Smartphones and new technology have made it easier to pay for parking in the District of Columbia, and the result has been a decline in the number of tickets issued, an analysis shows.
In just four years, the number of parking tickets issued in DC has dropped by 300,000, according to city records. More than half of drivers who use on-street parking are estimated to be using the Parkmobile app, an average of 600,000 per month. Add drivers who use credit cards to pay at meters or pay stations, and about 70 percent of on-street parking transactions are cash-free, D.C. records show.
"Drivers no longer have to carry around 16 quarters in hope of avoiding a parking ticket. The mobile app has become a game-changer for frustrated drivers," said John B. Townsend, a spokesman for AAA Mid-Atlantic. "The sheer number of pay-by-phone app users in the city has grown exponentially since the District inaugurated its [pay-by-app] system in 2010."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/need-to-feed-the-parking-meter-theres-an-app-for-that/2015/05/26/199b1c24-00ab-11e5-833c-a2de05b6b2a4_story.html
Now they will have to create a new tax to makeup for the shortfall... :)
Quote from: Jason on May 27, 2015, 09:04:40 AM
Now they will have to create a new tax to makeup for the shortfall... :)
They've already got that covered:
Record traffic camera revenue a boon for D.C. budget
The District ended up making a lot more than it anticipated, and the extra cash helped D.C. rack up a surplus that Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi estimated on Friday would be at least $140 million.
According to Gandhi, a $23 million surge in camera ticket revenue late in the fiscal year helped make it happen. Final statistics weren't immediately available, but through July, the city had hauled in nearly $65 million through the cameras, records show. Last year, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic, D.C. collected $55 million during its full 12-month cycle of "automated traffic enforcement."
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/record-traffic-camera-revenue-a-boon-for-d.c.-budget/article/2509371