A&E Parking Wars web site
Premiere Tuesday January 8, 2008 10pm

From the aetv.com site:


Ticket, Boot, Impound and Tow… Oh my!

I would have loved to see how they'd do here in Boston with the fights over dug out parking spots after a big snowstorm. People get very mad if you move their lawnchairs or cones to steal their spot!

I am just waiting to see if that one chick is really as doofy and "short bus" as she appears to be on the commercial. I always love me some good trash!

Ugh. I am all ready to hate these people. I had to deal with them a little too often about parking tickets my husband apparently got while commuting to Penn that he never actually found on his car. Supposedly people take them off other cars and put them on theirs in order to park illegally and make it look as if they'd already been ticketed. These hard-working public servants can't be bothered to make sure the ticket on a car matches the car when they know they have this happening.

Even calling the Philadelphia Parking Authority to ask questions when you receive a notice about an unpaid ticket is a horror show.

Did anyone actually see this show, or were we all about Real Housewives at that timeslot last night?

Unfortunately, my husband was all about watching Angelina Jolie's tits in Tomb Raider at that time last night. I am sure they will rerun the hell out of it, though.

That's the one good thing about these kinds of shows--you never really miss them. It's not like back in the day, when you missed a "Laverne and Shirley" and you had to wait until summer to see it, or, heaven forfend, a Christmas special... :)

I watched it and I am going to stick with it for awhile. It's fun watching some of these people fly off the handle one moment then be all gracious and polite once they get their problem taken care of. How did they get these people to sign the release papers to be shown on camera? What I like most about the show is the personalities, how genuine and nice they come off as they just do their job.

So I saw it. I watched the first half hour and tried to watch the second half hour but I couldn't. It's hard to watch a show when you don't feel any sympathy for the metermaids. The guy from the first half hour wasn't so bad, just very glib. The woman from the second half hour totally turned me off because she was power-tripping.

I get that people need to move their cars during the rush hour which started at four, but she hung around from about five minutes before just so at four o'clock on the dot she could start handing out tickets. The way she talked about it and her mannerisms just made me think she was doing it because she could. Why not give people 5-10 minutes to get back to their car before handing out tickets? Why, because it's a racket.

I don't know, I don't live in a city where I have to deal with these types of parking issues, so I was not predisposed to hate on the parking people, but overall I liked them less than the I liked the people on the streets who were themselves pretty obnoxious.

I doubt I'll make any geat effort to watch this show in the future.

I am so happy I don't live in the city. I thought the show was really funny, but like the post above me, the girl on the second half hour was on a bit of a power trip. Its pretty ridiculous if your sit around waiting untill 4 o clock on the dot to start handing out tickets. The guy with the black beemer was so stupid though. So if the signs upside down, you dont have to obey the law? Was it right that she waited until 4 o clock on the dot, no, but was it right to try to argue your way out of a ticket when there is a sign right in front of you regardless if its upside down or not, no. I especially loved the lady in the first half hour crying because her car is being towed and she has no money to bail it out, yet her son is driving a mercedes. Hmm, I wonder what he does for a living?

Watched the first half hour and I'll stick with it for a bit. I think Airline was still my favorite of these types of shows though, but we'll see what the Parking Attendants do.

In the first ep, I don't think it was necessarily a lack of money that kept her from paying the tickets, but more because she was keeping the car for sentimental reasons, and because she wasn't driving it (and it wasn't driveable anyways), she figured she didn't have to pay its tickets.

As for the guy who spent 5 hours trying to get his car out, at least he was somewhat patiant about it. (not all that patient but he wasn't as bad as it could have gone....). Personally, I have no sympathy for people who don't do research or even use common sense to figure out what paperwork they need or might need for what they're going to. Sometimes you can sweet talk some overlooked papers, but if they say no, then just drop it and get the papers.

My favorite part of that section was the guy truly believing that, since he paid for an hour and a half of parking at 3:00, he was allowed to park there until 4:30 (despite the 4:00 no parking sign). The meter shouldn't take his money if he can't park there that long, so it isn't his fault. Why doesn't everyone see that?

I miss Airline (have even resorted to watching re-runs... oh Serge, I love you so!) so I'll probably watch a few more episodes of this. Wonder if it switches cities, or stays in Philly each episode? Were the booters in the same city as the walking meter attendants?

I thought the show was fun. That one guy meter maid that started the show is a bit of a cutie, which doesn’t hurt.


So the PPA doesn’t send copies to the registered address of the car? Or are you saying he would get multiples each day because the paper ticket was moved by other parkers? Because if they don’t send copies of the ticket to your home… yikes.


Yeah, I’ve always thought this is one of those unwritten rules, certainly in tow zones. That one attendant was on a definite power trip. Five minutes allows at least a little bit of leeway regarding the "actual" time.

OT, but there's a show on TruTV (formerly Court TV) called Speeders and one woman got pulled over for going 10 miles over the limit. Her excuse to the cop was that she thought it was an unwritten rule that you could go over by a certain number. Ten in her case. He basically told her that there was no such thing, but he did let her go with a warning. I think its up to the cop or meter attendant on whether they want to give a person a few minutes to move, but technically if they're parked illegally by a certain time, they're in violation. I've gotten parking tickets and while its annoying and a pain in the ass, I was in the wrong at the time so I didn't argue about it.

In San Francisco, parking lanes become towaway driving lanes at 3:00 or 4:00, depending. There's little tolerance or indulgence for overstaying the time in the parking zone, as the lanes leading to the Bay Bridge can get backed up with cars moving left to get out of the way of parked cars.

However, in San Francisco, I believe it's something like a $100 fine, so drivers are very attuned when to get their cars the hell off the street.

Maybe I am just a big mean power tripper because I see nothing wrong with the woman showing up before 4 pm, so she can start ticketing people. That is her job and their are violating the rules. Yes, getting a parking ticket sucks but it isn't like you weren't warned that you were supposed to not park there after a certain time.

And notice, if you will, it was Beemer and just one other car on the entire street. Apparently the sign being "upside down" didn't keep others from understanding the meaning, particularly that "NO PARKING" with arrows in BIIIIG red letters.

You meanie! (Just kidding.)

Geez, 5 mintues. I sound like such a whiner! Actually, I don’t get many tickets, but I’ve had both lenient and by-the-book experiences in San Francisco. I’ve lived in Boston, it was comparable. In my experience the severity of the ticket is directly proportional to how hard ass they are. For instance, street cleaning vs rush-hour lanes, they’re night and day.

Street cleaning: The window of “no parking” is usually 2 hours. Block by block the schedule is pretty regular, and the cleaning trucks move down the street at approximately the same time every week – preceded by the metermaids. But at the same time, once street cleaning has gone by, it’s accepted in SF neighborhoods that you can park in those spots even though the window of time is 2 hours for allowed ticketing and there’s 1 hour or more left in the window of “no parking”. Certainly, the signs don’t say “once cleaning vehicle has passed you can park here”. It’s just accepted that you’re not ticketed once they've made a pass through.

Rush hour lanes: Entirely different issue. The ticket being given quickly, with little give in time. Morning or afternoon they'll ticket you right on the dot, just like Studentpilot said, because it causes major traffic screw ups if not.

So, yes, even 5 minutes in - it’s the law and they have authority to ticket, unwritten rule or not. Fine. But where does “unwritten rule” stop and vast inconsistency in ticketing practices begin? Because ultimately, it's still a job administered by humans, and not computers. That’s all I’m trying to say. [But then there's the notorious corruption in many cities with the parking agencies and who can get ticket fees waived etc.]

Back to the show and topic. I think it'll be interesting to see if this show sticks with the daily tasks of PPA employees or if it delves into larger issues of how the PPA deals with the City of Philadelphia and its other agencies. I'd like to see some of that.

I'm with BiakBiak. Trying to have a society here! In the 2nd half hour, the women that had an unpaid ticket for parking in a handicap and then got towed in a loading zone while not having her valid registration........Give me a break. Seems like she thinks she owns the world and does not have to adhere to basic rules the rest of us follow. I got towed once when my car was broken down (college poor years) and I went and paid the fine and turned it into my insurance and they reimbursed me (for not having a tow truck available). I didn't scream at the yard people. Not their fault and just was polite and actually had all my id, insurance and registration on me. How can you drive without those items?

Losers always whine.

That's why I don't have a problem with the cars being ticketed right at 4 pm. It's no fun being stuck in the rush hour traffic made worse because someone can't move their car.

Refresh has it exactly right when it comes to street cleaning. The meter maids have lots of street to cover on street cleaning days and even though the sign says "5:00 - 7:00" or whatever (some of them are in the afternoon, if you can believe it) - once the machine has passed, you can move your car into a coveted parking space.

Back to Parking Wars - I thought van lady who HAD to have her car was a complete twit. If you believe her, her registration wasn't due until the end of July, but expired in April, they already had the tags but didn't put them on the car (HUH?) and yet had to go pay registration via internet. And after snotting at the impound lot people - she says "Rob was RUDE! I hope someone's as RUDE to Rob as he was to MEEEE!" Lady, he wasn't rude - he tried to explain over and over again the problem you had - unpaid fines, expired registration, vehicle must be surrendered to registered owner. It's all their fault - right?

I do envy the PA people their registration fees....in Cali, a 2005 Honda van's registration for the year would probably be close to $150.

I haven't seen the show yet, but if it ever shows the backs of a rotund woman and a tall skinny boy walking by while a rather petite meterwoman is being interviewed, that's me (the rotund woman, heh).

I saw them around the streets near our pool last summer and the cameraperson/interviewer was just one person with a small camera, so I guessed film class or something. I was astounded when the ad for this popped up. I hope it's online or On Demand at some point so I can fast forward through some of the yelliest parts!

Maybe we can see a better practice on this show, but, as of a few years ago, getting a notice from the PPA that he hadn't paid the ticket within 10 days was the first time he found out he had a ticket. The ticketers must have been circling like vultures, too, because it apparently happened when his class was just a bit late getting out. It was in one of the zones where you had to move your car after a certain time, and he only ever was minutes late returning to his car. Happened twice...then we decided to pay for him to park in an attended lot and forgo the drama.

They should spend some airtime on the kind, helpful ladies who answer the office phones for PPA...

Oh my gosh, that lady was a moron. What killed me was when she got so incensed that they needed her husband's driver's license and wouldn't accept hers (since he was the registered owner). Lady, your husband went home to get your "registration" and was coming back. They're not going to give you your car until he gets there, anyway. Yeesh.

That van lady also kept complaining about getting ticketed in a loading zone. Yet she never mentioned why she was parked there and shouldn't have been ticketed. She just seemed to think she was entitled to park where she wanted. It made me wonder about the real story of her handicapped parking ticket.

I will say, though, that her husband cracked me up a couple times. First when he joked about them also needing his first born, and then at the end when he said he didn't even like the car. Hee.

When cars park in a rush hour lane - do they get ticketed AND towed? Because that is what happens here (Calgary). My husband came home the other day having a laugh at the fact that while he was waiting for the bus he saw four cars get towed out of the bus lane in about 2 minutes. Those tow drivers are FAST! One dummy parked behind one of the cars that was BEING towed to run into the corner store. My husband timed the tow driver - took him 40 seconds to tow the guys car. Came out with a liter of milk and no car!!
It happened to me once when I first moved here - never again!

Hmm, I'm interested to see what everyone here has to say. I pledged to myself that I wouldn't watch this as I imagine that a many of the people on both sides are flippin' obnoxious. I've seen the ads for this show so many times that I hear that bleating, whiny cell phone dude in my sleep. And the smug lady who talks about getting into lots of 'incidents'.

Part of me says that it's a meter person's job to do this kind of stuff,and to give them a break, but I also have to wonder who the hell is willing to take a job with that kind of abuse? I also must disclose that I'm in Philly, and have been screwed by the PPA like everyone else. As in, getting a ticket for parking in a normal-looking, unmarked block with plenty of cars around. When I got back to my car, I found the ticket and flagged down the lady walking away. The reason I was ticketed? There used to be a sign there, which had since been ripped off, leaving only a dirty metal pole. And no signs anywhere else. Another was getting ticketed 10 minutes before my meter ran out.

On the other hand, most of the people getting tickets are dolts, too. Ignoring signs and screaming isn't going to do a damn thing. Not to mention the particular type of Philly accent that makes me want to plunge screwdriver into my ears...good god.

My son screwed up when he first got his license and parked my car in a towaway zone. I went down there to get it, and advised that the registration and insurance card was in the glove compartment (they sent a runner to obtain it) and as I proferred my driver's license (as the registered owner of the car) I quipped "I can throw in my first born here if that'll seal the deal." The clerk laughed and said she already had one (who had gotten the tow lady's car towed as well).

I find if you treat these guys with good humor, etc., they respond in kind - but I'm willing to concede that everyone's experience is different. It's the same with people who get pulled over by the cops - I told my son, "be polite, admit your error and just do what the officers ask. Telling him to 'go after some real criminals' is not going to endear you to them. They have the nightstick, the handcuffs, the gun and the ticket book - this is not an argument you're going to win."

My husband (who is not a philly native) has had the same thing happen as mizzmercury... Its kind of hard to fathom getting towed when there are no signs...$300+ dollars later, you have your car back!

And he never understood why I just pay the extra few $ to park in a lot! Its not wasteful if you dont get towed:)

I must admit, I was very amused by this. The idiotic people and we totally have run into that girl from the 2nd hr before...

I caught this show at 3:am when I couldn't sleep; what a hoot! I was totally amused that the ticket lady stood there counting down the seconds until 4pm and my first instinct was whaddabitch but OTOH I, too, live in Northern Calif and people who leave cars on the street during rush hour in SF really do mess up the traffic flow and it can become a complete nightmare trying to get out of town. Posted time is posted time, not 4:00ish.

It was funny how that towed-van lady seemed all reasonable at first and then we find out oh, wait she has an unpaid ticket and then it's oh, wait her registration is expired; I'm surprised her driver's license was valid. I've had to get my car out of tow and it's no big deal if everything's on the up and up.

I'll watch the show again, didn't realize it just started this week. The excuses people come up with are great.

It can be a real mess when a car remains parked in what will become a rush hour lane. I understand completely why they move quickly: once the backup starts, it can take hours to get it under control and flowing smoothly again. When I was a college student I borrowed my mom's car, parked outside my apartment, and forgot I had a car at all (I didn't, usually). 3-4 days later, the lightbulb went off, and I called the police to report a stolen car. When they stopped laughing, they told me where it had been towed. My parents were not amused.

Yow...you said it. Even though I've lived about 60 miles from Philly all my life, that accent is one of the more cringeworthy I can think of hearing. And the madder people get, the worse the accent becomes. No doubt there be examples aplenty on this show.

Yup, devajd. It's the same here in Philly. I worked in Center City for years and that whole business of the tow-truck caravans would happen on a daily basis. And they would stake out the places most likely to get the drivers trying to do a quick run to an ATM or coffee grab. The PPA bastards are so bad, they'd ticket our company vehicles parked directly in front of our company bldg. Seething hate!

How much did I LOVE this show, I can't wait for tomorrow's new episode. I even told my mom to watch as we used to live in Philly and I thought she and my dad would enjoy it.

I can't believe no one commented on this, but did you notice that one of the boot patrol girls had a BLACK EYE! I would imagine because that takes some time to do that they would get jumped more often than any other of the workers featured.

Also, just an FYI on the towing, it only takes seconds because they don't secure any of the cars, they just get the claw things behind the tires and raise them up to move them. Then when they get them to another area they get out and secure the cars.

I had zero sympathy for the woman whose car was held up because of the handicapped parking violation. I use a wheelchair and it amazes and annoys me how many able-bodied people with park in HP spots because "I'm only going to be a minute" or "Nobody uses them anyway" etc. I was sort of hoping that somebody would ask her about it because I was dying to know her excuse.

This might be a stupid question but do the ticketers from the PPA make money off the tickets?

I agree people without the handicapped signs in their cars shouldn't park in those spots, but you can't always tell just by looking at the people. The person could have a heart condition, or something else internal.

I wonder if they were filming the day they booted the new mayor's car a couple of month's ago?

I have no sympathy for the PPA workers. I know they're just doing their jobs, and if they didn't work for such a vile system, I'd have no problem with that and laugh at the obnoxious drivers. But the PPA is corrupt. And no, it's really not like other cities. The reason so many citizens are up in arms is the state took over the PPA, and the very next year they increased revenues 35%. There weren't suddenly new laws on the books. They started being tyrannical to make more money. They raised the fines, and started towing when they didn't used to. People perceive a change and react accordingly: with great upset. The PPA won't work with people anymore, and the workers they hire are really unempathetic and on power trips. And those increased revenues weren't going to the schools or to the citizens like it's supposed to, no. All of the money went right back into the pockets of the PPA! For huge raises for board members and for more workers, to issue more tickets and tow more cars, to make more money. It's a racket. They're not perceived as being part of "society". They issue bogus tickets, they're mean-spirited, and much of the time they're not actually benefiting the citizens of the society. It's just more money for their bogus coffers. They're perceived kind of like cocky IRS agents and small town speed traps. Yeah sure, it's "the law", but we all know it's just about money, so don't stand there all high and mighty.

Don't think they caught the towing on film, but one of the towers had a tag line (or maybe it was one of the meter maids) saying "Once towed the mayors car" or something like that.

Very true, and honestly, that's usually what I assume (and actually, they would qualify for a placard too). I have just heard people make the claims I mentioned above all the time and it bothers me because underneath it, I feel is an undercurrent of "Who cares about them anyway?" It's just a hot-button issue for me. :)



I think it was the ticket woman in the first part of the 2nd episode?

I'm not sure which Pennsylvania accent drives me crazier...Pittsburgh or Philadelphia, and I've lived in both cities. I am probably a snob, but they both sound so uneducated.

I never tried to drive in Center City, because I knew I'd never find a space on the street and I couldn't afford the outrageous prices of the parking garages. My experience using SEPTA (Philly's buses and elevated) swore me off public transportation for the rest of my life. I think parking issues kill cities. People move out to the burbs where the parking is free and parallel. This show just reminds me of the wisdom of my decision.

Probably not. They probably do have quotas they need to fulfill in order to prove that they aren't dicking off and not doing their jobs as they casually walk about. It's a shitty job and if the chick meter maid delights in waiting until four pm so she can write up a ton of tickets AND NOT BE FIRED which is something this sort of show rarely bothers to show, then fine.

I don't have a problem with a meter maid or whatever the PPA calls it, ticketing actual violators. For all that she was being a bitch - she waited until four pm, when people were actually violating the law, and wrote tickets to people who were actually violating the law. No one was trying toget their car moved at 3:59 and was handed a ticket. Only violaters were handed tickets.

I am sorry but I work in a similar job and I assure you all - everyone likes rules until they get caught breaking them. Once you caught, you want an "exception" to be made because you're Jesus Christ/special/etc. YOU never break a rule, only those other people, and believe me what you see on this show is neither unusual or solely because the PPA is crooked and deserves it. I don't know how many jackasses have threatened my job because they violated their terms of service and I enforce those terms and they are special and even though they agreed to those terms, they will have my fucking job because they are too fucking special to abide by any terms. The same shit goes here. You park your car in a tow zone, the little cunt who writes you a ticket might be delighting in writing that ticket, but only because she is absolutely right that you are parked where you legally should not be.

Is it just me or did they play the Handicapped Parking lady saying "I want my caur" over, and over, and over? I only "saw" her say it once but every time they moved away from her face they played the same clip. Not that she wasn't annoying enough as it was. I have zero sympathy for those who park in handicapped parking.

I'm still baffled as to why this is even a show.

Maybe because people are known to beat the hell out of each other for a parking spot in certain parts of Phila.? Or Philadelphians are notoriously vile to the PPA? And the PPA is notoriously vile right back?

Maybe, if I'm real lucky, I'll see my brother get booted for the 8th time.

I hope they managed to get a snow storm on film. Nothing plays hell with Philadelphia's parking like a snow storm.

Slightly OT, in Washington, DC, where parking rules are even weirder than Philly's, a legit handicapped driver w/ legit plates or placards (and, IIRC, said handicap plates/placards can be from ANY state) can park in any legal parking place in the city, regardless of whether their car has the right zone permit. They are also allowed to park at meters w/o paying for up to 2 hrs. This is why my brother loves to drive my car when I go into the District to visit.

Topic: I have never been nabbed by the PPA in Philly (my brother used to live there and I went up frequently to visit), but I get really wound up over illegal parking in a handicap space because I am disabled (spinal tumors, degenerative muscle disorder) and it's hard enough to find handicap spaces in most parking lots, and forget about street parking. I have zero sympathy for Towed-Van Lady because she earned those tickets if she wasn't showing appropriate tags or placards. As for 4:00 On The Dot Meter Maid, good for her. Driving in and around DC gave me a new appreciation for parking rules, especially during rush hour, because it only takes one straggler to slow down whole lanes of traffic and/or cause accidents. You don't want your car ticketed or towed? Don't park in a "No Parking after X:00" zone, or if you can't avoid it, run out at _:58 and move your car to a legal spot. Those rules are there for a reason.

How timely.

Wouldn't that be considered censorship, to sue someone for utilizing their freedom of speech? That man did nothing wrong (tacky, but not wrong) why should he have to apologize for defacing what was his own property anyway? That annoys me.

His lawyer said they would have won the lawsuit, and I'm sure that's at least partly why. However since the guy apologized they didn't have to go to court.

Was the first show a repeat of last week? I watched about 2 mins after the opening an it seemed like a repeat. I didn't want to watch a repeat that soon.

I watched both of Tuesday's shows and they were both new.