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Re:Bus Lane Blocked, He Trained His Computer to Catch Scofflaws by sjburt on Friday March 16, 2018 @03:14PM (#16603233)
In many cities, UPS tells its drivers to park illegally and then pays the resulting tickets in bulk. It's a cost of doing business for them. This cost is limited by the number of parking enforcement vehicles.

If the cost were increased enough (perhaps by enforcing the law more aggressively), UPS might choose a different strategy such as telling its drivers to park legally and walk further.

Re:Bus Lane Blocked, He Trained His Computer to Catch Scofflaws by gnud on Friday March 16, 2018 @03:46PM (#16603492)
That sounds a bit weird to me. A company shouldn't be allowed to instruct it's employees to break the law - not even traffic regulations. So the fee should go to the driver, not to the company.

I think that might solve the issue quickly.

Re:Bus Lane Blocked, He Trained His Computer to Catch Scofflaws by jandrese on Friday March 16, 2018 @04:25PM (#16603774)
You're basically asking the drivers to perform a miracle every time they deliver a package. Anybody who lasts more than a week would qualify for Catholic sainthood.

Saint Jim, patron saint of on-street parking.

Re:Bus Lane Blocked, He Trained His Computer to Catch Scofflaws by jopsen on Friday March 16, 2018 @05:32PM (#16604190)
Maybe delivery services should be more expensive?

You are subsidizing private enterprise by tolerating organized violation of traffic laws.

If you want delivery companies to be allowed to behave this way, then make a law. It's perfectly reasonable for a municipality to except certified delivery companies from some traffic rules...

Re:Bus Lane Blocked, He Trained His Computer to Catch Scofflaws by jandrese on Friday March 16, 2018 @07:40PM (#16604771)
How much surcharge should you expect for the ability to perform a verifiable miracle on demand?

An actual workable solution would be to simply not allow deliveries to a building unless it has an available commercial delivery spot. That may make some businesses unhappy however. Residents may be unhappy to see entire sections of the city suddenly have no walkup businesses as well.

Re:Bus Lane Blocked, He Trained His Computer to Catch Scofflaws by jopsen on Saturday March 17, 2018 @09:16PM (#16610018)
Having a driver and a delivery guy who steps out with the packages could also work...

Point is, you can change prices, stop offering the service, or fix the law.

But allowing businesses to ignore the law is not a good idea. Change the law instead, if that's what you want.

Re:Bus Lane Blocked, He Trained His Computer to Catch Scofflaws by Merad on Friday March 16, 2018 @06:04PM (#16604331)
Years ago I worked at UPS while going to community college. This was in a suburban/semi-rural area of NC. At our UPS center, the wait time to become a full-time driver was around 7-8 years (union seniority rules and all). Management never got tired of reminding people that if you were willing to transfer to Charlotte, NC, you could land a driver job in as little as 6 months. For some reason they never had any takers...
Re:Bus Lane Blocked, He Trained His Computer to Catch Scofflaws by ptaipale on Friday March 16, 2018 @07:29PM (#16604725)
> UPS tells its drivers to park illegally and then pays the resulting tickets in bulk.

Interesting. Over here, a company cannot deduct parking tickets (or similar payments). They are not cost of business and are therefore directly reducing the EBIT i.e. money of shareholders. Also, they are treated as taxable income to the person who got the ticket, if identifiable (here enforcement is weaker, but the outcome is that no company pays parking tickets for its employees.)

Re:Bus Lane Blocked, He Trained His Computer to Catch Scofflaws by jfk13 on Friday March 16, 2018 @03:26PM (#16603331)
Apparently the parking fines are not high enough.
Re:Bus Lane Blocked, He Trained His Computer to Catch Scofflaws by kevin_b_er on Friday March 16, 2018 @04:40PM (#16603874)
Does a flesh and blood person suffer from increased fines for repeated violations? Then so should a corporate person.