Last Updated on September 19, 2021 by Lawrence Berezin
You’re going to get NYC bus stop parking tickets
if you halt your chariot in an NYC bus stop zone. Likewise, if you swim in shark-infested waters off the coast of Australia, you’re going to get bitten, right?!
To clarily, the bus stop rule permits you to stop temporarily and expeditiously drop off or pick up a passenger as long as you don’t interfere with a bus entering or leaving the bus stop area! But, you will still get an costly parking ticket. Why, because all a warrior or cop sees is your car stopped at a bus stop. He isn’t going to guess how long you were stopped, or if you expeditiously dropped off or or picked up a passenger. She is going to give you a ticket and let the judge sort things out if you decide to fight.
I’ve written a number of articles about NYC bus stop parking tickets. I hate ’em and urge you not to swim in shark-infested bus stop zones, even though you are permitted to stop temporarily.
Here’s a comment posted on Larry’s Parking Ticket Blog from another victim of a shark attack. What’s your advice?
Was this bus stop parking ticket deserved?
Here’s the comment (see it “live” here):
I followed your rule on a Bus Stop which you state is treat like a No Standing. My defense was that I was taking my grandmother to the doctor and had to assist her out the car so I could go find parking. As I was helping out the car to her walker I received a ticket. I had my disability parking permit in the window, car was running, door was open, still got a ticket and the judge wrote back that I did not do it “expeditiously” and found me guilty. Is he serious? I was dropping off a passenger. I didn’t even leave my car and I did this in less than a minute.
I followed your other rule on registration. I paid on time, did what I had to do, but my registration came to me late in the mail. To my luck, it arrived the day my temporary expired, so of course I got a ticket. That morning I got a “failure to display”. I placed the registration on the window that morning as I couldn’t peel it off, and drive to the hardware store to buy something to remove it and guess what? I get smack with a second ticket. I actually catch the agent in the middle of scanning me and she just wants to give me a ticket now. She sees the temporary reg, the reg, the a.m. ticket, and says “oh you got the wrong ticket”…you’re suppose to get “display on the wrong side’ or something or the other. Aka meet her quota.
I tried to fight the first one. I was rejected. The judge told me pretty much “so what”. I don’t think this is fair. I did my part.
Thank you.”
[Larry: If you like the image below, pin it…Thanks!]
Analysis
The general rule to apply in all no standing zones is that a driver is never, ever permitted to exit her vehicle (A bus stop is a no standing zone on steroids because it adds the additional requirement of acting “expeditiously”). The driver stops…a passenger enters or exits the chariot, and vamoose.
But, what if your passenger is elderly or disabled and needs extra time or assistance to enter or exit the vehicle? Technically, you still lose. You cannot exit your vehicle. But, there is a P.S.
Let’s start with the definition of expeditiously:
“Acting or done in a quick and efficient way.”
A judge might argue that exiting your car to help a disabled passenger is per se not “expeditious.” However, I’ve spoken to judges who apply “expeditious” on a case-by-case basis. In other words, whether you acted “expeditiously” depends on the circumstances of your case.
I would argue that if I was able to help my disabled passenger out of the car and onto the sidewalk in less than one minute, I acted “expeditiously” under the circumstances. But, I would also have to provide the judge with a bunch of additional information and proof. How disabled was my passenger? I would need a report from her doctor. Was this the only spot for me to stop temporarily? Did I prevent a bus from entering or exiting the bus stop zone?
Like I said, an NYC bus stop parking ticket is tough to beat.
A temporary registration certificate is valid for 10 days and gives you a new registration expiration date.
Commentary
I have beaten NYC bus stop parking tickets. But, I’ve lost more than I beat. Please, I urge you to look for a place to stop temporarily outside a bus stop zone. Bus stop zones have bad karma. Trust me.
Leave a Reply