Innovation That Matters

Service warns motorists before they receive a parking ticket

Work & Lifestyle

We’ve seen an app designed to help motorists avoid picking up tickets, and we’ve seen communities band together to provide extra parking for one another. It wasn’t until recently however, that we came across Ticket Angels, which combines aspects of both with a ticket prevention service monitored by watchmen within a community. The service began when one of the Ticket Angels founders walked passed his neighbor’s car, spotted that it was a risk of being ticketed, and warned him. Thankful for having dodged a fine, the two decided to create a service that could offer something similar to the entire Santa Monica area. For USD 61 — the price of a single parking ticket — subscribers to the service receive a Ticket Angels sticker to be placed on their vehicle. Ticket Angels then monitor the relevant road in the hour before parking restrictions come into effect, checking to see if the vehicle is at risk of receiving a ticket. If they see that it is, they will notify the vehicle owner with either a text message, a phone call, or by knocking on their door. If they fail to spot that a vehicle is at risk and that vehicle is subsequently ticketed, Ticket Angels will reimburse the owner to the full value of the ticket. In a report in the Santa Monica Daily Press, co-founder Matthew Parker is quoted as saying, “The signs are insanely complicated. Santa Monica is known all up and down the West Coast as being one of the worst places to park. People live in fear of parking here, so we’re trying to alleviate that.” However, this seems like an idea that could be popular in any area where there are heavy parking fines. Time to start to offer something similar in your own locality? Spotted by: R Steinberg

Email: emailus@theticketangels.com

Website: www.facebook.com/TheTicketAngels