NEW YORK — The city handed out 13,000 fewer parking summonses and saw its ticket revenues nose-dive by $30 million last fiscal year — despite a record number of traffic agents on the street.
Downtrodden motorists too broke to pay their tickets are driving the sudden plummet in revenue, driver advocates theorized.
Parking Tix Haul Plunges $30 Million
NEW YORK — The city handed out 13,000 fewer parking summonses and saw its ticket revenues nose-dive by $30 million last fiscal year — despite a record number of traffic agents on the street.
Downtrodden motorists too broke to pay their tickets are driving the sudden plummet in revenue, driver advocates theorized.
Motorists shelled out $624 million in parking fines in fiscal year 2008, compared to $595.7 million in fiscal year 2009.
“They just don’t have the money,” said Glenn Bolofsky, founder of parkingticket.com, which helps drivers fight tickets in court. “If revenue is down, it’s only because individuals and businesses can’t afford to pay.”
City officials have a different theory about the 4.5 percent decline in revenue. Mayoral spokesman Stu Loeser says the city has made it easier for motorists to challenge their tickets online, and contested summonses generally garner reduced fines.
The number of tickets doled out by the city’s steadily swelling ranks of traffic agents declined by less than 1 percent.
There are 2,656 city traffic agents, up from the 2,527 in fiscal 2008 and only 1,900 in 2004. Yet that extra manpower scribbled 13,322 fewer tickets this year — 9,937,897 compared to 9,951,219 in fiscal year 2008.
Just for now
Just wait till after election day, c“v. Then the brownies will make up for lost time. They were probably told to lay low by our ”dear” Mayor Bloomberg, who wants to win again and is doing whatever he can to make it happen. The honeymoon ends on Nov. 5 (?).
smart parker
Did they ever think that people are becoming more cautious about parking in places that they would receive a ticket or feeding the meters as posted
g-ds right hand man
less tickets issued due to acting more responsibly
and less costly tickets also are part of the variable the spokesperson for the .com is irresponsible
i predict less crime so who wants to layoff security guards and bank tellers and gas station attendants and close jails and prisons & eat apple pie
Nu?
Oy maybe we should run them a benefit?
How about a fine for every politico that doesn’t keep his campaign promise. That would fatten the coffers.