Philly’s courtesy tows get dragged on ‘The Daily Show’

They say every time a non-local learns about Philadelphia’s “courtesy towing” system, another eagle gets its wings.

Comedy Central’s The Daily Show dedicated a segment to Philly and its parking authority on Wednesday night spotlighting the city’s courtesy tow system — when a legally parked car is moved because a temporary “no parking” sign goes up after the car had parked there.

The problem, as covered by The Inquirer, is that the cars are sometimes reparked illegally, leaving the onus for parking tickets and impound fees on the owner — and in a handful of instances, the vehicles can’t be found.

» READ MORE: ‘Nobody is safe’: Philly officials refuse to fix courtesy-tow problem as class-action lawsuits proceed

Daily Show correspondent Michael Kosta interviewed several locals who have been courtesy towed over the years to illustrate the issue. Gary Isaacs, whom The Inquirer previously interviewed, said that while he was out of town, his car was courtesy towed to an illegal spot, impounded, damaged, and listed for auction. The resulting PPA ticket and repair costs totaled nearly $1,500.

Rachel Sclarsky, who also previously spoke with The Inquirer, warned Kosta and other non-locals that it’s basically a given that their car will be ticketed at some point and to be careful about where they park. She said her legally parked car was towed and illegally parked in a turn lane while she was away, collecting four parking tickets. Sclarsky said her mother was also courtesy towed — 30 years ago.

This is where things get murky.

“The one common factor in these stories? The PPA,” Kosta told viewers, even including a jab where he called the agency “beloved.”

The segment goes on to blame the Philadelphia Parking Authority for the courtesy tows. In reality, the agency doesn’t do most of the actual towing. Often, private companies tow the cars, but the drop-off location isn’t logged. If they leave the car in an illegal spot, the PPA has no way of knowing who is at fault for the illegal parking job.

Additionally, the PPA is the one agency that actually tracks where it takes cars when they are towed, using an online database that was implemented in 2020. The problems occur when cars are towed outside the agency’s purview, sending vehicle owners on wild-goose chases. Owners trying to appeal tickets have to squabble with the city’s Bureau of Administrative Adjudication, not the PPA.

» READ MORE: ‘What a nightmare’: How Philly police, parking authority, and tow companies lose cars while ‘courtesy’ towing

We asked the PPA about The Daily Show segment, and spokesperson Martin O’Rourke reiterated this point by quoting The Inquirer’s reporting to show where the segment got it wrong.

In the piece, Kosta also spoke with an organizer from the Pay Up PPA advocacy group. Rochelle Nichols Solomon told him that in Philly, being courtesy towed was a ubiquitous experience. “It’s part of life,” she said.

At one point, the interview with Solomon paused as Daily Show cameras spotted a crew member apparently being ticketed.

» READ MORE: Here's what to do if your car is courtesy towed.

As the kicker, Kosta could be seen approaching the PPA office and impound lot on Weccacoe Avenue in South Philly. He was promptly asked to leave the building.

The segment wrapped with Kosta’s car being bombarded with fake parking tickets blocking out all his car’s windows.

The Inquirer reached out to The Daily Show for comment but didn’t hear back as of publication time.