San Francisco bans parking space apps
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Re: San Francisco bans parking space apps
#2Rich jerks in China bribe public parking attendants for exclusive places to park their black Audis on the street. These apps at least distribute the bribes more evenly but nonetheless they are still scummy.
Re: San Francisco bans parking space apps
#3Good.
Monetising antisocial behaviour is not to be encouraged.
Re: San Francisco bans parking space apps
#4"creates a predatory private market for public parking spaces that San Franciscans will not tolerate"
Right, because I've never driven around Nob Hill for an hour trying to find parking, only to have to give up and pay $25 for a garage. The response from the city makes more sense if you've never actually had to do street parking in the city. When I'm at my wit's end, driving around the same streets continuously, I'd gladly have paid $7 for a spot. Have the time you don't even find a spot, you find someone leaving and take the spot immediately.
Re: San Francisco bans parking space apps
#5Well, duh !
They have an app that auctions the public parking space you are currently in - and you wait in it till the buyer arrives
How did anyone expect that would remain ethical or legal?
There are many ways technology could improve parking in SF but making private profits off public resources is not it.
Re: San Francisco bans parking space apps
#6"creates a predatory private market for public parking spaces that San Franciscans will not tolerate" Right, because I've never driven around Nob Hill for an hour trying to find parking, only to have to give up and pay $25 for a garage. The response from the city makes more sense if you've never actually had to do street parking in the city. When I'm at my wit's end, driving around the same streets continuously, I'd…
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Re: San Francisco bans parking space apps
#7I agree with Mr. Herrera, even as a libertarian. Apps like Uber and Airbnb are fundamentally different from this. You could make an argument that those apps should be regulated consistently with other business in the same market, but at the end of the day they are dealing with private property. This app takes property that is already paid for and maintained by all tax payers and holds it hostage (their metaphor is very apt). Paying for the spot gives you the right to park there - it does not give you the right to determine who comes in next, and especially not to make money off that decision.
Re: San Francisco bans parking space apps
#8I don't know what to think. Devilishly clever. Instant new market. But so detrimental if it catches on...
People who live paycheck-to-paycheck wouldn't be able to afford this. If it becomes very popular, those without disposable income may be unfairly abused by the system. Till now, finding a spot has been random lottery. Pay-for-privilege will leave struggling families out in the cold (perhaps literally).
Yet to punish a company so harshly before the phenomenon has proven to be a problem in practice seems draconian. The gap between theory and reality is large. Something that's harmful in theory can sometimes prove itself advantageous in unexpected ways.
And what if the company wasn't based in California? Would there be any recourse for California to exert regulatory pressure over a company based in another state? Pg's quote "if you outlaw the future, it will just happen elsewhere" seems relevant. Maybe it's a matter of time until this app catches on in other large cities. Nobody likes spending ~30 minutes searching for a parking spot.
But it's difficult to shake the feeling that the whole concept is, well, douchey. I dislike that word, but it seems quite applicable here. Sitting in a parking space for longer than you need it in order to personally profit is pretty much the definition of a dick move. Yet should that argument alone be sufficient reason to outlaw the entire market? I don't know.
Re: San Francisco bans parking space apps
#9"creates a predatory private market for public parking spaces that San Franciscans will not tolerate" Right, because I've never driven around Nob Hill for an hour trying to find parking, only to have to give up and pay $25 for a garage. The response from the city makes more sense if you've never actually had to do street parking in the city. When I'm at my wit's end, driving around the same streets continuously, I'd…
What about people who can't pay $7? That's what public services need to think about.
Re: San Francisco bans parking space apps
#10"creates a predatory private market for public parking spaces that San Franciscans will not tolerate" Right, because I've never driven around Nob Hill for an hour trying to find parking, only to have to give up and pay $25 for a garage. The response from the city makes more sense if you've never actually had to do street parking in the city. When I'm at my wit's end, driving around the same streets continuously, I'd…
It's easy to see this as a foolish reaction of "there is a market? But markets are unfair because money, so let's stop it!" by the city of San Fran. In fact, it would take remarkably little to make me believe San Fran was that foolish.
However, these apps also create incentives for people to not give up their spots until someone pays. It's an incomplete market, where someone sits on a shared resource until paid to move.
The reality is that SF should be auctioning off these spots on its own. Let the market decide what the price of parking is, and pay the supplier.