SFMTA Scambles To Shut Down Viral Parking Ticket Tracker (sfgate.com) 34
An anonymous reader quotes a report from SFGATE: It had all the makings of a viral X post, and viral it did go, with over 8 million views in under 24 hours. The message was straightforward: "I reverse engineered the San Francisco parking ticket system. I can see every ticket seconds after it's written." Underneath it was a familiar image for any iPhone user -- an Apple map of the city dotted with gray, initialed bubbles, and an explanation: "So I made a website. Find My Friends?" No. "AVOID THE PARKING COPS." The anarchy, however, was short-lived. [...]
Given the potential lost revenue at stake, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency caught on like the rest of the internet, and by Tuesday afternoon, the site had been quickly rendered obsolete. Undeterred, [creator of the site, Riley Walz] restored the site again after 10 p.m., though this, too, didn't last. By his estimation, it was only active for a few more hours. "We made sure that all access to citation data was via authorized routes," said Erica Kato, a spokesperson for SFMTA, in an email to SFGATE. "But when our staff's safety, and personal information of people who have received parking citations, is at risk, we must act on that swiftly."
Yet the saga wasn't over. By Wednesday, the official SFMTA ticket payment site was also down, citing "maintenance." "I'm curious what was going on there," said Walz over the phone. "If it is even because of me." As of Wednesday afternoon, that site is functional and the chaos seems over for now. According to SFMTA, there is no need for a site like Walz's."The official way to access our parking citation data is via our public website on DataSF," Kato said. "Anyone is still able to see [the] type of citation, date of issuance and data that can be mapped and analyzed on DataSF daily."
Given the potential lost revenue at stake, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency caught on like the rest of the internet, and by Tuesday afternoon, the site had been quickly rendered obsolete. Undeterred, [creator of the site, Riley Walz] restored the site again after 10 p.m., though this, too, didn't last. By his estimation, it was only active for a few more hours. "We made sure that all access to citation data was via authorized routes," said Erica Kato, a spokesperson for SFMTA, in an email to SFGATE. "But when our staff's safety, and personal information of people who have received parking citations, is at risk, we must act on that swiftly."
Yet the saga wasn't over. By Wednesday, the official SFMTA ticket payment site was also down, citing "maintenance." "I'm curious what was going on there," said Walz over the phone. "If it is even because of me." As of Wednesday afternoon, that site is functional and the chaos seems over for now. According to SFMTA, there is no need for a site like Walz's."The official way to access our parking citation data is via our public website on DataSF," Kato said. "Anyone is still able to see [the] type of citation, date of issuance and data that can be mapped and analyzed on DataSF daily."
Re: (Score:1)
Dearest Cluestick Chucklehead,
That means it was widely shared. You're welcome.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
viral used to mean you'd have to be dead to not see it/been aware
now viral means 3 people re-tweeted on some social media app
Re: (Score:2)
mRNA can't be far behind.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Californians (Score:4, Interesting)
If you think California is the only place in America where people double-park then well, welcome to your first day in America.
Re:California (Score:1, Informative)
It is not at all like you hear on Faux news.
Right (Score:2, Insightful)
According to SFMTA, there is no need for a site like Walz's.
So they are fine keeping it up right? Acting so fast to shut it down suggests there is in fact a need for it.
Re:Right (Score:5, Insightful)
Walz's site updated in realtime, while SFMTA's updates daily. If you're misparked then yes, it would be convenient to know when parking enforcement is nearby. But I think SFMTA didn't want people to be able to track their staff's movements in realtime and that's why they shut it down.
Re:Right (Score:5, Insightful)
Walz's site updated in realtime, while SFMTA's updates daily. If you're misparked then yes, it would be convenient to know when parking enforcement is nearby. But I think SFMTA didn't want people to be able to track their staff's movements in realtime and that's why they shut it down.
Maybe, but government also tends to hate sites/apps that tell people where radar traps and DUI checkstops are, and I'm pretty sure that is not because they are concerned for the safety of those heavily armed employees.
Re: (Score:1, Flamebait)
and I'm pretty sure that is not because they are concerned for the safety of those heavily armed employees.
Maybe they should be, given the spate of recent attacks on such employees.
Re: (Score:1, Interesting)
If the people are in violent revolt, maybe you should look in the mirror for the reason.
The people in revolt are the illegal immigrants and the politicians who want them (for some reason). They also whip up ill-informed gullible citizens by telling scary lies about what is actually going on.
In D.C. where I live, most people are very happy that ICE and the National Guard are finally here making the streets much safer. You wouldn't know that from reading most politicized news media, though.. The actual outrage, such as it is, has nothing to do with that the police are doing. It is that Washingto
Re:Right (Score:4, Insightful)
I'll bet $1 that guy who loves armed military patrolling the streets has a "don't tread on me" flag somewhere.
Re:Right (Score:5, Informative)
What kind of bullshit are you spewing? Crime in DC has been falling for decades. It reached a 30 year low in 2024. https://www.justice.gov/usao-d... [justice.gov]
In addition to the overall violent crime reduction, homicides are down 32%; robberies are down 39%; armed carjackings are down 53%; assaults with a dangerous weapon are down 27% when compared with 2023 levels, with the District reporting the fewest assaults with dangerous weapons and burglaries in over 30 years.
Re: (Score:1)
Yes, crime has gone down in 2024.
That means the city is only as dangerous as a war zone in a third-world country.
Is that the aspirational yardstick now?
Crime has also gone down even more due to Trump's efforts. There is still a ways to go, though.
Re: Right (Score:3)
You are insane.
https://www.crimedatadc.com/ [crimedatadc.com]
The statistics do not match your statements. Perhaps you should not drink that koolaid. It seems to be as related to reality as kooks are to facts; estranged.
Re: (Score:2)
Government also tends to hate sites/apps that tell people where radar traps and DUI checkstops are.
In my state, the cops are legally required (and so) post public notices about where DUI checkpoints will be. Typically a couple days before, giving the exact location and hours that the checkpoint will be there.
Radar traps are another matter. But that's what Waze is for: real-time location of cops on the roads.
Re: (Score:2)
>In my state, the cops are legally required (and so) post public
>notices about where DUI checkpoints will be.
Speaking as an attorney who was still handling DUIs when checkpoints were in common use . . . announcing and pbulsihign ahead of time will make at most a marginal difference in the number of drunks heading through them.
You'll get a slight decrease in sober drivers who don't want the hassle, but drunk drivers just don't plan that well.
I recall my Criminal Procedure professor in law school commen
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
>If you have a hankering for murdering parking cops you don't need an app.
I think the motivation is more *avoiding* them than harming them!
If you wanted to harm them, you'd just tell their mothers that they weren't really hookers . . .
!
hawk
Re: (Score:2)
I can definitely see their point that they don't want a group of thugs with an axe to grind to be able to track parking inspectors.
As for everything else - if you just park properly this really shouldn't be an issue. If you know you're misparked why are you not fixing it until you're at immediate risk of a ticket?
Re: (Score:2)
I can definitely see their point that they don't want a group of thugs with an axe to grind to be able to track parking inspectors
It is a baseless fear, unless you already in fact have a spate of crimes against parking inspectors. Which I am thinking would hit the news immediately.
Bc reality is If there ever really was a group of thugs targeting inspectors.. Said group of thugs has only to wait and frequent parts of the city where parking is an issue, or that they know citations occur based on the past da
Re: (Score:2)
I think SFMTA didn't want people to be able to track their staff's movements in realtime and that's why they shut it down.
In any case: I think the app's success proves there is demand from the public to know where the SFMTA are. There are other ways, of course, that can be used to track them. So long as they are driving around cars and issuing citations on line. Start with a FOIA request for the record of device identifiers (IMEI numbers) being publicly broadcast by all cellular devices being opera
Soviet Union jokes (Score:1)
According to SFMTA, there is no need for a site like Walz's.
Oh, wait, this is no joke. Officials deciding what is needed or not needed for the citizen, this has all the markings of a dictatorship.
USA going down the path of USSR, maybe we will live to see the tearing down of the Mexico Wall.
I find this hilarious.. (Score:3)
According to SFMTA, there is no need for a site like Walz's."The official way to access our parking citation data is via our public website on DataSF,"
Apparently they never heard of Data Brokers. Because one thing the government does not determine is what channels can exist for accessing redistributed public records.
when our staff's safety, and personal information of people who have received parking citations, is at risk, we must act on that swiftly
Just wait til they find out citizens have the right to monitor their government; Including movements of officials on public property. That also means news reporters or individuals can follow them around, so long as you do not interfere with or obstruct their business -- for non-nefarious purposes, of course, such as mapping out their movements to help your fellow citizens avoid them, or attempting to display a 1st Amendment protected speech petitioning government workers for redress of their grievances, for example.
And a person's citation is a matter of public record. Your citation goes on a court docket with your name and details, and court records are required to be open to the public.
SFMTA (Score:1)
Re:SFMTA (Score:4, Funny)
SFMTA hates this one trick.
I Tried Opening URLs And You'll Never Believe What Happened !!
abominaton (Score:1)
Parking meters are an abomination. Basically, it is a way to persecute law-abiding citizens to extort money for wasteful projects, like helping addicts be addicts on the city streets.
So this had to go, but (Score:2)