Michael Kosta Explores Courtesy Towing, Philadelphia’s Flop Parking Program | The Daily Show

City parking it's a hell for those who choose to live in urban areas but in Philadelphia the eating in public capital of America if you're not keeping up with parking rules they'll move your car for you isn't that great it's called courtesy Towing and philadelphians love it my car was moved from a legal parking spot to a illegal parking spot uh as what they call like courtesy toe I have a parking permit uh for the street parking and there was an a temporary no parking uh sign put up within a couple days and I was out of town so it was then towed to a illegal parking spot by the city and then it was towed down to the PPA Impound Lot which is where we are and then moved to the auction lot because it was about to be auctioned off so you parked in a legal spot with a legal permit correct and eventually your car would was in the impound lot correct did you park shitty just be honest no Gary Gary Gary forget the I am a very legal Parker be very careful where you park your car you're going to get [Music] ticketed let me just side with big government for a sec I hear a lot of people bitching about the tow truck man I've been towed once or twice but I know I parked it legally there's courtesy Towing which is for weather for events and typically they're supposed to to put up no parking signs it happened less than 12 hours after I had parked there when I got back to my car it wasn't there i' call the PPA a couple times not helpful finally just called the police who then was able to tell me based on your license plate it's at 15th in Washington this is called a courtesy toe yeah well that's nice that's nice no I mean it would be it would be if they parked my car legally so we're walking up to 15th in Washington there's my car and it's parked in the median like in the turn lane which weird yeah see the tickets on it oh there's four tickets on it four tickets on it they courtesy towed your car to a different location to an illegal spot and then you start to acquire tickets from that illegal spot the one common factor in these stories the PPA or Philadelphia Parking Authority but why was this beloved governmental agency courtesy toe its residents in the first place it's very profitable and everybody knows that I waited about an hour and a half to get in and then had to pay $964 what yeah they have a toe fee the ticket fees and then the impound lot daily storage fee and it's a money-making machine all right well how bad could a couple extra fines be especially since the PPA helps fund cash trapped schools in Philly well it turns out they haven't been honoring their agreement with the city withholding close to $78 million because of alleged Financial mismanagement the money is not going to the schools one group holding the parking authority accountable is is the pay up PPA Coalition I met with organizer Michelle Nicole Solomon in one of Philadelphia's historic green spaces the mission of pay up PPA is to have the Philadelphia Parking Authority be accountable be transparent and to have a specific amount of reoccur funding every year to the school district of Philadelphia so in Philadelphia the parking Authority's leftover Revenue goes to the education system yes 45 million a year estimate um to the school district of Philadelphia from the on street parking but the money is not going to the schools which means one of two things or maybe both one they were lying or two that the leadership both the director and the board are grossly incompetent in your opinion is getting ticketed or towed by the PPA a right of passage for Philadelphia residents I don't know about a right the passage but probably everybody can can check that off their list I mean I've been towed my husband's been towed we all get tickets I mean it's it's part of life there goes one right there that's one of our guys right now getting a ticket as we speak good luck trying to fight that anyway back to the interview what can philadelphians do to combat some of the corruption of the PPA other than throw batteries or Riot on Broad Street I think there's some room in between those two two things right I think they need to ask questions show up at the parking authority board meeting and say pay up PPA it was time for the PPA to pay up so I did what any good citizen would I went into the PPA unsolicited with a camera and microphone how you doing you probably know who I am but I'm Michael Costa with The Daily Show and I just wanted to talk to somebody on camera about the pp's courtesy toe policy so we're going to have to ask get to step back over okay and we can't have this interview okay so so I'm being asked to leave yep okay but do you mind if I use your toilet I got a bus about to leave the station the property okay thank you well I just want to talk to you but I got courtesy towed out of there so there you have it philadelphians the PPA is screwing you and your public schools over the good news is I'm a New Yorker and I don't have to give a about any of this son of a what the is this 175 bucks this city and the PPA [Applause] [Music]