One of the nicer things about having some of the spaces public is that they can take the big picture into account. A city may chose to earn less meter revenue since it results in a more robust retail zone, something a private firm can't do since it makes little economic sense.
Of course private parking on private property fills an important niche.
It's great to have both options. It's hard to see how removing an option by privatizing the public car spaces is better for local businesses and residents, though.

The high cost of parking downtown is one of the reasons I moved out of the Chicago area entirely. I loved the downtown and Michigan Ave, but living in the Chicago suburbs is just blah. I realized I was only going downtown a handful of times a year and it was costing a small fortune everytime I went.

What would happen if alternating spots were sold to two or more companies? What if the spots were sold individually like real estate?

Come to think of it, I like the idea of selling them off independantly. This could mean that a person who owns a roadside business could buy spaces next to his shop and price/time them as he sees appropriate. Granted, there is the issue of each spot having different rules and prices, which might be hard to convey to the road.

"The City of Chicago has gone ahead with a deal to lease the city's parking meters to ***a company*** that raised the rates."

Of course this company's going to raise rates and all that. There's no competition when the government chooses to lease it out to one company. I believe privatization in this case could work, if there were competition among different companies providing these services.

The spots are public, but I think it helps that there are a couple private garages nearby, ensuring the metered spots are reasonable for a short stay.

MATH IS HARD.

Also, I find it surprising a private company that pitched itself as more qualified than the city to run and maintain parking meters wouldn't even realize that if you continue to use coin meters, you'll need to keep the rate low enough to not fill out the coin tray. When I heard about this story, I was assuming they'd install new meters that use credit cards and/or paper money to save time and be more convenient for everyone involved.

But maybe now, people will vote against Daley when he is up for re-election. Maybe this will be the last straw. I know I will NOT be voting for him in the next mayoral election.

@StutiCebriones: This is pretty funny looking privatization, considering the City of Chicago still owned it. They just leased the job to a front. They still maintained full ownership and legislative control.

@stevejust: We could take YOU seriously if it wasn't so manifestly the case that the City of Chicago never really let go of the parking meter concession... they just basically used the so-called "private" corporation as a front. So sorry, the city isn't quite off the hook, politician kisser.

I don't feel ANYONE needs to drive in the Loop. The public transportation system is more than capable of handling the transportation services.

I personally don't care whose making the money off this scheme as long as it cuts down on people needlessly driving their cars...

Unless I have been in a semi-comatose state while perusing the Chicago media, I have yet to hear exactly who owns this so-called private enterprise. We may have our suppositions, but if the Chicago journalists know anything, they are keeping the issue mum for as long as they can. This apparently seems to include the anti-patronage poster-child John Kass.

And if they truly do not know the chain of command of ownership, they are not showing any interest in doing a little digging or delving.

One would assume that such a huge contract for such an extended period of time would require an in-depth journalistic investigation of a who's who of sorts of the company that we are going to have to pay. I know that I myself would like to know who is going to legally pick my pocket.

Oh, well, I am looking forward to the next privatization of the city... Streets and San?

It's like communism. Communism works in theory but not in practice. Same with privatizing government services. In theory it leads to better efficiencies but in practice it almost never does, mostly because most government services are natural monopolies. (That's usually why they're government services to begin with.)

The city government was unable to raise rates because certain influential citizens and aldermen wouldn't stand for it. Privatization makes more money for the city, loads more for the private company, and reduces congestion.

But it would be a lot better if they required the company to be competent in exchange for profiting.

The City can just brush off complaints because a Private Company is now responsible.

If you want the government to do everything, move to Cuba and see how you like it.

@Shaftoe:
Source [en.wikipedia.org]

@Yossarian:
Point taken but you are using the nirvana falicy to make your point. My reply was not the perfect solution so therefore it is invalid?
You may disagree with me but I do stand firm in my belief.

The problem is not privatization, even if that were truly what happened in Chicago. The problem is inexperience. The newcomers screwed the pooch with poor planning; planning probably done by public officials anyway. Had the meters been run by a private business for ages, then the city decided to appropriate the meters and do the job themselves, you'd see the exact same thing. And everyone would be whining "when does the government ever get anything right?" Take your prejudices elsewhere and focus on the issue. Some people, supported by both public and private interests, fucked up and it's costing money.

For those wondering why you have to pay to park, think about why it's called metered parking. I'd rather pay $10 for at least a chance I'll find a spot when I need to head into downtown, than get to park for free and being guaranteed to never find a place to park.

@David Brodbeck: I'd love to believe it's mere incompetence rather than a sinister alterior motive. But I have to believe that in Chicago, they knew that this is exactly what was going to happen...

Downside: Sky's the limit on what they charge. Which Chicago already seems to be working on.

Gold Coast resident here. The primary reason I got rid of my car and now live without one is the parking situation in my neighborhood. I would pay for city and neighborhood parking stickers, and still have to drive around for TWO HOURS sometimes to find an effing spot. (Mostly during the summer when people decide to drive to the neighborhood to go to the beach/bars and park illegally without getting ticketed 9 times out of 10).

That said, I do have friends who are not city residents. When they come to visit me, metered parking is often the only option they have. Unless they can somehow manage to find a neighborhood spot (which gets harder and harder during the warmer months)...The Clark Street meters have been practically EMPTY since this handover took place. And the city (who, though they don't own the meters still have to police them and write tickets) is writing RIDICULOUS tickets these days. I have a friend who has been given 2 tickets in the last month where he has been cited for two violations he didn't even commit. And each ticket was written to the tune of $150.

I'm tellin' ya - it is getting harder and harder to be a resident of this city these days. Going back East is looking better and better....I would just love to know how the HELL Daley keeps getting elected.

I swear, sometimes governments engage in these completely phony "privatizations" for the sole purpose of making anything "private" look terrible so they can more easily ram their communist agenda down our throats.

Or, in Chicago, you could put in boxes on the curb that hands out campaign contributions if you sell your soul to the box. Better yet, follow the White House lead and hand out AIG bonuses that you don't pay back once you take the oath of office.

Step 1: raise rates on parking meters
Step 2: fail to collect quarters
Step 3: parking meter fills up with quarters and malfunctions
Step 4: drivers park at meters, but are unable to get the meters to work
Step 5: ticket drivers parked at broken meters. Profit.

Obv, I know, but stating it feels good.

@stevejust: HAVE to do... The systematic failures created HAVE TO DO with the size of the organization.

Gezzus. Consumerist, when Gawker no longer controls the message board, can we get an edit feature up in here?

I know you guys will take this suggestion VERY SERIOUSLY.

From what to what point in Chicago does it take two hours to get to? The problem with driving in Chicago is that everyone thinks it's so practical which leaves the roads clogged with people who are under the impression they're too important for public transportation.

@Ninja007: You and I have a very different definition of privatizing, because in my mind that is what privatizing IS, and why it doesn't work.

See, e.g., Blackwater/Xe or Halliburton in Iraq.

I don't understand why people still believe the whole b.s. about private corporations being able to do things better than the government. Those private corporations are drawing from the same stupid, ignorant, lazy, incompetent work forces of the American People writ large. And the systemic failures in bureaucracies created to do the size of the organization, not due to whether there are shareholders at the end of the day waiting with their hands out to get paid.

If anything, private corporations are ALWAYS worse than the government since they have to make a profit. The government can break even every year and pass savings on to customers. But HMOs need to turn profits every year, and for every dollar they earn in profit, that's a dollar less spent you YOUR health care.

And you're going to come back and say to me I don't understand the incentive structure, and optimization that must occur in order to make a profit, etc.,. and I am going to say, STFU because of Maydoff, AIG, TycoWorldCom, Enron, Citi, GE, GM, HIJKLMNOP.

Thank god for Metra...I refuse to drive downtown for just about any reason.

/rimshot

Here in NYC we have those kiosks/boxes (they're called Muni-Meters). If you're in a parking lot controlled by them, then usually each space is numbered and you pay at the machine for your space. Makes it easier for everyone (you and the traffic agent) since you don't have to go back to your car to put the receipt on your dashboard. But on sidewalks and in larger muni-meter lots, you have to return to your car and put the receipt on your dashboard (be sure to avoid having the inspection and registration stickers block the receipt). I always feel like after I park and walk to the muni-meter that an agent might come by and ticket my car, especially on our wonderfully long cross-town blocks, where inevitably there's only one machine. But the really dangerous spots (in terms of risk of getting a ticket) are the areas where spots are reserved for the pre-paid parking permit folks. Even if you put your receipt on the dash, you will get a ticket (I speak from experience). I didn't see the sign telling me about the restriction so imagine my surprise when I got back and saw the nice orange envelope and the nice police officer walking away. When she heard me wondering why I got a ticket, she pointed to the sign above. As it was written in the same red color as the 3-hour limit sign, I didn't realize the difference. If you're always going to be parking at a muni-lot, then get one of the pre-paid parking permits.

What a joke.

With the astronomical rise in meter prices, people are thinking twice about coming out from the burbs to patronize Chicago stores, venues, bars, etc (if the 10% sales tax didn't do that already). That is just one of the ways in which Daley's trick will backfire.

I frequently come to University Park to do business and usually stop at the local independent coffee shop for a break. But now I don't anymore since I have to figure in $4 for parking on top of a $2 coffee.

That people would refer to something like this as "privatization" is bastardizing the word and its definition.

The fact that there is no information available regarding the selection process for the company to whom the meters were "leased," one can only assume it went the same way any other form of "privatization" goes - to the company with the most political connections. It's been mentioned here already: The market's artificially controlled and there is no competition. How on earth can anyone insinuate that the free market is screwing this up?

Can't legally ticket a car parked at an unpaid meter which displays a notice stating that you don't need to pay.

Then again, this *IS* Chicago, where the people were stupid enough to elect a CONVICTED FELON to office.

The rest of us regularly elect people who should probably be convicted of some crime, but at least we don't elect them *after* they've been arrested. Well, most of us.

Broken streets, broken gov't, broken schools, broken mayor, broken people, and now broken meters.

Just keep pumping money into all of the above...that's Chicago.

Everyone is so quick to blame privatization. As if a sweetheart deal in Chicago is akin to legitimate privatization.

Plenty of cities have private meters nowadays. Plenty of cities other than Chicago make this work just fine.

Also-- what happened to simply using meter printouts? There are printout meters all across the city of Chicago-- who stipulated that these needed to use quarters?

I agree with Gene Gemperline, Parking boxes are a far better solution. I like being able to use my debit card. They started popping up in DC recently

The crazy thing is that the rate varies block by block. In some areas, a quarter gets you 13 minutes. If you park in a thirty minute spot, you have to pay for 39 minutes to get the full time allowed. What's up with that?

Oh, well.

HOLY. SHIT.

And to think yesterday I was a bit whiney about paying 50 cents for 90 minutes of metered parking. (You get half an hour free with the first quarter!)

this is another example of some things in society that belong in the pervue of government.
There will always be huge problems when you change govt operations to for profit in:
The military : Blackwater, Haliburton
Prisons; That flap in Pennsylvania a couple of weeks ago.
Traffic enforcement: Stop light and speed cameras
Parking enforcement: as noted in the story

Some things are just the govenments responsibility to run at a break even. There should never be profit in these things as it leads to corruption.

Chicago - you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villany.

Seems these guys are failing all around on this one.

Simple solution here. Remember Cool Hand Luke? Just break open these meters; the private corporation will spend so much money fixing them that they'll go out of business.

Or is this like "Conservatism never fails since we redefine what 'Conservatism' means every time it inevitably produces carnage, deficits and tears"?

Maybe drinking less isn't such a bad idea considering he's CLEARLY DRIVING HOME.

@Trai_Dep: Stupid. Did the government open the meters to market competition? Did the government keep their dirty hands off the running of the meters? Of course not. They hand-picked a stooge company as a front to maintain their monopoly, and continue to run things behind the scenes with regulations. Nice try.

@Gene Gemperline: Exactly what they did in downtown Los Angeles when they spiked the rates up. I don't understand what is so hard about doing that.

I blame Obama...

@Trai_Dep: I think they should privatize the Chicago Police.

Oh Chicago, your leaders are so corrupt.

@Darrone: And maybe they'll validate my parking when I drive there to write them a check! (but probably not)

Oh. Wait.

The last time I was in Chicago it was a few years ago, but we were lucky enough to find an open metered spot a few blocks from Navy Pier. I think we got 2-3 hours on around $3 in quarters.