The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which sets the towing and storage fees, has decreed an end to most tow fees on stolen cars. Nonresidents will still face a $133 administrative fee to pick up their stolen cars.
The SFMTA is also extending the grace period for owners to pick up their cars from the city impound lot. San Francisco residents will get 48 hours to retrieve their cars before storage fees kick in; nonresidents will get 24 hours.
The only caveat: A police report must be filed with and verified by the Police Department in order to get towing fees waived.
Robert Lyles, an SFMTA spokesman, said the agency took into account public complaints and reconsidered the fees in November during its review of a new contract with AutoReturn, the company that manages tows in San Francisco.
One of those who was unhappy with the fees was San Francisco resident Ian Monroe, a climate and energy lecturer at Stanford.
He paid more than $800 in towing and storage fees after his battered Honda Civic was stolen twice in the city. Monroe was featured on a KQED Bay Curious story -- Why is Towing So Expensive in San Francisco? -- that explored the reasons the city charges more for towing than New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Jose and Oakland -- and most other big towns.
“This is fantastic news," Monroe said of the SFMTA's new fee schedule. "I'm really glad that drivers in San Francisco won't have to go through what I went through. But I do wish that change was made 10 years ago."
Below: San Francisco's new fee schedules for stolen cars that are found and towed:
Type of Fee |
Old Policy |
New Policy,
as of Dec. 1, 2015 |
S.F. Residents |
Nonresidents |
S.F. Residents |
Nonresidents |
SFMTA Administrative Tow Fee ($266.00) |
Waived |
No waiver |
Waived |
50% waived |
SFMTA Administrative Storage Fee ($3.00) |
Waived |
No waiver |
Waived |
Waived |
Contractor’s Tow Fee (S225.75) |
No Waiver |
No Waiver |
Waived |
Waived |
Contractor’s Storage Fee ($68.25) |
4-hour grace period before storage fees begin to accrue |
4-hour grace period before storage fees begin to accrue |
48-hour grace period before storage fees begin to accrue |
24-hour grace period before storage fees begin to accrue |
Source: San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency |