 How to Fight the SFMTA and Win: True Story (“Evading Fare”) SFMTA in San Francisco is well known for its tight rules, aggressive ticketing and even aggressive towing. Locals know towing zones are serious things which is why you often see people staying in cars or even double parking with the Hazard signs on or “San Francisco valet”, but what surprised me most was when 1/05/13 I got a handwritten ticket for “evading fare.” The scene was something out of a horror movie: I used my Clipper Card to get on a train near Dolores Park, my card signaled it was low so I had planned to reload it upon arriving at the next station since my entry station didn’t have any machines. Upon arriving at Montgomery Station, all three of my friends exited the station and I get held back by an officer who said the machines were “broken” and to “come here” Upon walking near her she scanned my Clipper Card and announced that I am evading fare. Totally confused I try to reload the card with monies, or pay my fare in cash or even get the machine but she doesn’t let me, “You are evading fare.” I even open my wallet with cash asking to pay because I don’t understand the issue. “Its a $103.00 ticket not to mention my pride as a hardened criminal now that I am known to be “evading fare” I’m pissed but I also know that NO ONE FIGHTS THE SFMTA AND WINS. Click below for the full story ---->>> My roommate a few weeks earlier had a hearing regarding one of her rental cars that got towed. She lost. Every single friend I know who either protested or appealed lost, but despite my low odds my pride could not swallow this $103.00-- I would spend the next few weeks dedicating my life to fight this ticket as if my life depended on it. 1) Step One: Request a Hearing I prepared a written request for Hearing and followed the rules and format of such request. In my case, my “grounds” for dismissing the citation were:
For Entrapment I needed the common legal definition and compared it to my circumstances. And for violation of Clipper Card conditions I was thinking that I am not an ill willed person, in fact there is no way what I did was wrong. Why didn’t the conductor stop me? Why couldn’t I pay in cash? Why was I going through this for having -1.25 on my clipper card. Why would I ever want to do the wrong thing over the right thing, what are my rights? After reviewing the Clipper Card terms and conditions I found a few interesting things: 1) 3.4 “If a ride costs more than the cash value on the Cardholder's Clipper® card, Clipper® may let the Cardholder complete the trip even if the fare exceeds the Card's remaining value. However, sufficient value must be added to the Card to pay for the prior trip before the Card can be used again.” 2) 3.5 “If, for any reason, the Card is not accepted for fare payment on a participating Service Provider, the Cardholder may be required by the Service Provider to pay the fare in cash.” 3) 12.2 “All information and data relating to the Cardholder collected by the Clipper® FPS shall be used by MTC and the Service Providers for the purposes of the operation and management of the FPS and shall serve as a source of information and data for transit and/or related services in general but shall otherwise be dealt with in a confidential manner by MTC and the Service Providers unless: (a) The Cardholder's express written consent has been obtained; and/or (b) Otherwise required by law or ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction.” For a full copy of Clipper Card Terms and conditions go here. Now I know this is a pandora’s box but my rationale was this: my data was illegally obtained and couldn’t be used against me in the first place. This could open up a whole gap in all of the way citations for Clipper Cards and trains are enforced. It also means that the city of San Francisco could possibly be cutting revenue from Clipper Card. And then of course there was what I thought was the weakest argument-- that the citation was not valid. I created a well written doc and walked in a copy to the SFMTA office and mailed a copy to: 11 South Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94103 (note: make copies of everything and always mail a copy to the SFMTA attn: Hearing Division) 2) Step Two: Request for Hearing --- Denied After receiving a letter that it was pending (see here), I received a letter that the citation was “valid.” But how could my citation be valid when I am requesting a hearing due to my suspicion that the citation is not valid? Then I received a second one and realized that likely this is a templated response and unfair to my rights, I’m demanding a hearing and getting denied the right to have a hearing? 3) Step Three: in Person Request for Hearing, Pay Fine You’re only other option now is to request again a hearing via mail or in person but after having my request already denied for “valid citation” I couldn’t imagine a different outcome via mail. I also figured I could simplify my reasoning to contesting the citations validity since it appeared this is the only thing that matters despite my surprise. I went to the station and went to two different windows, paid my fine (yes, you have to pay the fine in order to even "contest" it) and then waited. (note: bring wifi and snacks the wait is long) A Hearing officer called me into a room and before I could scream and holler and make my case he simply stared at a computer screen in silence, printed some papers and then asked me if I had the original ticket with me which of course I did. He then went into another room and it occurred to me that the citation in file did not match my current citation which means the officer is busted for adding info after the fact. (Note: its actually “legal” for an officer to add information after the fact to a citation, but a notice must be mailed to you). The original citation which I had was technically not valid and an update had not been mailed. Under California Vehicle Code section 40202(a) a citation is not valid if the following fields are missing:
The hearing officer, though he couldn't say how the ruling would go just that I would simply get a letter in the mail said he thought I had a valid case and would recommend that I also file a formal complaint with the city regarding the officer at hand. Very uneventful to have a “hearing” without a “verdict.” You wait. Step Four: Wait for Letter with Ruling, Citation not Valid About two weeks after my in-person hearing I received my letter stating that my case was “dismissed” due to my citation not being valid (all my other points were not address) and a check would be mailed to me. A few weeks after the letter from the hearing a check arrived. All in all it took me (12 hours of prep: research, printing, sorting, mailing), $103.00 + $43.00 dollars in supplies, and of course my time both in person and running around. I called Clipper Card and several times tried to get their legal department or information to which they fought me, I wanted to inform them to investigate SFMTA not the other away around but they were hesitant. The saga itself took 9 weeks and was very stressful and frustrating but, I promised myself that it was principal and that if in the very low chances I won against the SFMTA I would write a blog post about it and give people instructions. Feel free to use any templates or formats above. Lets see if the SEO for "How to fight SFMTA" or "How to beat citation 7.2.104" work. If for nothing else, I feel like my situation had purpose. For a copy of this blog post and information in PDF click below. And if you really need help or a template for one of the letters shoot me an email and I will help you: e (dot) cachette (at) gmail.com 
33 Comments
Monica
4/10/2013 02:50:03 am
Hi - Thanks for publishing this story. Congrats on your victory! I have just a few questions: what initially made you suspect the citation was incomplete? Was there a blank field on the ticket? Or did you refuse to sign it in the presence of the officer when it was issued? Also, at the end, you say "the citation on file did not match my current citation." In what way? It seems to me that these are the important issues because they are the reasons the citation was ultimately deemed invalid. Thanks.
Ellie
4/13/2013 09:49:40 am
Initially I just wanted to fight the ticket on every level because I felt like the officer blocked me from paying for it, so I looked up what makes a citation "valid" and the exact ordinance I was being written up for.
TO FIGHT TICKET
9/29/2017 10:50:08 am
FOLKS, If you are requesting administrative review, take a look at this link. https://www.scribd.com/doc/57878668/SFMTA-Administrative-Review-Procedures. If current, this is gold and will be your legal fist to SFMTA. Don't you think they give out shitty tickets and assume you'll pay the ticket because you don't know what to do. That's their middle finger to you, their customers, who might be elderly, underage, disabled, poor, uneducated, etc. Follow the right procedures so you dont waste time sending in a shitty administrative review. It's your time to send a response to them they can't just deny.
Shweta
1/3/2018 02:48:21 am
Hi thankyou very much. My citation was falsely issued with no vin, incorrectly giving me photos of a white Toyota , wrong location, and time. My car is a BMW X3 . I made a small minor mistake and paid immediately. That I accepted. However after a week I recieved a false citation ticket in the mail, by the same officer c.w god is she a bitch ! She took my details and omitted details from another car . Taking my number plate and issues a citation , that she sends in the mail.
Eric J. Silverman
1/22/2018 05:19:29 pm
thank you
Gail Diston
9/27/2013 08:42:35 am
Good afternoon, 3/2/2017 12:49:29 pm
Hi Gail,
Sal Corr
10/24/2013 11:38:19 am
Ellie, thank you so much for giving me hope. I've gotten as far as the mail-in protest (no dice) and I am heading for a hearing as soon as I can get there.
Angeline Young
12/5/2013 01:47:04 am
Thank you so much for posting this. I sent you a private email. I have already sent in my protest letter to receive a hearing by mail. They cashed my check immediately. That was a month ago. I haven't heard anything since. Their process is not transparent, yet they demand that you pay them in order to have a hearing. Looking forward to your feedback.
CH
1/24/2014 02:35:01 pm
Any idea if the officer not writing their badge number on the ticket is enough to get it thrown out? The initials are there but I can't tell what the second initial should be and the badge number just says 5 (even though it should be at least 4 digits long).
Tyler
3/13/2014 11:29:21 am
Thanks for sharing your experience. I actually found your blog on the day I lost a fight against SFMTA unless I choose to protest in Superior Court with $25 fee. 4/17/2014 04:33:06 am
Hi
Adam
11/1/2018 03:09:16 am
I am a ride share guy. I worked hard all week long and made $700 and I have citations from SFMTA worth $600. I spent $100 on gas. worked hard all week long for nothing. Not because of fault of my own but, because of a drive by buses taking video of me picking up passengers from white pickup zones. where else can we pick up and drop off people. It takes time and energy to protest these fines. SFMTA is after our money they could care less about the law or traffic etc. SFMTA is often at fault, They are using improper and illegal tactics to raise revenue and force ride sharing companies to quit so public is forced to take over crowded, unreliable, stinky buses with bunch of mentally ill people who push you around. ride sharing companies should file law suite against SFMTA and support candidates who would get red of these gang of thugs from SFMTA. I have a health issue which prevents me from doing other jobs at the moment, so how am I supposed to live. I HATE SFMTA. Buses unfairly take videos and send you ticket in the mail. Its the end of the month and rent time. I have to chose to pay SFMTA or pay for food and rent. I demand to know what the salary of these thugs at SFMTA is and how they earned it. 8/12/2014 07:21:56 pm
Hi dude, I am really enjoying reading your well written articles. Please post for other article :D 1/22/2015 03:14:00 pm
Nice post dude ,... keep the good work going by continue blogging new and entertaining posts. 4/28/2015 07:16:51 pm
Thank you for the great article, Amazing and really rich content. Iam wait for the next post. 9/17/2015 01:38:14 am
Hi, This is a great post, it was very informative. I look forward in reading more of your work. Also, I made sure to bookmark your website so I can come back later. Thank you
Kathy Mark
7/22/2016 08:58:20 pm
WOW -- I am a citizen and employee of a City Commission - SFO Airport. I experienced first hand tonight the abrupt citation process and was issued one. regardless of one's experience -- it seems the officers doing their job are a bit succinct and efficient (great if they do their job efficiently) and save tax payers money. However, it seems hopeless to ever get a citation waived per a protest..... At the airport - fi we issue citations for violations - typically if it is not a safety issue, then the first citation is a warning. Tonight I used a clipper card that was blocked. yet when I boarded the train the driver said it was OK and I need not pay ( I do not have the train number or the driver's ID) to board and I should follow up with Clippercard services..... when I was getting off at the Powell street station I got a citation. No matter what I said they were determine to issue the citation to me due to the cameras and also that the clipper card had not been used since March. I felt like I was being judged as a criminal and even if I am at fault -- I have never got a citation of any sort for my total residency in SF of more than 40 years. transit , or otherwsie HELP
LM
6/9/2017 12:58:15 pm
It seems like you went to a great length of effort and expense to avoid the simple fact that you tried to use a card (an agreement) that you had not sufficiently loaded with funds. If you made a mistake and forgot to do so beforehand, that is your mistake. It would be like going to the grocery store, getting to the register without money and then expecting them to let you take the groceries home and come back a few minutes later with the money. In a sane and trustworthy world that would be lovely and make sense. Many people in small towns live this way every day. But that is not San Francisco. There are a million people to contend with, the train operator doesn't know you personally. For that reason, cards are issued for your convenience. You may not have been intending to "evade" the fare, but how would the officer know that? How many people plead innocence when caught, but try to get away with it until then? This is why financial contracts (such as your Clipper Card) are made, and you consent to follow that agreement when you decide to use it. Just follow the rules, and if you make a mistake, take responsibility for it. SFMTA are strict bastards, but that's how we all learn to follow the rules to keep the community flowing efficiently and smoothly, in a place where there are so many people to manage and police. A place where so many people create the demand for policing because they are not only making mistakes but knowingly choosing to do unloving and dishonest things. Intent does not matter. It's what you did that matters. As the saying goes: The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Take responsibility! The real question should be, "Why did I let my Clipper Card get down to only $1.25...?" Do you think you're special and that rules don't apply to you? You essentially got a free ride and felt entitled to get on the train before loading the card. You could have taken a Lyft ride for less than the expense of this ticket and all that it took to contest it. You were sloppy in neglecting the maintenance of your card, and sloppy once again in that moment you decided to board the train anyway. The citation is strict and upsetting, I wish we lived in a culture with less punishment, but your life reflected back to you that you were in the wrong here. Human Law is created because so many people not to follow the laws of love and life. And instead of getting the lesson, you spent unnecessary energy protesting and then posting this blog about it, even willing to damage another person's career in your plight. This is pretty emotionally immature.
Brian
9/27/2017 06:16:11 pm
Hey LM,
E
1/22/2018 05:23:45 pm
..and when they come for you...you can take comfort in the fact they are just following the rules!
chris columbia
10/3/2017 11:40:54 am
I received a citation for fare evasion, because I presented a MUNI fare transfer receipt from the previous day in error. When I did present the correct receipt to the officer, he said it was too late because the citation had already been written. I am a disabled person and sometimes confuse items. However, I did have the valid transfer receipt and I did present it to the officer (another officer was also present who also saw the valid MUNI ticket). I am outraged that someone who has proof of fare would be charged $120. This is pure exploitation by the city. I can not afford to pay $120, I live on SSD, and I always pay my fare and have proof that I was in possession of a valid MUNI ticket.
woopy
10/19/2017 11:53:01 pm
i was pulled over at st francis circle, and 6 officers, i believe 2 of them were police officers and the rest fare officers
chris columbia
10/20/2017 01:03:14 am
woopy, NO, I was not in the wrong. The fare was paid and the ticket was shown to the officer. There is no law stating a time limit in which the correct transfer must be shown. No way in fucking hell I will pay the "ticket." Let it go to collection. SFMTA will not get one dime from me.
woopy
10/22/2017 03:41:58 pm
@chris columbia , i did not see your other response: In essence its still considered fare evasion, if you present the wrong fare "proof of payment", even if you suddenly found your real fare later, in the officer's eyes you showed them an incorrect transfer ticket.
yadayda
10/20/2017 12:22:55 am
I want to point out that the OP(blog writer), got away because of a technicality, she was not mailed an updated version of the citation, personally i dont think this should be legal, in a court adding new evidence after the fact is a liability, and illegal, its like to making up evidence to prove wrong doing of the other party.
michelle
10/20/2017 01:15:15 am
Don't pay it yadayda. Simple as that. City doesn't do anything except sends it to collection, where in time the "debt" is dropped. You can also contest the fine on your credit report and have it removed. More people need to stop paying these ridiculous fines. Pure rape by the city of San Francisco.
SFMTAno-citation
10/20/2017 03:46:40 pm
i DO agree that SF is the like the top city, to be giving out citations like these, and they make millions off of it, They stop charging teenagers with misdeameanors and citations, and we now got them running around robbing people, and committing assault on passengers, and they get little if any punishment from it. 2ndly, Bicyclists are now, not charged for ignoring traffic laws, certain ones and they get away with it. This cost is truncated to fare evaders and other traffic violation. just a few months ago, the citation for fare evasion, is 116, now its 120. Im also slightly confused about where the officer put the "price of the fare evasion" she ticked the first one which is VIOLATION code" TRC 7.2.101(a), however she put the price on the 2nd bracket/box, which is the unauthorized use discount, which is it, fare evasion or unauthorized use? to add in more confusion the first sentence with a few words are illegible. Should we wait for when they mail it to you. The other thing i find annoying is that they can literally add more info, after the fact, which i find should not be admissible by law, since you can make up stuff that arnt even true, even if it is, its pretty illegal.
Nosfmtapls
10/21/2017 01:25:18 am
michelle im yadada, i HEARD TRYing to fight the citation has a pretty low chance of winning, unless you have something like OP situation, and others ive seen had missing info. since this happened pratically 2 days ago, i intend to wait if they are going to send anything, if they dont send anything like OP situation i have a higher chance of fighting it. of course theres going to be a 21 day deadline, i find it kind odd they are arbritrarly think 21 days and not 30 days.
EJV
1/11/2018 07:51:59 am
Last straw for me. Never ever again visiting SF. Two years ago, my car got towed from a Giants game. A tree was blocking the 3 pm time to move cars from metered parking spots - I had a disabled placard. Try to find your car at 10 pm at night with no one answering phones. And then last month, I supposedly was using the bus zone to unload - they never personally gave me the ticket. I got it in the mail. Never again going into SF - it's one of the dirtiest, trashiest big cities I have visited - corrupt to no end.
J
3/8/2018 09:00:51 pm
I just got a citation; was on the N. I think the card reader didnt register my card, another lady on the Muni had the same thing happen to her... and we both got the citation. Any idea good ideas how to protest it?
Tito
7/17/2018 07:11:12 pm
Thanks for sharing your experience. A few weeks ago I got a citation while on Muni. I have a disabled Clipper monthly pass but that night I forgot my wallet at home. I always try to follow the rules so i paid the fare with the muni app. I was supposed to get off at Powell but at Civic Center the inspectors came into the train and asked for proof of payment. My phone was at 1 percent and when I was about to show my ticket on the Muni mobile app my phone died. They asked me to get off the train and gave me the citation. I protested the citation online and attached pictures of my phone screen showing the ticket still valid (after they gave me the citation i went home really quick and charged my phone and took pictures of the screen with the ticket still good fo another 20 miutes) and also showed a picture of the transaction history with the ticket paid thirty minutes before the citation was issued but they sent me a letter saying "the review has confirmed that the citation was properlu issued and is valid". Leave a Reply. |
common tags |
||
RSS Feed