.

[@amis100]

I have a residential permit. Parked my car legally. Came back three days later and discovered that PPA placed a handicap parking sign where I was parked. Received over $900 in tickets in two days.

[@SVFirstLight]

Luckily you can fight all but one of those as they can't ticket for the same offense more than once a week

[@amis100]

@@SVFirstLight Source?

[@SVFirstLight]

​@@amis100 the PPA. I called when I got back to back tickets for expired inspection before the 15 day courtesy window was over. They instantly cancelled one because they can't repeatedly ticket you for the same thing (otherwise they could just write parking tickets every couple of minutes for an expired meter) and they asked me to submit my proof of inspection via the online form to fight the other one.

[@amis100]

@@SVFirstLight So, per this rule, if one parks their car on Monday and gets a ticket, the car could be left there until Sunday night and could not be issued any additional tickets? I dislike the PPA but such a rule would make no sense.

[@SVFirstLight]

​@@amis100 as far as I'm aware, correct, you simply can't be issued tickets for a single violation multiple times within a specific time limit. (To be absolutely clear, they can issue the tickets but they aren't valid). If I were you I'd call. Particularly since they issued you multiple tickets in under 24 hours in the same spot

[@dbrennan408]

Thank you for bringing this issue to a larger audience!

[@jillmac2000]

At what point does this turn into a class action lawsuit? Moving your legally parked vehicle to an illegal spot is not a "curtesy tow." it's a scam and corruption

[@McKenzieGlenn]

A curtsy tow is what Queen Camilla does when she’s feeling naughty with King Charles. I think you are probably referring to a courtesy tow.

[@meganbyrne2138]

@@McKenzieGlenneveryone loves the person who corrects an obvious typo

[@quilboy93]

I believe there are multiple law suits on this right now

[@jlbueno0611]

Only until everyone involved can get enough money , and the settlement money for those lawsuits doesn't cut in from their profits ... they all want to get around 50 million to spread amongst all involved ...and settlement will be probably 10 million. So once they get 60 million, and above, they can start to settle lawsuits and change the system into a new scam ✌🏼 welcome to corruption 101

[@thesupremekai1980s]

@@meganbyrne2138 Lots of people also just cant spell...

[@bossmare1480]

What a joke.......someone is enjoying frequent trips to Hawaii on the company dime.🤔 Start taking dated pictures of your car parked legally and your parking permits. Hold them accountable. 🤨

[@henrythegreatamerican8136]

I'm sure there are city cameras everywhere, but someone high up in the city is getting a "PPA bonus" if you know what I mean.

[@ericdwhitmorec]

I don't think taking pictures would matter as the PPA knows they are breaking the law

[@gobirds1211]

It's now a law for tow companies to snap a photo to prove they were parked illegally.

[@MadAboutBrows]

​@@gobirds1211 how will they confirm the car wasn't moved prior to the pic?

[@SVFirstLight]

​@@MadAboutBrowsthere's already been instances where the tow drivers for private companies have been proven to move a car to a tow spot, take a picture, and then tow it. The drivers that have proven their innocence have used gps tracking to show their car movements

[@benjaminw4385]

This happened to me, and I called the police and the PPA, and neither could tell me where the car was moved. After walking around for an hour, I finally flagged down a tow truck I saw driving in traffic nearby, and he told me it was probably four blocks away. I started walking and luckily found it somewhere completely different on my walk. I was lucky, but you can probably find a thousand stories like this where folks are far less lucky.

[@michellereed3272]

My daughter lives in Philly. Same thing happened to her.

[@iammaxhailme]

it's rare that I stick up for the NYPD, but when I got a "courtesy tow" (when they suddenly put up "no parking" signs for a surprise unnannounced parade, and then towed me from a legal spot, which must have happened within a few hours of each other) they at least put a "relocated by the NYPD, do not ticket for 48 hours" sticker on my windshield when they dumped my car in front of a fire hydrant. of course I also thought my car was straight up stolen and I had to walk into a precinct to file a stolen car report only to be told that the POLICE were the ones who moved my car, so there is that too. coulda been worse, I guess

[@Masterdebater-q5c]

That’s absolutely wild, and 🖕 the PPA for not allowing my boy Kosta an interview! You’re going down PPA!

[@Ngala254]

2:31 A car being towed as the interview continues is crazy!😂😂

[@Fourtondragon]

Well they’re at The PPA…

[@xenidus]

That part and the interview being held at one of the city's "historical green spaces" had me laughing😂

[@eltamarindo]

Washington DC also does this. If your car is towed, it is first towed to some absolutely rando spot a few blocks away, before maybe eventually being towed to an impound lot. My car has never been impounded but I've spent many long hours walking in circles around the city before eventually finding my car terribly parked on some random back street. It is particularly confusing because sometimes overzealous tow truck drivers would tow you ahead of when it would be illegal, aka "intent to park in a rush hour zone".

[@mshepard2264]

True but Philly is worse

[@OldelCpt]

Time to put an AirTag on your cars to locate your cars and survive the madness

[@kyanitequartzite5037]

How do disabled people deal with this? I would never be able to find my vehicle? Do they give up and die in the street? I can already feel myself becoming suicidal learning about this. Clearly it is a place I would not survive a visit to and can never travel there.

[@dmitrikalashnikov4754]

Really happy that the PPA is being roasted for a national audience. I had no idea that they would tow a vehicle from a legal spot to an illegal spot. In a just world, they would then have to pay their own fine for granting such a "courtesy," or at least record that they moved it themselves to an illegal spot so that the owner of the vehicle would not get fined. Of course, that could never gel with the PPA's goal of fining the people of Philly to enrich themselves while only pretending to help public schools.

[@guap-papi]

Definitely 1.) get an air tag to put in your car and 2.) leave a spare key with a friend before heading out of town. That won't fix corruption, but it will help lessen the fees and penalties you'd pay in the long run.

[@geoffreyschultz8515]

Great idea with the AirTag. Also, and this really shouldn’t be necessary, but when using street parking, snap a photo of your presumably legally parked car, together with a screenshot of your AirTag location. That would be evidence that the towing company actually unlawfully stole your car. If more cases were brought, maybe that very haughty person at the PPA would finally learn to take a different attitude than “I need you to leave.” If she was unequipped to answer, she should have found someone who was. It was a legitimate question and presented in a completely non confrontational way.

[@ANunes06]

Spoken like a true Resident. The entire nation is now asking Philly why we allow this and we're over here like, "same reason Florida allows hurricanes, man. Best you can do is be prepared at this point."

[@zbelair20]

Important to know the PPA is not controlled by the City but by the State, who use it to siphon money out of the city... They actually tried to send a bill to the city's school district a few years ago, and it's been shown over and over that most of the money goes to politicians who just happen to be on the PPA payroll

[@junglechick13]

That's insane!

[@tammyd.970]

@@junglechick13 Welcome to Philly. (and PA in general...)

[@SperaSF]

I remember getting a ticket in Center City because the parking meter was busted. I took a picture of it showing an error and provided that with an appeal. They threatened me with bigger fines if I didn't pay on time while it was being litigated. As soon as I paid, which was the last day before they'd fine me for paying late, they said that was an admission of guilt and closed the case.

[@92jwiener]

F**k that. Sorry you had to deal with it. I got ticketed because a machine wouldn't take my quarters. An officer must have been staring at me struggle to use the machine because 2 minutes after I left it ("to go find another machine"), I had a ticket. I had taken video and screenshots of what was going wrong and I disputed the ticket online, immediately. I got a lucky break because my ticket was dropped (or it looked like it because the several times I searched for the ticket number, nothing came up). I know I may not always be so lucky. We need to gather as much evidence as we can of this kind of stuff. The courtesy towing especially is truly criminal.

[@PAMELAPORTER-ci7mr]

😖

[@BW_Maher]

If you could park for free at a broken meter there wouldn't be a functioning meter anywhere in the city. If you knew the meter was broken you shouldn't have parked there. You may disagree but that's the rule. Everyone else knew that's why a spot was available in center city. That alone should have made you suspicious.

[@subjekt5577]

Gotta put that in escrow but escrow has fees you don't get back

[@sarawells3916]

I would consider reporting them/your story for their business practices to say…the FTC or something similar…

[@labradachig1976]

Welcome to Philly. I never try to park on the street for more than 2 hours, because it's either the PPA or an erratic Nissan who can't manage to drive straight. The city of brotherly love, where it's drivers make New Yorkers look like driving school instructors.

[@adde9506]

I've driven in NYC and Philly. No comparison, NYC is leagues worse. That said, I don't park my vehicle in the street and walk away in either city.

[@dwa3210]

You must be New Yorker.. there’s no way New Yorkers drive better than Philly. Absolutely no way. If you’ve ever drove in NYC or Florida you’ll what I mean..

[@LawNerdPHL]

Oh please, jersey drivers are the ones who can’t drive.

[@KodiakWoodchuck]

Don't forget the dodge chargers with paper tags that expired 3 years ago.

[@IzzyWanShinobi]

I live in Philly and this happened to me 7 years ago. Its nuts 😢

[@annad3377]

As someone who complains to non Philadelphians about how horrible our parking is, this is a great segment.

[@zhuraw]

I used to work with former PPA employees who said they were pressured to make political donations in exchange for preferential treatment by the hierarchy.

[@AmericanWOMENHearUsROAR]

No doubt with this kind of corruption n fill their own pockets!🤦🏻‍♀️

[@LE-te9vx]

Thank you for covering this!!

[@modogg42]

the worst one's are when someone gets their car stolen, and the thieves park it illegally, the city gives you a ticket. So you get back half a car, and a ticket from the city as a gift along with it

[@Gintamathebest]

My car was stolen call the cops weeks later cops found the car in some far off city. I have to paid for impound and car was damage.

[@flackstar007]

Moving cars in order to collect revenue is an obvious scam, no wonder the locals are upset. But the fact that there is no oversight in which to call this attention to in a easy manner is insane as it means the corrupt company has more leverage then the entire community.

[@trevor2001]

When I lived in Houston, the tow trucks were allowed to enter our gated community in the middle of the night, and tow people out of their own driveways while they were sleeping. Luckily, my next door neighbor was a cop, and one night they picked the wrong car to tow, he came out, gun drawn and yelled “show me your hands!” After that, they didn’t come back.

[@RaziuddinAhmed]

How long ago was this?

[@emilyshabang]

Were they repo trucks? Did the gated community have parking decals? I lived in places that were gated but the HOA or property management required up to date parking decals. Any car, without one properly displayed on "x" spot on the window, would get towed. The HOA or property management had an agreement with a tow company

[@CallieMasters5000]

Any story about Texas always involves guns. That's a given. In July they had to make a public announcement to stop shooting at the CenterPoint trucks that were taking forever to reconnect the power lines after the hurricane. Like shooting at lineman will make them go faster?!

[@sheilaflory2541]

I watch a KZbin channel called Tow Trucker. He does non-consensual towing at numerous apartment complexes in Atlanta. Basically the lease agreement says the can tow for expired tag, wrecked vehicle, and sometimes trailers. It’s interesting to watch him deal with various tow situations

[@tamirenfisher702]

Extortion, I’ve been screaming this for years. Imagine having to decide to pay rent or get your car out of impound! I had to make that choice!

[@AmandaTitus85]

How is that not illegal??

[@SundaeMorse]

Wow! Guess I won't be going to Philly!

[@michellereed3272]

If my daughter didn’t live in Philly, I’d never go there.

[@cajundragon]

This city sounds horrible.

[@bubblesezblonde]

Follow the money

[@ibme93]

Parking Wars in Philly was my favorite segment of that show. Now I feel bad lol

[@slybandit8117]

Yea, I knew some of the people on that show, not great people. That show made it look all fun and games and put all the blame on the drivers, but most of the time the drivers are just trying to naviagte the insane rules that are Philly parking! I mean in South Philly they park in the middle of the road like it is a normal thing, but for some reason don't get ticketed...

[@kmart93]

My neighbor was on Parking Wars... they towed her car because they didn't see (ignored) her handicap tags. Then they refused to release her car because they claimed her insurance was expired because it said "valid for 6 months from X date" and they couldn't count properly. It was like a who's on first routine

[@bestcee]

Parking Wars taught me never to park in Philly. I was afraid parking in a parking lot that they might tow me!

[@fartmachine5000]

@@slybandit8117 years ago the mayor said no one will get ticketed for parking in the middle of the road because there is genuinely nowhere else to park

[@Kiri-1903]

That is insane. Philadelphians, how do you stand this?

[@Frotis420]

Personally, do my best to stay out of Center/South/North Philly. I just sent this to someone who this happened to and she got the ticket reversed, but I think until enough people get angry enough and take it to City Hall, people just accept it.

[@broadstreet7641]

Simple. I don't drive.

[@corinne_vintage]

When I lived in Philly, I didn't have a car. Public transit is great, and that was also around the time those zip car rental type things were a big deal (2008 ish - 2011 ish).

[@longlivedemocracy756]

@@broadstreet7641Smart. It is definitely a luxury driving, but catching a Lift/Uber starts to sound more reasonable than $900 in tickets/tows…

[@CommanderPeanuts]

Fun fact, the PPA is an agency of the state, not the city. So state officials get a say and it becomes even harder to try to change anything locally.

[@drbreatheeasycapital]

This is insanity. Impressed people don't revolt.

[@js27-a5t]

Is this a meaning of "impressed" I've never heard before? I'm not sure that word means what you think it's meaning here? Genuinely confused, not being snarky.

[@drbreatheeasycapital]

​@@js27-a5t I guess more like surprised.

[@kyanitequartzite5037]

I am disappointed that they put up with it. It tells me the revolution is never coming and this country is long overdue for one.

[@faustocardy5018]

Tell me you are a scammer without telling me you are a scammer.

[@home-818]

I know people who have never had a moving violation but have had tickets in the thousands from PPA

[@gnocchidokey]

I parked somewhere that had a handicapped sign that was completely blocked by a tree (like, I had no idea, I would absolutely never park in a handicapped space). Got a $300 ticket. I didn't even know what I had done wrong until I showed up to traffic court! Then since I had no "exonerating evidence" (like what???) I just had to pay it since I don't want to be arrested.

[@ReezeGoingSenseless]

This seems like the kind of situation where towing trucks and PPA offices may spontaneously combust. I hear it's a danger when ripping people off, stuff gets really dry and incendiary. 😏

[@canary_inthecoalmine]

This happened to me in Chicago just a few months ago, I’m still waiting for my reimbursement check from the city bc I won the case

[@dennisdoodan9348]

What incompetence and corruption! Fire all of rhe board!!!

[@simond.455]

"Nice car you got parked there legally. It would be a shame if something happened to it..." 🤬

[@mwaahahahaha]

THIS HAPPENED TO ME. They were repaving Frankford Ave in Fishtown in 2023… never posted a sign, and towed my car overnight. I went to the police station and the tow driver hadn’t recorded my plate (on their paper clipboard yet) and it took me a day to even find my f**ng car. My neighbor, who operates a business on the street, took a video of them( a private tow company) BREAKING INTO MY CAR to tow it (because it’s a stick shift, and the parking brake was stopping the back wheels from moving). No signs posted. I’m pretty sure that the contractors that the city used to pave the roads.. worked illegally with greased hands in the city to allow payments to private tow companies to make that happen. That stretch of Frankford avenue stretches MILES when this happened. Someone look into this. I lost and paid nothing, but I imagine there’s a massive amount of corruption at play here. The PPA doesn’t tow the cars usually. It’s private.

[@foreveryeung52]

Lifelong Philly resident. Dated photos taken on your cell phone can be so helpful in fighting the PPA. We always take photos of where our car is parked and what signage was present at the time, that way if we are out of town and they put up a TNP, we can say we were out of town. It's important to also take a photo of the TNP sign because the PPA "does not keep that information on record". We've disputed them and won because we had the proof (photos of car on the day we left, photos of our flight itinerary, photos of TNP and tickets when we returned), but it took a lot of trial and error to figure out exactly what we need to document. And it's a huge hassle. The other thing the courtesy towers do is tow your car to an undisclosed location without any documentation. I know people who lost their cars for years.

[@nolanmarion69]

This is disgusting

[@GabrielSBarbaraS]

I don't even like to drive through Philly let alone park there.

[@Mac-ix4qp]

Hate to go there, but anyone considered investigating graft?

[@mesel7105]

I once had 54 parking tickets in Philly, despite never being there even once in my life.

[@jenniferbond2323]

😮😅😂😮😅

[@mtheaney]

The denied request to use the bathroom was a nice touch

[@Room142]

Sue them. Class action.

[@BrianRogers-l6b]

It's nice to see you guys do some actual useful reporting once in a while, great job!

[@KathleenFeliciano]

Would dash cams even help anyone's case legally? Or a tracker?

[@bananatanger]

Years ago, there was a reality show called Parking Wars that followed PPA employees (and other cities), and it was ... entertaining but also pretty clear that the PPA were rather eager in their enforcement.

[@jenniferamyx78]

Yes, it is a rite of passage. Every Philly resident I knew when I lived there had been towed at least once!

[@frankwestphal8532]

Just a random shout out to the daily show here... I LOVE multiple hosts and correspondents. You are actively revolutionizing how comedy shows are done.

[@L.Anonymous758]

Welcome to the City of Brotherly Love! I live in the suburb of Philadelphia and I have tried not to go into the City at all cost.

[@saurabhpericherla5454]

Just received my third parking ticket from PPA while at my doctors appointment. City parking in general is straight 🗑️

[@home-818]

I def have PPA PTSD. I haven't lived in Philly in over a decade but triple check to not get a ticket whenever I park. I've never even seen parking authority where I live now 😂

[@nancyhaddad1454]

Lived in new york city 12 years. Sold our car and lived without one lol. Realized it would be way cheaper without one. Those people will tow u while you and your family are in it. 😂😂😂😂

[@jso6790]

Same, about the PPA PTSD. I get a sick feeling whenever I return to my legally parked car. One time I got a bad ticket and appealed it (and won that appeal), but while I was waiting for my appeal hearing they gave me two more tickets for .. let's just say, dubious things.

[@bonnieb9238]

Why do u think its funny to downplay ptsd? Why not just say it gave u cancer? Oh thats right.. that's the illness that ppl cant make fun of. 😒

[@Jimmy-b1y5q]

I lived in south philly for a couple years. This is no joke. My life revolved around parking my car. Now I live in a less crowded part of the city where I can park in front of my house but I still have a ptsd from it. Everyone hates the PPA.

[@michaelimbesi2314]

Why on earth didn’t you just take SEPTA like a normal person?

[@Jimmy-b1y5q]

@@michaelimbesi2314 Because I have a well paying job in the suburbs. SEPTA isnt viable for everyone. My commute would be 2.5 hours if I took Septa.

[@mshepard2264]

Yea Ive lived in philly and DC philly is SO much worse about towing and impounding cars.

[@mareble412]

So glad this is getting national attention! Finally!

[@ruud2040]

PPA , thats stealing!! Where is the A-TEAM when you need it🤣😛

[@JillRhoads]

@03:53 I guess it must be a "bucket list" thing in Philly to get your card towed. Well put!

[@LRXC1]

What a terrible company

[@ingridfong-daley5899]

This has been happening for decades in subsidized housing complexes--same exact setup; same financial motivation. Our car was "courtesy towed" one Christmas morning. We went to get in our car to visit family and the car was just gone, and because of the area we lived in, we'd just assumed it had been stolen. The fees were almost $100/day 20 yrs ago.

[@austin_boos]

I remember this happened to me once, had to ride around on a longboard in 30 degree weather hitting the panic button at every intersection of a 5 block radius. They never noted exactly where my car was.

[@mmj1342]

I live in Center City, Philly. When I moved to my new apartment, I bought a temporary permit, but people parked there anyway. I did not tow them, bc that seemed extreme. I think they should've been ticketed, but the idea that they'd be towed to an illegal parking spot is so wrong it's absurd. I got rid of my car during the pandemic and don't want a new one. People regularly park their cars on sidewalks now. Parking and traffic violations in Philly are starting to look like those in cities in developing countries. Just petty lawlessness.

[@user-kn9tt6ny3v]

Philly has lot of problems. Ask for federal investigation.

[@citylumberjack9169]

Another one????

[@js27-a5t]

@@citylumberjack9169 Lack of trees. You say that to a Philadelphian they'll say "but we have so many parks!" but so many of those are just scraggly little squares with paved walkways that take up half the space with the grass just a dirt patch.

[@CH3NO2Semonious]

Nice thing about owning a big roll deck tow truck, you could easily load one of those repo tow trucks up and tow it to safer place, like in the ocean for instance.

[@GrogMode]

Philly resident of 23 years; I’ve been “courtesy towed” from a legal spot when a snow emergency was declared for the NEXT DAY. Returned to my spot, to find it was towed 10 blocks and dumped on Passyunk. Only way I found out where it went was to flag down a cop car, who gave me a range of “it’s between these 5 blocks”, and I had to spend a half hour walking around until I rediscovered my car (along with a hefty fine)

[@TransLauraNumbers]

My boss has her car air tagged because of this. They don't tell you where your car is and it could be 4 or 5 blocks away.

[@miked4904]

I recently got towed from a very poorly marked handicap spot. The sign blended in with every other spot and the ground was not marked. The Handicap coloring and writing matched every other sign around so I assumed it was a sign to pay on the app or at the kiosk. I wouldn't complain too much if the final bill wasn't over $500.

[@evangarfield]

I once lost a car to a PPA courtesy tow while I was out of town. By the time I found out where it was, they wanted double the value of the car in fees and fines. Disgraceful practice from a disgraceful organization.

[@v66catta84]

This is absolutely mind blowing! 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@michaelisaacson9735]

This doesn't bother me all that much because I avoid going into town with my car at all whenever possible for 10,000 other reasons. This is just another reason to avoid Philadelphia.

[@michaelisaacson9735]

@@doloresm7396 I spent a lot of time in Penn watching my mother die. Due to that and the terrible parking, I'll stay away from it.

[@JoeL-go1lu]

Even though it is titled the "Philadelphia Parking Authority", it is run by the Republican controlled PA House. All top appointments are authorized by the Republican power brokers.

[@saurabhpericherla5454]

I’m surprised that it’s Republican controlled as opposed to Democrat controlled. I thought Republicans don’t play these kinds of revenue racketeering games. Then again, both sides are corrupt 🤦🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♂️

[@ChrisS-jm6hi]

PPA is like the mafia

[@ChuckWortman]

I live near Philly, go into town frequently. You need Axmastwr's degree in sign reading to make sense of all the signs posted on one post. It's like you can park here on a full moon from 10:00-2:00am (no indicator after 10:00 so they can get you) on every other Tuesday. It's insane.

[@jayjetsin]

One time I got 2 tickets, one for staying to long at a meter, and one for having expired rigs. After 14 days both tickets doubled AND the service fee for each one doubled. How did the service fee double?!?

[@AmmarNomani]

Moved here from Houston. Sad but true. Great city but definitely miss the large roads and the mostly free parking

[@graciamui1798]

10 years ago, I (NY plates) parked in a legal metered spot in Philly. Meter was paid and I went to eat. Came back with meter still running and I had a ticket. I took pictures with the current time and took it to court. It was dismissed. Apparently they target out of state license plates thinking out of state drivers won’t fight it.

[@jackson857]

I don't think I would own a car in a city like that. Not worth it.

[@NicholasQuiles]

My car was towed from a legal spot i was permitted for, while living in Center City, Philly. The location they put on the courtesy tow was a corner business where there isn't a parking spot. The police told me to check a ten block radius (i went on a hunt, and then a police officer drove around with me because it was raining). Never found the car. I was later told to check 20 block radius because they'll use one address as a general location a mass movement of vehicles. The police perform the tow with their tow trucks, the Parking Authority is how I'll find if it if it gets subsequently towed or ticketed, and the only recourse after that is to report my car stolen to the police who moved it in the first place.i really miss my car and there's nothing i can do about it. The police literally check the address (where my car was possibly never placed), then if the car isn't there, i was pressed to report it stolen or leave the police station. Reporting it stolen washes everyone's hands of responsibility, and i was legally parked in the first place (where there was no sign for the date it got moved). How my car cannot be found after the fact is terrible, and zero empathy in the non-help received thereafter was the worst twist of the knife. I was told things like, "I'm sorry i know this probably feels like a big deal for you, but this happens all the time". How is there no next step where there is a problem, cost, and heartache that is blatantly caused by Philadelphia City agents acting in service to the city.

[@karikling6751]

Here's the thing. This isn't telling the full story. So many drivers here park illegally and feel they are entitled to do so. They'll park on sidewalks, on crosswalks, in bike lanes, and anywhere else that makes it legitimately unsafe for bicyclists, pedestrians, and handicapped people. Yet, people parked in those places don't get ticketed. I had heard that PPA could automatically tow cars that didn't have a license plate or had a covered plate, but I found out when I called them that they couldn't do anything about cars with no plates or covered plates unless the car was parked illegally. I have called them about cars that were parked on the sidewalk and found out that, no matter how narrow the sidewalk is, the car has to have all four wheels on the sidewalk in order to be ticketed. Even then, they hardly ever ticket cars parked fully on sidewalks, bike lanes, and crosswalks. In fact, we see police cars and municipal vehicles parked like that *all the time*. They ticket the drivers who went a few minutes past the time or parked slightly into an illegal spot(like half in a legal spot and half in a no stopping zone), but routinely ignore cars that are blatantly parked illegally.

[@enveng4279]

PPA is awful. Our car was a few days out of inspection. They gave us tickets every day while we were visiting friends. They should only be able to give one a month.

[@AlisonKenzoland]

Yeah this happens All the time and you always get towed to an illegal space! Also this is a better alternative to the private tow company in the middle of the night, cash only!

[@solutionorppt]

I live right across the river and I'm shocked that some enterprising youngsters haven't started straight up carjacking PPA trucks mid-tow. Two birds and all...

[@JoRo-u8u]

In my city, you aren't allowed to park in the same spot >72 hrs. Parking enforcement will mark tires, and if the car hasn't been moved by the 72 hr recheck, they'll tow it to a city impound lot. In practice, it is only complaint based enforcement, they won't tow vagrants, and even with complaints it maybe a week or so before they come out to start marking the tires. In general, I think it is fair, a lot of people keep multiple cars that they don't use because it is cheap/free to monopolize public street parking with their private vehicles. It's a small percentage of people that abuse street parking. Most use their cars regularly. Both the people interviewed stored their cars on public streets while going out of town. The owners should have stored them in a lot while they were gone. The city should have just towed them to an impound lot for being in a no parking zone rather thn towing them to an illegal space first.

[@Qualinesta]

Yes, and a few bad experiences in comparison to how many people who saved money because of courtesy towing?

[@Dan-Simms]

They would give your shoes a ticket if they could.

[@smitty5890]

I grew up their. Parking police don't play. If your meter runs out, parked Illegally, Too close to the corner, In front of a fire hydrant, blocking your driveway, Any violation No matter how small. Your towed fast. If your car is hooked, they are not putting it down, beg, plead, bribe, don't matter they are towing you. Oh and wait, their is more. All your documents , driver's license Insurance Sticker on the plate. All better be in order or your not getting your car back. Not like the cost of the tow is not bad enough. Your charged for a day of storage, even if you pick it up with in the hour. And storage fees are ridiculous. Welcome to Phila, park smart or pay !!! $$$$$$

[@knockeledup]

I highly recommend brushing up on your vs you’re and there vs their vs they’re. I think it will improve your professional life significantly. Amazingly, you seem to have to vs too down!

[@pmarcusb]

This is the reason why parking wars ended. The city thought the show made the city look bad. 🤡

[@ChrisLincoln]

It certainly made the PPA look bad, which they are! The truth hurts, I guess

[@justburkhardt]

This happened to me while at a doctors appt once, sign that wasn't there before went up while I was at the doctors and my car was towed to the PPA lot. A few hundred bucks and 2 hours at the PPA lot later, I at least had it back :(

[@AndyAcker]

We need more Kosta deep dives like this on current topics. Fantastic work. What a crooked organization.

[@Tannyolande]

This is not the way to fund schools.

[@xswiftblade]

Philadelphia mentioned! 🎉

[@Sk-nb3yl]

What’s wrong with the government .. why are they bothering citizens unnecessarily

[@sdrice2007]

I hate driving and parking in Philly. I was out there with my lady one time. I parked in a legal spot on a Saturday. After the movies, we returned my car with a ticket of $331. Though it was late and I was exhausted from being out all night, wrote and emailed an essay of a complaint and reminded them both professionally and sternly that I wouldn't be paying the ticket. I reminded them that though I was vacationing in Philly, I am from Brooklyn and will not stand for nonsense. Eventually they dropped the charge.

[@bridgetboyle687]

This has been a bad parking city since the 80’s.

[@jaredrhaburn507]

Dash cam, a license, and class action. I wonder how long this last when the cities law suit exceeds the money the PPA is suppose to collect as apart of their Derelict fiduciary duties

[@EXPATditions]

F the PPA !

[@2hard2knock]

The PPA took the money and whacked its PP with it