Politics |

Chicago wants ‘self-release boots’ for cars

Getting a boot off your car in Chicago could soon become a bit easier, but the convenience will likely come at a cost.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration is looking for a company to provide “self-release” boots for vehicles that have unpaid tickets, and to administer a program in which drivers would deliver the wheel locks to drop-off locations after paying their outstanding fines and getting the use of their cars back.

The company that operates the boot program would get paid a “boot release fee” when “an operator or owner of a booted vehicle avails themselves of the self-release services,” according to bid documents the city sent out this week seeking proposals.

The bid documents don’t specify how much those fees would be for the Chicago program. City spokeswoman Elizabeth Langsdorf said possible additional fees “have not been part of the discussion.”

“Since the process is still in RFP (request for proposals) phase, we’re not stipulating how it will work,” Langsdorf said in an email. “The city is looking to see how responses look with regard to some of these details.”

Self-release boots have been used since 2012 in New York City, where drivers can pay their tickets over the phone or in person. Once a driver pays, he or she is given a code that will release the boot, according to the New York Finance Department. The driver has to return the boot to a drop-off location within 24 hours or late fees of $25 per day start piling up.

In New York, the costs to motorists include a $159 “boot fee” to PayLock, the company that has the contract there for self-release boots, in addition to other fines and fees. If the car sits for more than 48 hours with the boot attached, the city of New York tows it and more towing and storage fees apply.

Chicago’s bid documents ask responding companies to explain how they would administer “boot drop-off locations” and how they would manage a “boot call center.”

Cars can be booted in Chicago if the driver gets as few as three tickets, or two tickets that are a year or more past due. The city boots about 1,200 vehicles a week, according to the bid documents.

The use of the self-release option may allow motorists to get their cars back quicker than waiting for a city worker to come unlock the boot, and the mayor could be figuring that many drivers will be willing to pay the additional “boot release fee” in exchange for the convenience. That would be similar to the credit card payment option now in place for Chicago parking meters, where drivers can add time remotely, but there is a 35-cent convenience fee that goes to meter operator Chicago Parking Meters for each transaction of less than two hours.

“While it is still to be determined how and if people will use this service, we expect that there are motorists, especially those who are booted after-hours, that will appreciate having this option available to them,” Langsdorf said.

jebyrne@tribpub.com

Twitter @_johnbyrne