California Cities Block New App that Fights Parking Tickets

From the “innovative” tech hub of San Francisco, California – another tragic story of an app created and an app banned.

On the chopping block this week is Fixed, a website and app that helps you “fix” parking and speeding tickets from your mobile phone. Ticketed users simply upload a picture of their ticket to the app, wait for an agent to review their ticket and are then matched with an attorney in their area to dismiss the ticket and penalty points. So far, the app has helped dismiss over 10,000 unlawful tickets.

City officials reportedly had an issue with the app’s hand in making life a little easier and San Francisco helping residents save a little cash. Experts surmise that the ban is part of a concerted effort to squander all tech innovation in the state of California while sucking citizens’ wallets dry.

But what may seem like your all too typical “sharing economy” battle is actually a conflict rooted in government inefficiency.

The Right to Access Your Rights

Co-founder and CEO David Hegarty, fellow parking ticket victim, was inspired to create an app that bridged the all-too-large gap between citizens and the legal services at their disposal. After noticing that over half of tickets had an issue that would deem them invalid, not to mention the city’s failure to play by its own rules when trying disputes, he created Fixed.

“It’s fine to say we live in a democracy and have all these rights, but those rights begin and end in your ability to access legal resources to preserve them.” said Hegarty in a Fixed “About Us” video. “If you can’t access legal resources then those rights and that democracy that we like to preach about doesn’t really exist.”

Fixed’s interface. Source: TechCrunch

To the shock of no one, Fixed has since been banned in the app’s three top cities: San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles. The cities have reportedly blocked Fixed from accessing their parking ticket websites after an influx of faxes from the service.

“When Fixed began faxing its submissions to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) last year, the agency emailed the startup to stop using their fax machine. When Fixed pointed out that it was legal to do so, the agency simply shut off their fax,” reported TechCrunch.

Eventually, the block forced Fixed to end support for parking ticket assistance in these locations.

Our Take

Fixed’s predicament, while raising the usual questions surrounding regulation and innovation in tech, also points to issues of government efficiency in a financial and moral sense. When city officials take significant measures to thwart services designed to hold them accountable to their own rules, you can’t help but wonder where government interests really lie.

What do you think of the decision to ban Fixed? Do you think this app would be valuable on college campuses? Share your thoughts in the comments below or catch up with us on Facebook.