A city councilor is proposing an ordinance he says would outlaw the parking app Haystack in Boston by banning the selling or reserving of city-owned roads, but the company insists it does not apply to them.
Councilor Frank Baker’s proposal, which the council yesterday referred to committee, says that no one other than the city “shall have the authority to sell, lease, reserve or facilitate the reserving of any street, way, highway, road or parkway, or portion thereof, under the City of Boston’s control.”
“People shouldn’t be coming in to profit off our assets,” said Baker. “What is next, reserving park ?benches? Swings? Tables on the Greenway?”
Haystack allows drivers to sell their parking spaces through a cellphone app and hold on to it until a buyer arrives. It’s drawn a threat of legal action from Mayor Martin J. Walsh.
Haystack founder and CEO Eric Meyer said in a statement that the company doesn’t sell parking spaces “but rather allows neighbors to exchange information about parking.
“While we are unaware of this ordinance and will need to study it further, any attempt to deny Boston residents access to such information is a step backwards in reaching our common goal of simpler streets and parking innovation for city residents,” Meyer said.
In a statement, Walsh said he shares Baker’s concerns.
“The City of Boston stands behind innovation in parking solutions, but cannot condone private efforts that seek to privatize and monetize public parking space,” Walsh said.
The proposal came at the same meeting the council voted to schedule a hearing to discuss ways to “level the playing field” between licensed taxis, which have to abide by voluminous hackney regulations, and unregulated app-based rideshare services like Uber. A task force formed by Walsh is also studying the issue.
“Right now the taxi industry is regulated very clearly and Uber is not regulated,” council president Bill Linehan said. “In a hearing, we’ll have the opportunity to flesh out some of those differences … I think this is the first step.”
