New website offers transparency on parking tickets

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This article was published 10/06/2020 (1974 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

 

WINNIPEGGERS who receive a parking ticket can now go online to check out the evidence behind it within a few hours of being fined.

The City of Winnipeg has launched a new “online photo evidence viewer” for parking tickets, which will let vehicle owners more easily view images meant to back up an alleged offence.

“We just want to make things easier and a little more transparent for citizens, so that they can make an informed decision when they’re deciding whether or not they want to appeal,” said Ryan Arabsky, Winnipeg Parking Authority manager of regulations and compliance.

Until now, drivers were forced to wait for a screening officer to see the evidence against them, which sparked some ticket appeal delays. Now they should instead be able to see the images as soon as the ticketing officer transfers them to the city’s website.

That means they can see the evidence before they decide whether to appeal the fine.

The city expects the new process will reduce the number of appeals filed and the wait time to contest a ticket — though there’s no exact estimate of how much time and money it could save just yet.

Without the online option, Arabsky said vehicle owners could wait an average of 15 to 20 minutes in person to see the images through a screening officer, or about three to four weeks to do so through an online screening officer booking.

He said the online bookings, at one point, reached a wait of up to three months, due to a winter ticket backlog.

Arabsky said the city currently receives about 12,000 ticket screening requests per year, with vehicle owners challenging about 10 per cent of the total tickets issued. He expects the city will have a better sense of how exactly the changes will affect the number of appeals and wait times within a few months.

To use the system, a driver must enter their licence plate and ticket number online at www.winnipeg.ca. The photos would then appear, along with an option to proceed with an appeal.

Len Eastoe, owner of Traffic Ticket Experts, said he believes the move is a step in the right direction.

Eastoe, whose company helps drivers fight speeding tickets and other provincial traffic offences, said there’s value in making the basis for any fine more transparent. He said quick access to photo evidence should help drivers make better decisions on whether an appeal is worth their time.

“That is the evidence that’s going to be presented, and to have a heads-up on that before you get (too far) into the process… definitely is what you want to be considering when you’re filing that appeal,” he said.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter :@joyanne_pursaga