Its not that I specifically prefer travelling in car, neither am I an irresponsible man. Paying a parking ticket hurts bad, I mean 35 bucks.. you could do anything.

I tried biking. My first bike got stolen, because it didn't have a lock, the one I had bought while purchasing the bike got disfunctional. I borrowed Gurmeet's bike, biked for a couple of days, I used to be in Rains then. Then I moved to EV, I've ever since wanted to go check if the bike is still there in Rains lot, but I think I won't find it, its been a long time now.

I think stanford authorities are not so justified in not allowing residents to buy "A" permits. I mean you are working at home, you get delayed and you don't want to get late for your class. You drive, park your car, attend your class, and feel satisfied and proud at your moral righteosness in not disrepecting your professor. And then you find that you have another of those parking tickets. I think this destroys the motivation to be righteous. This one time as I was parking my car, I saw a cop ticketing vehicles in the parking lot. I was in a dilemma: whether I should try to save money and go late to Balaji Probhakar's class or instead regard not going late more important than money. I feel proud I made the right decision: $25 is much too less to buy self respect.

I heard that parking tickets could be contested. I got the form, listed three parking tickets in there and wrote in the explanation column: "Sorry". The appeal was rejected. I figured out I shouldn't be so blunt in communication. The next time, I wrote a good explanation. I admitted that I was wrong. I mentioned that I had parked my car only for a few minutes. I said that I am a student and I have to cater to a lot of expenses, I don't have money. My appeal was rejected. I don't know why. I don't think though the the authorities can be callous. I tried to figure out a reason for denial of the appeal. I think, may be they get such appeals all the time, so they had to reluctantly dismiss mine, or else they saw that mine is not that economical a car to purchase and so I might be lying. But the authoroties are not that disconcerned after all: The fine $35 increses to $58, if not paid by a deadline. Its not that I am unscruplous in paying tickets in time, just that sometimes I set my mail aside for careful deliberation at a later time, meanwhile as I do more important work. So this particular time I mailed them a $58 check. A couple of days later, I had the check mailed back to me, because they said I had already paid the fine, I didn't quite remeber that though. So I have evidence that authorities are nice.


I think I can tell a couple of things from my experince: that might help you, if you are my type and have your priorities set right: that is if you regard reaching the class in time more important than money.

1) Parking Structure-I (by Gates) and Oval are quite difficult to get away with (both metered parking and A permit parking spots). I've experienced that time after lunch (past 1 pm or so) can be particularly dangerous.
2) The Tressider and I-Center parking lot (A permit and paid parking) is in my experience relatively safe. I haven't ever been ticked there.
3) I haven't been ticketed when I have parked my car in metered parking spots in the last one hour of paid parking. I assume that cops are not that brutal to punish you in those last minutes. And, honestly I respect that, I mean I more often than not insert coins in that last hour, when I would normally not do that in other hours and risk a ticket.
4) Keeping an earlier ticket displayed doesn't work. This one time, a cop double ticketed me: I had a parking ticket from an earlier day on display.

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Record of Parking Violations:

Ticket # P030600403
Fine: $35
Location: LASUEN St.
04/11/2003
14:07

Ticket # P030900231
Fine: $35
Location: Palm Oval
Violation: Sign/Curb Parking
04/04/2003
13:46

Ticket # P030800005
Fine: $35
Location: Parking Structure-I (Gates)
02/12/2003
10:15(approx.)

Ticket # P020802619
Fine: $35
Location: Parking Srtucture-I
Violation: Expired Meter
12/02/2002
14:21

Ticket #
Fine: $35
Location: Toyon Lot
10/17/2002
11:51

Ticket # P020601464
Fine: $35 (increased to $58 for paying after 11/29/02 deadline)
Location: Parking Srtucture-I
Violation: Expired Meter
10/09/2002
14:57

Ticket #
Fine: $35
Location: Cypress Lot
10/03/2002
14:14

Ticket #
Fine: $35
Location: Ginzton Lot
10/02/2002
14:14

For other tickets in the above period I don't have records.
I was fined $25 each, for the tickets I got in 09/2001 to 10/02/2002; I hadn't started keeping records then. Three of these tickets came from parking violation during the period when I had a car crash and I rented a car financed by my insurance company; I wasn't aware that I should have transferred my parking permit to this car.

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Break even anlysis and a curve depicting the same shall follow:

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