San Francisco Banned This Popular Public Parking App
Last month Business Insider named Monkey Parking one of May's hottest apps. Today, the city of San Francisco filed a cease-and-desist against the Rome-based startup, which lets users auction off the public parking spaces their vehicles occupy to the highest bidder, MarketWatch reports.
The city attorney who filed the cease-and-desist, David Herrera, said this practice is completely illegal, and can land anyone who auctions off a piece of public property a $300 fine. Since Monkey Parking is helping it happen, the startup is liable to upt to $2,500 per offense, MarketWatch reports.
Since an official is claiming it violates the law, Monkey Parking is also at risk for removal from the App Store, since Apple's terms and conditions say all apps must adhere to all local legal requirements.
"Parking is one of the biggest problems in cities like San Francisco, due to the lack of and high cost associated with it," parking app CARMAnation cofounder Ashley Cummings told Business Insider in an email.
CARMAnation is a Bay Area-based driveway sharing app. CARMAnation, and private parking sharing apps like it, will not be affected by the city's ban, and may become the most viable option for the tech-minded driver without a driveway.
Cummings says, "We are very excited to see the city give our approach its stamp of approval."