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Fighting City Tickets Now An Online Affair
By
Garth Johnston
Published Mar 21, 2011
Modified Mar 21, 2011
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kerfuffle & zeitgeist's flickr
By
Garth Johnston
Published Mar 21, 2011
Modified Mar 21, 2011
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There might be a few questions about all of Bloomberg's techno-hires (and how much they cost) but you aren't going to see us complaining about Hizzoner's latest tech initiative. Bloomberg brought his gang together today to announce that the city has expanded on an existing program and New Yorkers can now fight traffic and other tickets in court without having to take time off of work. Apparently the whole thing only cost about $50k to develop. You can still fight them in person if that suits you, though.
“Every New Yorker has a story about the parking ticket they didn't deserve but never bothered to fight because it wasn't worth making the trek down to traffic court,” City Council Transportation Chair James Vacca said at the announcement. “In a city where time is money, allowing motorists to challenge tickets online will save New Yorkers—and the city—a little bit of both.”
And it isn't even that complicated. If you've got a ticket (for a traffic violation or for, say, having a dirty sidewalk) simply head on over to the "hearing by web" page and follow the steps outlined. The big change is that you can now electronically submit materials (like photos) that might help your case along with a written argument.
What's great about this development—besides the fact that it will in theory ease the unfair ticket burden on low-income workers who previously simply couldn't take the time to fight a ticket—is that is also should save the city some dough. In the words of Finance Commissioner David Frankel: “We will be able to conduct more hearings faster, and reduce costs.”
What's next ? QR codes on your tickets so you can fight them on your phone without even touching a computer?
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fighting tickets
mayor bloomberg
technology
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Garth Johnston
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