SFMTA Customer Service

I got a ticket recently for failure to tag my clipper card, although I had tagged it not once but TWICE and on that second time the payment sound had gone off. Obviously I assumed I was charged. An issuing officer comes by and checks my card as I tell him I had tagged my card and the pay sound came on. A machine in front of the one I tagged mine on read «OUT OF ORDER» so it was clear that the machine that I had used definitely had a default as well, yet it wasn’t marked out of order. I explained that to him and he said that he was giving me a ticket anyway but I could petition it. What a fucking prick. Odds are they won’t approve of it. They have cameras in each car so even if I say they have a record of me on camera tagging it they’ll disregard it bc they are so god damn corrupt! SELFISH ASSHOLES. I work in the city and so this one time one of my customers told me she received the same kind of ticket for a stupid reason. SHE WAS 8 MONTHS PREGNANT. they really don’t give a f**k.
Oh and more good news, failure to pay fare tickets have gone from $ 109 to $ 112. I’m never taking muni ever again.

San Francisco is a lovely city to be in with it’s diverse culture and environment, which separates it from all the others cities in California. But this place in particular is very similar to a DMV. Meaning it is a place where you usually come to pay your fines/​tickets or deal with any other car or parking related issues, which involves a lot of waiting. So that is why when you come here, it is never for a pleasant experience.
But there are a few employees here that do make the place a bit more lively. For example, the security at the front door are very nice as well as some of the workers behind the counter. I will admit that I have been here more than once and more than half the time, I have encountered very nice people who understand it can be very stressful waiting in the lobby. They try their best to get the job done so you can move along with your busy life in the busy city.
Overall, the employees here are very nice and understandable of your conditions. But bare in mind that the atmosphere in the lobby makes it very sufficating because people are usually there for unpleasant reasons.

Highway robbery. Get a parking ticket for $ 68 in a struggling neighborhood which needs all the business it can get. Too bad when I pay the ticket, it will not go back into that community which can benefit from it.

A visit to this place is never pleasant, even if the citation protest works, because the guys behind the glass doors stare you down and otherwise treat you disrespectfully. I’ve protested citations in San Mateo County and in Davis, CA, and I felt respected.
Sitting here now, waiting for my turn…

SFMTA STOP blocking 17 motorcycle spots on Stevenson and 2^nd and 32 motorcycle spots on 2^nd and Market. While maybe one work vehicles uses 10% of the space for three days over 49 daily commuters who work and pay taxes in the city have no where to park near their jobs. Then you go around and ticket all of the commuters who do their best to find parking spots near their job after eliminating more than half of the parking in the area all at once. SHAME on you for using predatory parking permitting to block a majority of parking spots near the Montgomery BART area and then ticketing every day motorcycle commuters while they are working at their jobs to pay your salaries!

I’ve paid around 20 fix-​it tickets in the last two years for No Front License Plate in San Francisco, this review covers all my visits: I’ve always been in and out in 5 – 10 minutes and the administrative fee has varied I believe, but today it was only $ 10.
Look, we all know Meter Maids on the street deserve to go to hell. But folks in this office on corner of Van Ness and Market are always super kind and quick. Very organized and well staffed. I wish other institutions were this efficient, paying fix it tickets here is a breeze.

ZERO stars! The SFMTA sucks big time. Got ticket not long ago, I actually did pay so I protested my ticket. I must pay fine. It doesn’t matter that I have the parking receipt and credit card statement. SFMTA just wants your money, just hand it over, doesn’t matter whether you were wrongfully ticketed or not.
Citizens are expected to come here and abide by the rules of city law when it comes to parking and transportation, but the reality is that it’s just another cash cow for the busted city government of San Francisco.
We pay annual fees for «protection» against the very people we pay the fees to: The SFMTA = Sanctioned organized crime. This is the definition of racketeering. In San Francisco, no good deed goes unpunished. So don’t waste your money, risk getting a double parking ticket, chances are you won’t get one because clearly MTA employees have better things to do than their jobs.

Unfair ‘meter out’ ticket! Meter was out of order, I’ve told this to officer who just arrived to parking area, and he assured me — ‘it’s ok, I’ll mark it like out of order’. After returning in 20 minutes I found ticket! What the f… ing asshole?

0 stars if possible.
Owned my car 2010 — have never taken it to San Francisco.
April 2015 I receive a notice indicating I never paid the ticket I received in March 2015.
They reference my licence plate, but the car’s color indicated (red) is not mine (silver).
No photo supplied by the SFMTA.
I’m ONLY GUESSING the advanced technology SFMTA is using: There are MANUAL steps taken by some clerk somewhere — who entered the wrong licence # from the parking ticket. Yesseree — a city famous for advances in technology is still relying on transcribing hand-​written information from parking tickets into some computer somewhere. My license number has a 0 Zero in it — think maybe they are looking for O Oh’s?
Maybe their computers are still programmed with punch cards?!
I sent a reply to the indicated address 11 van ness — attention citation review.
It is now FOUR MONTHS LATER — NO REPLY AT ALL.
Hello — anyone home? They have a board of directors! What are they doing? Anything??? A board is accountable to the entity which created the SFMTA — an agency. That entity they are accountable to is the city of San Francisco.
Let’s all drop a line to the mayor’s office, registered mail, request return receipt. MAYBE the mayor’s office will get SICK AND TIRED of complaints and ask the SFMTA to explain themselves.
Office of Mayor, Edwin Lee
San Francisco City Hall, Room 200
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
San Francisco, CA 94 102

Long story short, I am an insurance agent and had an appointment in the city. I ordered food to go from Pica Pica and parked on Valencia street, the meter took my two quarters for a total of 8 minutes. I hoped in to get my food and hoped back out. I then changed my shirt in the back seat because there were a lot of men standing outside the hotel next door. As I was finishing buttoning my shirt the parking meter man is standing in front of my vehicle. He then says «I’ve already started, I can’t do anything now» I said «I was in my car and will put more quarters if necessary but please don’t give me a ticket.» He said «it’s too late I already started again.» no compassion, no hesitation he printed the ticket and went on his merry way.
Two days after I got my ticket I sent a request for review and explained my situation. My request was denied and if I would like to have an officer review my case again I will need to pay up the $ 68.00 and then have them review it. So they take your money and when you do have your day in court with an «officer» not a Judge your claim will be denied and your time will be wasted. how can anyone survive in San Francisco… The system is corrupt and there is absolutely nothing we can do about it.
Sorry for those who have to deal with this B. S, While Ross Mirkarimi can have a ticket of $ 50 not incur penalties we the people are penalized to the fullest extent of the «Law», we are the people if we didn’t exist the system wouldn’t exist either.

I’ve been here three times for various reasons. The person at the front desk always warns of a long wait but I have never been in the building for more than 30 minutes. The employees are very kind and friendly and will help you figure out what you need to bring to get paperwork filed. Today I got a parking permit in less than 10 minutes (note that I did read the instructions online before going to the office).
Always a great experience. Treat them well and they will give you the same respect :) I recommend going on a Friday.

This place is so UNORGANIZED.
We recently moved to an area where permitted parking is available. Of course as residents, we would love to avoid needing to move our car every 2 hours. So we began the process of getting our first parking permit.
I went online to find all the forms, but they must be printed and the only payment methods are in cash or check. Everything must be submitted in person, or by mail. I work the the same hours as the SFMTA, so I opted for the the mailing option.
Mailed everything out on June 25^th, expecting 1 MAYBE 2 weeks for processing.
It is now JULY 14 and still no permit, or notice that my check has been cashed. My boyfriend decided to call to check on the status, only to be redirected from the number on the site to another number. One of those touch tone numbers that have you push 1 for this and 2 for that and so on and so forth.
He finally gets to the option he needs only to reach a voicemail letting him know he will get a call back in 1 – 2 business days. OK.
July 15 we get a call back. YAY. The guy seems nice enough. He lets my boyfriend know that they DO NOT have our letter containing all of our info and a check for $ 55. He suggests that it may have been lost in the mail, says we should have our check cancelled, and to send it all over again. Ok, that happens. Frustrating, but understandable (which is why most places offer online service).
About 15 minutes later, my boyfriend receives a call back from the same guy letting him know that they found our envelope with our info! WHAT THE F*CK?! He says that his co-​worker had it and that they would process it right away. NO SH*T! OMG does your co-​worker not work for the same company? Who knows how long our information would have been sitting on this guys desk had we not called.
Beware, if you are doing any business with SFMTA and be very on top of things, as they do not seem to have the slightest clue as to being the least bit productive.

I was parked on 22^nd and Illinois on 22^nd street and there was no sign was there indicate no Parkin or street cleaning and etc. I got $ 88.00 ticket for no reason and the address on the ticket indicates on 20^th street and and it was 10:00 o’clock at night when I parked there. I think 10.00 o’clock at night there is plenty spot in that area why should I park on 20^th street and walking two blocks. I don’t have the copy of ticket with me I sent it for protesting and they respond me they can’t do any thing $ 88.00 is a lot of money and the person who issued the ticket should be questioned I am sure there is a lot of issue
About this why wrong address is on the ticket and it’s not acceptable.

I came across this article, published this year.
Further driving my point straight to it– while it is greatly appreciated when they are just doing their job (as we all do) I am referring to legitimate corruption and dishonesty really going on and it is near impossible to even prove sometimes.
Check this link out for proof:
There are corrupt people and dishonest people period.
We are merely saying, hey you whose paycheck I help pay into– do you think you could do your job correctly and honestly and actually look at the legitimacy of my case.
Of course like anything government, they get you turned around in the obstacles you must take just to exonerate yourself and they figure hey they will give in and just pay to avoid the hassle or get you turned around in some jargon.
You’re like the cops that would rather issue you a parking ticket to meet a quota rather than go solve some real crime and protect the people. So backwards.

San Francisco has the most expensive parking tickets in the nation. 14% higher than 2^nd place, New York City:

Zero star for issuing me a PARKING ticket in San Francisco when I did not even «park» at the spot where they issued me the ticket for. Oh wait, Unilocal still doesn’t allow zero star rating? Guess I would have to make do with a one star rating.
BTW, Unilocal,you should really think about letting us do zero rating review.
Anyway, what happened was I drove to the financial district a few minutes before 6 pm one Wed. last year (2014) for a business dinner. I forgot the address of the place I was supposed to be while I was on Mission blvd near 2^nd Street. The SF Academy of Arts was there on the right side. I pulled over to the side of Mission for a minute, with my engine on, sitting on my driver’s seat, checking my Gmail from my google phone to see the address. There was no bus stop or other cars where I pulled over. Then I continued driving to find the destination on Mission Blvd, then found a metered parking spot somewhere on the side street, paid for maybe $ 5 parking as it was nearly 6 pm, then went on about my business.
We had a nice and pleasant dinner at a seafood restaurant nearby (can’t remember which one.) Good wine, great food, fun dinner companions even though it was mostly for business. Then I merrily drove home.
Two months later, I received a parking ticket from SFMTA. By the way they didn’t even have my new address even though I updated immediately with DMV when I moved to Fremont. The ticket was first mailed to my previous address and eventually got forwarded to me.
Surprised to see the $ 150 ticket from the city of San Francisco, I had to check my Outlook calender to refresh my memory as I only went to the city once in a blue moon last year. I knew I paid at a legal parking place and paid for the parking; I even have credit card statement to prove that I paid for it.
Then I looked at the ticket again and noticed the address where they issued me a ticket for. That must have been when I pulled over for one minute to check my email. Apparently they took a photo of my car using the photo on a bus and claimed that I parked at a bus lane.
I wrote a contest letter asking for the photo proof and showed my credit card statement evidencing my payment around the same time of the ticket. They wrote back rejecting my contest. Neither have I ever seen any photo they claimed they have. I wrote twice to explain the situation and asked for a copy of the photo but they simply declined and asked me to pay anyway. As the deadline was coming up and I didn’t have the time to pursue any further so I paid it anyway, reluctantly.
I don’t remember exactly what I ate at that dinner or what we discussed about during the dinner, but I will always remember that (free) dinner cost me $ 150 «parking» penalty and San Francisco MTA is to blame.

I came down to protest a parking ticket. Was pleasantly surprised as I got the window fairly quickly, was assigned my number and was called for a hearing with an «officer» fairly quickly. That’s when things went downhill. Fast.
The officer called me in. Went over the ticket. Told him the reason I was protesting and said «I have pictures». «Don’t need to see your pictures. My computer says the ticket is valid». Me: «Signs were not posted and visible» Him: «Let me see your pictures». Me: «Here’s where my car was parked» Do you see a sign”. Him: «Computer says signs posted. I’ll have them take a another look». That’s the short version.
Overall, never been spoken to in such a condescending manner. Guy is lucky he has civil service job or the only thing he’s be asking is «do you want fries with that?». As for serving the public — forget it. It’s embarrassing to this is what our taxes are buying us. Must be nice to work there and not be accountable to the public who pays your salary.

If a robot with only three pre-​recorded menu options was behind the counter, it would be more helpful then what they have hired to «work» at this place. I can’t think of a single service provider that can create more confusion and delays by simply not having an ounce of energy (motivation) or ability to produce even the slightest thought (electrical impulse in brain). The DMV looks like a consulting firm compared to these guys.
That said, this whole organization is the epitome of taking without giving. We pay annual fees for «protection» against the very people we pay the fees to: The SFMTA = Sanctioned organized crime. This is the definition of racketeering. My block has plenty of parking, is not anywhere close to a commercial business, yet has two hour parking until 9PM. This means in order to park directly in front my house, I must pay the SFMTA for a sticker that protects me from… The SFMTA. There is no other benefit to the sticker as nobody but us residents park on our block. Taxation without representation is tyranny.

Need to get my A card renewal.
Finding parking close by here is a nightmare. Or pay all day flat rate at next door to SFMTA.(guess why?)
29^th of December. Security at the entrance telling Taxi Servises are closed for Christmas till 5^th January.
Coming back 5^th of January. (((parking again (((. 11:55am… Security telling they are on the brake till 2:00pm.
Become a passenger vehicle driver. Be a customer of this department. Loose your income. Pay for license buy permit and get bankrupt.
Waste your couple hours or day welcome to SFMTA!
Changing my review :
They treat me better now
Additional thanks to attendant Marina. She spent a lot of time to explain many important things to me.

I absolutely hate this place.
Same officer. S. O badge#0172 gave me 2 tickets in a row for «residential overtime» when I have the sticker but it was just not on my bumper.
I had my residential permit stuck on my rear window because I had my bumper repainted and I was told not to stick anything on the new paint. I had even talked to SFMTA about what to do about this and they told me to stick it on my window.
I just hate SFMTA so much. It’s literally bank robbery. I wish I could give them tickets on their own personal cars so they know how it feels.
I suppose I’d risk my bumper to avoid being harassed with a million tickets…