HA! Beat you to it!! I wrote in about it, but I think the post went away with the big PriusChat crash.

My wife and I were there in October and received a ticket for parking on 1st street next to the Disney Concert Hall.

Since I did not yet have plates on the car, the ticket only had the VIN number on it.
For proof I mailed in a copy of the sales contract and a printout of the same letter you mentioned.
They sent back a letter saying my claim was valid and dismissed the citation.

Send in the ticket, a copy of your registration with (Prius) highlighted, and a copy of the Mayor’s letter.

Just out of curiosity . . . is the name of the officer P. Cana****? If it is he/she needs to learn what a hybrid looks like! :x

Hi,

I am so sorry to hear that I was not the first (mostly because tickets suck, valid or not):-(

Thank you for the tips, I will do what you suggested and hope for the best. And no, the name on the ticket is different. I was at 9th and Broadway. So I think that there might be two parking poo-poo heads that need more edu-ma-kation!

Have a great day!

Tisza

I too had the $35 shocker a few months ago. I parked at an expired meter on Larchmont at lunchtime.

I sent a letter contesting the citation along with a copy of Mayor Hahn's press release and they dismissed the citation. The total cost was a little time, some aggrivation and a stamp.

I now keep a copy of the Mayor's press release in my car in a page protector and place it on the dash every time I park at a meter.

Now that the program is due to expire, I have sent e-mails to the councilmembers of my home and work districts engouraging their support of making the Hybrid Parking program permanent. I cited the fact that the program has made it preferable for my Prius to be driven from work to lunch, in lieu of other big smelly SUV's, just because of saving a couple of quarters.

So far, I have heard no news about what the city action has been.

I encourage all hybrid owners is Los Angeles to let their councin members know that they should make the program permament.

Somehow, free hybrid parking in LA doesn't seem to be worth it. If I go there, I'll just feed the meter.

Hi All,

Here's an update. I contested the ticket the day I received it, however at that point I did not have a copy of the letter to include. I did write up about the program and also about the fact that my car is a hybrid and qualifies.

I got a letter yesterday from Parking Violations saying that they had reviewed the citation and found that it was VALID! Needless to say I was prettymuch spitting nails I was so mad. So I gathered my supporting data (the press release from Jim Hahn's office, my registration, a copy of the Prius sales booklet) and took off for the office in West L.A.

Unfortunately, I am very familier with that office as I have over the years given those folks enough money to have paid the difference between my Package 3 and a Package 6 with leather added.

I kind of had a feeling that when I received the citation I should have contested it through the West L.A. office to begin with. The girl at the branch that I went to initially had never heard anything about the hybrid parking program and hadn't the faintest clue what a Prius was.

Anyhoo, I drove down there, amazingly found parking and went to plead my case in person only to find that...according to that office, yesterday was a holiday and they were closed! Who knew? The security guard tried to tell me that it was a county holiday and that banks and post offices were also closed. Funny thing is, there is a post office branch right next door and it was wide open with scads of folks doing buisness at the counter.

Also, in Claremont (which is in Los Angeles county) I had gone to the post office before the drive to L.A. and knew that was not true. I pointed to the post office right next door and said "Well, they seem pretty open to me".

He looked over at their door with dull, vacant eyes and said "Yeah, I guess they are". Scary thing is this guy is allowed to carry a gun.

I have decided to send the letter back asking for an in person hearing. I will have to send them a check for the $35 along with the request and will go in well armed.

Obviously, this is not about the money (but $35 bucks is $35 bucks...) but I am really irritated about the principle of the thing.

It is just a good thing that I do drive a hybrid as the pointless trip down there and back only cost me about a gallon of gas and as my hubby pointed out when I called him fuming about the office being closed "well, that stop and go traffic should raise your MPG". Boy, he really knows how to sweet talk a girl.

I may be calling on you kind folks who have also been unjustly cited to send me copies of your dismissal should the need arise.

I am also getting in touch will Paul Demmitt at paul.demmitt@gmail.com to get a set of the Hybrid decals for my car to stupid proof her. I can already see the writing on the wall when they finally finish passing AB2628.

In fairness to the Parking Nazi (my personal pet name for them - BTW if this happens to be your job, please don't take offense, if you know about and/or drive I Prius I am sure this would not apply to you ), if you only look at the car head on and never go to the back to see the 1" x 2" Hybrid Synergy tag that Toyota puts on the car, you might, just might be able to mistake the car for a Matrix.

As I was the only car parked on that block, and was parked in the first space from the corner I am pretty sure that they got the license plate info from the front and never walked around the back of the car. Still, that is no excuse, but I was feeling charitable for a moment.

Big ole' poo-poo heads...there I am back to normal now.

I am going to put another call into Mayor Hahn's office today. I called Eric Garcetti's office yesterday and got their machine.

I will keep you all apprised. Just as an FYI, this program is due to expire in April unless it is made permanent. With the upcoming elections for mayor I am thinking that they may have bigger fish to fry but, you never know. After all, the initial pilot program did pass unanimously.

Take care,

Tisza

You know, the scary thing is that the parking enforcement officers drive Prii themselves. I see them all the time in their classics, so maybe they just don't recognize the 2004/5 models...

Good Luck in fighting your ticket.

I received a $35 ticket for being parked at an expired meter several Saturdays ago. I was not too pleased. As I was driving to my next stop, I saw a parking enforcement officer, in her Honda Civic Hybrid, stopped at a red light at a cross street a couple of blocks from where I was cited. I quickly pulled over and ran to her location. As she was lowering her window, she acknowledged that she issued that ticket. I then said: "It's a Prius, it's a hybrid, it's exempt." She grabbed the ticket out of my hand and drove off as I was asking for written confirmation that the citation was canceled.

So far, I have not received any written demand to pay the fine in the mail. If one is received, I will file a complaint with the city Department of Transportation personnel department.

My hunch is that the traffic enforcement officers have not been trained to recognize hybrid vehicles. (Yes, I know that should be a no brainer.)

Hi Again,

I called Mayor Hahn's office today and spoke to someone in their Press department to find out if there had been any changes made to the Hybrid Parking Program (just dotting my "i's" and crossing my "t's" here) and was told that the program is just the same - no changes and no firm end date announced.

He also expressed concern about my plight and said he would follow up and call me with more info.

Then, I spoke to someone in Constituant Relations. Told her my story, she asked for the citation number and said she would research it and get back to me. She said that I may need to go down to the office where I filed the original ticket contest form with my stuff.

We will see what happens here, after all it is an election year and Mayor Hahn seems to be behind right now...

I will keep you all posted.

Take care,

Tisza

According to an article in today's Los Angeles Times, Monday was the day on which the city of Los Angeles observed Cesar Chavez Day. Today is the official State of California observance. It is not a federal holiday nor one for Los Angeles County government.

Hi All,

As promised here is an update on the situation. Today, 3/31 I got call's from both Eric Garcetti's office and Mayor Hahn's office letting me know what they had found out about my situation and what to do about it.

Turns out that I have purchased the only non-hybrid Toyota Prius in the world. Who knew!? According to the DMV, when the paperwork for my car was submitted someone made a boo-boo and listed my car as a "G" or gasoline only engine not a "Q" hybrid gasoline/electric motor.

I will need to fax a copy of my either my original sales receipt or my window sticker (good thing I kept that, huh?) to Max Reyes at Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT). This poor soul is charged with handling any and all problems arising from the hybrid parking program or the electric vehicle natural gas vehicle parking program.

He stated that when he receives the info he will clear the ticket for me and I will then receive a letter to that effect from the LADOT.

On the up side, had this not happened, I would not have learned about the classification mixup until 2011 when DMV would have demanded a smog check for my Prius. Boy, I would have really been mad about that !

I also learned from Hahn's and Garcetti's offices that the program is to be extended for at least two more months to allow LADOT to present their findings about the feasibility of continuing it permanently. There is a very good chance that this will happen.

I will let you all know when I get official notification that this is taken care of. In the mean time, take a second to check your registration for your Prius to make sure that your car is designated a "Q" hybrid so that you do not enjoy the fun I have experienced recently or at any point in the future.

Take care all,

Tisza the only ICE only (according to DMV until tomorrow or so) Prius driver

what a story! Great work on fighting for what was owed to you. Great info.. I'm going to check my registration card tonight. Does anyone know exactly what areas are eligable for the free parking?? Is it just downtown LA? What about Santa Monica or Van Nuys or other areas?? The term 'LA' is so confusing... hard to tell where LA starts and it stops.

-Peter B

Hi,

The Hybrid Parking Program applies specifically to the City of Los Angeles ONLY. So, not S.M., Van Nuys or the like. You might want to take a look at a Thomas Guide map of the actual city to find out just what is covered.

Also, if you are going to take advantage of this offer, I would suggest that you make a copy of the press release dated 9/2004 announcing the Hybrid Parking Program from Mayor Hahn's office, available at www.lacity.org and keep it in your car just in case.

Take care all,

Tisza

Glad to hear it is working itself out . . . or should I say you aren’t rolling over and giving up. :clap:

I think you would have found out earlier about the “GQ†mixup. I’m guessing exactly one day after the announcement that California Prius drivers are eligible for the single occupant HOV exemption sticker. :wink:

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Widdletink\";p=\"77574)</div>

While Santa Monica is an independent city, Van Nuys, as most of the communities in the San Fernando Valley are, is within the city limits of Los Angeles and thus in the jurisdiction where hybrid vehicles are exempt from the requirement of putting money in parking meters.

Hi Again,

First and foremost, thank you to IsrAmeriPrius for the info. I decided to check to see what communities lie within the confines of "The City of Los Angeles" and boy was I shocked! I went to:
http://www.losangelesalmanac.com/LA/lamap2.htm
and looked at the map. I thought the city was just downtown.

I am planning to print out a copy of this map to keep in my glove box as well as the letter from Mayor Hahn's office for those times when I am desirous of taking advantage of this promotion.

Hope all is well for everyone and that you all have a great weekend.

Take care,

Tisza

It may also hold true in L.A., but in the Sacramento area it is easy to see if you are in the city proper or county by the color of the street name signs.

Edumacate yourself regarding the colors of L.A.’s street name signs. It just may be easier than you think . . . but not being from L.A. . . I ain’t sure.

The City of LA is a massive ameba that has engolfed most of LA County. A map IS necessary to keep it all straight. :?

I know I grew up in North Hollywood and Van Nuys, both part of the "City". Or why the San Fernando Valley makes "We want to be free" noises periodically.

Do keep us informed of how the parking laws go down there. I frequently visit for Science Fiction Conventions.

Lisa

Thanks for the info guys. Great Map Tizsa. I'm defanetly going to print that one out so I can tell where LA starts and ends. Hopefully they keep this program going so it will push this new Hybrid technology even faster. If Congress can pass that bill... we could get carpool lanes too. I bet that would get even more people buying hybrids.

-Peter B

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sufferin' Prius Envy\";p=\"77778)</div>

It is true in Los Angeles as well, but it is not a fool proof method.

The City of Los Angeles street signs have a navy blue background. Pasadena's are brown, Santa Monica's light blue, San Marino's and Beverly Hills' white and Culver City's green; those are just the ones that I can think off the top of my head.

Unfortunately, unincorporated county areas also have the dark blue signs as well as some of the smaller cities.