Digging a deeper $AFEclear hole
Mayor White has proposed "free" tows, in the $AFEclear program, for minor breakdowns such as when a car has a flat tire or runs out of gas. But (there's always a but), it won't really be free. The city will pay $50 for each of those tows out of city transportation funds, according to a report on KTRH.
A car will be towed up to one mile or to the nearest gas station on the city's dime. If the problem is a flat tire, the tow truck driver will change the tire. If the problem is the car is out of gas, the tow truck driver will take the car to the nearest gas station. (It would be faster and cheaper for the tow truck driver to carry gas and put some in the tank.)
The immediate question is how can the city all of a sudden afford this? Chris Baker is saying Metro funds will be used, but Metro is already in a financial pinch. If the city is now going to subsidize tows, why doesn't the city help fund an expanded Motorist Assistance Program, instead? That program is already established and doesn't have all the problems that plague $AFEclear.
The reality is that towing companies paid franchise fees for freeway rights and they expect to get a return on their investment. So, the mayor could not shelve $AFEclear; he had to find a way to calm down the anti-$AFEclear uproar AND not have the towing companies go ballistic, which is why towing companies had to approve any changes to the program.
Of course, this whole mess could have been avoided if $AFEclear had never been enacted.
Here's some information from the city of Houston and here's the Chronicle's story on the changes.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 01/12/05 05:07 PM | Houston Politics | Print | Comments (7)
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