hello all,
I am going to share with you my experience with Alameda County Transit Bus Zone parking ticket. March 05, 2009 I went to oakland IRS office. Since I am not from oakland I got directions from yahoo and could not find car parking near the IRS office. Going round and round I found a street where I could park my car. Initially it looked like too good to be true. But I saw a car parked there already and saw no such sign saying no parking or anything which will make me think "Do not park here". Two hours later I came back to my car and there was a ticket on wind screen. I had parked my car in bus zone.
It was surprise to me. There was another surprise when i read it. It was for $250.00. Another surprise: i looked like a ticket from traffic cop but the information was not.
Since there was no sign for "No parking or Bus Zone" Or marked curb etc. so I took pictures to have my case in the court. I will not think about contesting if it will not be costing me that much ?
After a week or so i got letter from parking enforcement center in Irvine. The letter strongly asked me to pay in bold letters and in small letters it said that i can request a clerical review. It didn't talk about any court etc. I got confused and requested clerical review. I sent them pictures and explaining that sign is missing. I was pretty confidence that they will understand it and after verifying they will cancel this ticket.
This was not the case though. I got letter after another week. The letter asked me to pay immediately and also gave me option of administrative review. I was upset by their decision. I have gut feeling that they didn't even look at the pictures or the letter i sent them. To say "No" was their standard procedure, i assumed. I requested administrative review but i didn't have money to pay so i sent it without money. I didn't see anywhere any explaination about not paying but still getting administrative review. I thought may be a plain letter explaining my inability to pay will get me administrative hearing. I was wrong. I got another letter saying my request for admnistrative hearing has been denied because i didn't pay the citation money.
It made me even more upset. I should not have ticket at the first place. Some asshole officer wrote it anyway. Now they won't let me appeal it. Their was threat this time. Pay by that day or they will block my car registration and there will be $100.00 late payment panality. How they justified $100.00 ?? or they just picked a number to charge me ? Anyway, i do not want them to mess up with my DMV record so i sent them $250.00 plus some harsh words explaining them that they are violating my basic rights of consititution. By this time I was thinking that I am dealing with this agency only. There will be no court so I also warn them to file a civil law suit against them.
I got another letter after 15 days. I had a hearing in Sheriff's office. I expected a little hope here. I made color copies of the pictures i had.
In sheriff's office on hearing day, a hearing office escorted me to his office and asked me what I have (very rude). We were one on one. It didn't appeal much to me. I told him there was no sign. If I see a sign I probably won't be parking there. I showed him pictures. He askeed me about parking meters. I told him there was none. He told me if there is no parking meter then it is not parking.
Total bulshit. This person even had attitude. I remined myself that i am in a Sheriff's office. These asshole can do anything here. I got scared and thanked hearing officer for his time.
After 10 days I got another letter saying my administrative hearing resulted in denial. There were some civil codes thereexplaning that I can appeal this decision in oakland superior court.
It was feeling winner here already. Why ? Because now i do not have to deal with these assholes anymore. There will be a court and there will be a Judge. Without delay I filled appeal with court. I went to court clerk's office. But It was also possible by mail. I will document whole procedure, so others do not have to learn by doing it. They can just follow the procedure and save time and efforts.
You didn't state the location where this "Bus loading zone" is in the picture. What the street name, which block?
ReplyDeleteGoing thru the same process soon, got the ticket in Oakland, a new bus stop installed(not visible), parking meter still there.
ReplyDeleteSee if Sheriff will say "if there is no parking meter then it is not parking". mine got parking meter ;)
Lets just say, this not just Sheriff problem. It's DMV, govt agency, ppl with power, who think there'll be no consequences.
it's inhumane in action-"if it's not my prob, it aint a prob. yall dont give a shit about other' pain until it hit 'YOU'.
and nobody is smart to go all de way to small court. too time consuming, who-can-write, let alone following instructions after instructions, is not smtg any agency would expect 99% ppl can do.
otherwise, it's just another day until 1 day someone step up and say this has to stop.
hope the judge will feel you.
Sometimes just feel like the movie " 'Drag Me to Hell' (2009)- "bastard dont help and do the rite thing; put thm thru hell"
This is outrageous . . If you have gotten one of these tickets take 10 minutes to write an email to the mayor explaining how unfair this situation is. Maybe then it will change: http://www2.oaklandnet.com/Government/o/Mayor/a/ContactUs/index.htm Thanks!
ReplyDeleteCalifornia Online Traffic School
ReplyDeleteI just got a $260 ticket for a 7 second stop at an empty bus stop at 6:20 in the AM. The AC Transit officer said 'this ain't cheap', and handed me a folded ticket. I didn't think expensive was more than $60.
ReplyDeleteMy question is: who sets this fee? Nothing in the CVC 25000(i) cited. I am having trouble finding a real court where I can get a real judge to decide my penalty. If you travel in the HOV lane, you know it is an expensive fine because its clearly marked. You park in a handicapped space you know it is expensive because it clearly marked. A 'no stopping, Bus Stop' sign is insufficient warning that a 7-second stop could cost you $260 at the discretion of one AC transit cop.
How many times have you seen an AC transit bus blow a red light? A stop sign? Block an intersection? I see it every day. Who tickets them?
What could have been a teaching moment-a warning-turned into an adversarial situation. What could have been a fair, stinging fine, say, $60, turned into usury. AC Transit has made me an enemy. Now when AC transit wants support for collective bargaining, for wage increases, they will not have my support.
I had a similar experience at Broadway between 11th and 12 Streets in Oakland. Dropped a BART passenger off at the BARThole and received a ticket for $262 in the mail for stopping in a "no stopping 100% bus zone." Where I dropped the passenger off was 120 feet from the "No Stopping" sign.
ReplyDeleteOf course the initial sham review disregarded the written evidence I submitted. I'm waiting for the same in the Administrative Review, then it's off to Superior Court.
Unbelievable! I got the same type of ticket parking at the EXACT SAME SPOT! The location is 11th St (between Martin Luther King Blvd and Jefferson St.) in Downtown Oakland. I was doing the same thing as you; going to the IRS building, when I saw a these parking spots. In Oakland, the bus stop curbs are painted red. These were just regular curbs, but I knew their was a bus stop at the corner. I parked in front of a sign that said "No Parking Bus Zone" but there was nothing on the back side of the sign and I parked behind the sign with the bus zone in front of my car stretching to the end of the block. I could have parked around the corner on Martin Luther King, but I thought I was legit. I was gone for an hour and came back to a $260 ticket. I was looking to fight it but now I see that that is useless. I am going to try a different approach by sending an email to my County Supervisor and explaining my situation to him. I am tired of these government agencies screwing good law abiding citizens over!!!
ReplyDelete*sigh* I just got hit with a ticket in the same place. What say we all go to city hall with some rotten eggs?
ReplyDeleteSame thing just happened to me at 8th and Oak, dropping off someone at BART for 15 seconds. Bus zone sign is 1/2 way down the block and covered by trees.
ReplyDeleteHow did your tickets resolve? Any one contest it?
I got the same ticket on 12th Street just west of Broadway. I can accept potentially being in the wrong. Although the bus area was way further back from where I stopped for 5 seconds to pick up a friend. I just can't accept that it was 260 dollars wrong. The financial hit is painful.
ReplyDeleteI'm in the same boat as you guys. Got a $260 tix for dropping someone off at BART. I requested an administrative review and was denied and now I have a scheduled in-person review at the substation in San Leandro. I admit that by the letter of the law I am in the wrong. My argument is that actions such as these not only break the spirit of the law but fosters ill will among the citizens toward law enforcement.
ReplyDeleteAt 20th and Broadway at the red stop light, I let the passenger out of my car at 6:35 AM & traffic was sparse. He ran to the BART station. Major street construction near at that intersection. All was okay so I thought…. Several weeks later, I received the AC parking violation notice, code 2017 with the $260 fee. I am able to track it on my historical GPS activity. Plus I am able to identify the bus stops on that vicinity. Nearest bus stop is around the corner on Broadway. Further bus stop on the 20th is located at Telegraph Avenue. Proof is that I did not stop at the bus zone and major construction on the street side. I am going to take pictures of that area. Unfair, unjustified citation & will see about taking it to the court
ReplyDeleteAC transit are straight crooks! They never will hear you out, I've been trapped by these pricks, and the reason I got the ticket in the first place was due to a idiot AC transit driver, who couldn't drive a bus to save his life, this company is a complete joke, yea I had to pay, but I'll tell you this, if I'm driving a fire truck past there office ever, and there office is blazing in flames, guess what,........I ain't stopping! Ill be giving a beep beep and a wave!
ReplyDelete