From CBC San Francisco: More Cities Join SF In Effort To Ban MonkeyParking App That Auctions Off Spaces To Highest Bidder
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Now, Los Angeles has joined the ranks of cities that want to prevent apps like MonkeyParking and Haystack from auctioning off public parking spaces. The City Council voted unanimously to begin drafting a measure similar to others in San Francisco, Beverly Hills and Boston.
MonkeyParking allows drivers to make money when they leave a spot by selling it to another driver. The app’s creators insist it will cut down on gridlock and pollution. Opponents believe it will create parking squatters who will leave a spot, only if a bid comes in. Others fear it will create outrageously high bids for public parking that should be free and available on a first come, first served basis.
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MonkeyParking CEO Paolo Dobrowolny had previously refused to halt operations in San Francisco despite the order from Herrera’s office. “I have the right to tell people if I am about to leave a parking spot, and they have the right to pay me for such information,” he had said in a statement.
Wow, digital communciations technology is facilitating the commoditization of things we would never have contemplated would be offered for monetary value. It’s so disruptive– both in a positive sense and a negative sense.This floodtide of consumerism is unpredictable and seems almost unstoppable.
Monkey parking correct the market inefficiency: parking price set too low by the city.
What is wrong with that?
Exactly. The easiest and most sensible way to “defeat” this king of thing is for cities to simply raise the price of parking to the point where there’s usually one or two spots available in every block.
It is a very clever application, and easy to see why there is such a quick urge to ban it. But if you take a look at the site/app, it only sets up payment for information relating to where you are and when you leave. It doesn’t guarantee anything. Unless there is evidence that motorists in parking spaces are sitting around waiting for their monkeys to arrive and confirm payment, this is little to find offensive. But City Councils are not known for careful deliberation. It sounds chaotic and uncontrollable so is being banned.