THOUGH WE HAVEN'T PAID (and haven't been ticketed) when our Toyota Prius is parked at City of Los Angeles street meters, we remain skeptical. As we wondered earlier, are hybrid vehicles really able to park for free? Or will we eventually stop getting lucky? Don't worry, replies LA City Councilman Eric Garcetti's office:
Hybrid Vehicles are exempt from Meter violations (listed below) ... [Tickets] can be administratively dismissed upon proof that the vehicle cited is a hybrid vehicle. Hybrid vehicle is defined as the Toyota Prius, Honda Insight, Honda Civic Hybrid, and the Ford Escape Hybrid.
CODE / DESCRIPTION
88.13b / Meter Overtime
80.35.5 / No Coin Deposited
Too bad this doesn't apply to street-sweeping rules. Next: What other Southern California cities let hybrids keep their coin? We're looking at you, Glendale. | |
5 comments:
Newbie! Thanks for shedding light on this. I HAD NO IDEA and all this time I've been plugging away at meters. Now I can really throw those effing coins to the curb. Does this fly in Fascist cities like Pasadena? I don't think so since I got a ticket there once for an expired meter. Jerks.
I just got a ticket in my Ford Escape Hybrid, so I will be testing the validity of this administrative dismissal.
This info is incorrect. Only vehicles with the HEV stickers are eligible for free parking, no matter the make/model. I am hoping to get this written confirmation from his office, but the update comes directly from Mr. Garcetti himself.
Looks like there are mixed messages from City Council offices. I can't find anything on official City of LA websites, but I did uncover this April 2, 2008, article from consumeraffairs.com:
"Los Angeles began the free parking program three years ago, providing the perk to drivers with Clean Air Vehicle decals from the state for vehicles that meet a 45-mile-per-gallon requirement.
"Then the free parking perk expanded. Drivers with a Toyota Prius, Honda Civic hybrid, Honda Insight or Ford Escape hybrid are now allowed to park for free at city meters even if they do not display the state decal that was originally required.
"The council voted last week to extend free hybrid parking until January 1, 2011 but limit the free parking to those cars with the decal."
The official info is at:
http://cityclerk.lacity.org/lacityclerkconnect/index.cfm?fa=ccfi.viewrecord&cfnumber=04-1362&CFID=6238455&CFTOKEN=b81268d2559b9a51-B0B11196-A7C2-6BC5-1B933CC5B6F28546&jsessionid=f0303619d5d63d543de3532572a532d4e742
If you can figure it out, let me know!
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