A California woman parked downtown without paying the meter. When she returned to her vehicle, she was relieved to see that she hadn’t gotten a ticket. Then, a couple of days later, she got a notice that left her freaked out and confused. Now Tania Arias (@taaniiaarias) is seeking guidance on how to proceed in this situation and wonders if anyone else has experienced something like this. Her TikTok about the experience has generated thousands of views as of this writing. "I had the weirdest thing happen to me the other day and I need somebody to have it make sense for me," Arias begins. Arias says she went downtown for a concert and parked on the street. Allegedly, there was no parking meter, and payment was only through the app. She admits she didn’t pay for parking, but says it was because she doesn’t have the app. "I was already running late and I was lazy. I just decided to say [expletive] it and go in and not pay for parking. I knew I might get a ticket and I was okay with that," she says. After the show, Arias checked the dashboard to see if there was a ticket. She got lucky, and there was no ticket. Two days later, however, a ticket showed up on her windshield. At her house. The ticket was from the night of the concert. She accepted the consequences—until she started to think about the logistics. "How is a parking ticket showing up at my house on my dash on my car now two days later," she wonders. "Help. My car registration isn’t registered at the house I live at now," she concludes the video. How Could She Get A Parking Ticket Days Later? Viewers were just as confused as Arias. Some had ideas about how the ticket made its way to her. "I thinkkkkk someone reported you, and they gave them your license plate and they found you," one speculated. "Check for a tracking device on your car," another suggested. "I don’t like it at all. How did they find you," a third pondered. "Mailing address," another guessed. Obviously, some type of tracking occurred. But what? Cities are finding new ways to issue parking tickets. New York City installed AI cameras mounted on city buses' dashboards that issue parking tickets on the spot to anyone in the bus lane. This eliminates the traditional parking ticket on the windshield. Using cameras to monitor vehicle activity isn’t new; traffic and speeding cameras have been around for years. Cities use Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras to monitor drivers. Plate Recognizer reports that this technology is used to detect license plates on cars for general recognition and can be used for law enforcement. However, using cameras to track people for parking violations is much less common. One Reddit user asked r/police, "Is it normal for a cop to hand deliver a traffic ticket to your home?" Many self-described cops chimed in to say this is normal and they will use their camera to look up your home address to deliver the ticket. "I was running code to a burglary in progress with a trapped victim the other day and someone refuse to yield the left lane to me, slowing down my response time. After the scene was safe and under control, I reviewed my dashcam footage and got the plate off of the car. Went to the registered owner’s house and found the vehicle. I contacted the homeowner, who admitted that they were the person driving at the time. I issued them a citation and left," one wrote. "I have tracked down people and hand delivered a ticket before, or even personally dropped it in their mailbox (and then had it formally mailed out as well)," another shared. The same question appeared on Quora, where experts confirmed traffic tickets can appear at your home the next day. In Arias' case, the police must have found her mailing address as her car was registered in a different location. When Did Cities Move Away From Parking Meters? The first parking meter was installed in 1935 and has since become a common sight in busy downtown areas. Today, parking meters are being removed as cities embrace technology instead. The shift to mobile apps for parking is more about convenience for both the city and the customer. Maintenance costs for traditional meters add up, with frequent battery replacements, repairs for damage, and clearing jams. Buying and installing one meter costs between $8,000 and $10,000, with monthly fees of $50 to $60. Meters will frequently get damaged, and by taking only coins, the city must cap the amount they charge. Additionally, drivers are able to easily dispute tickets by claiming the meter wasn’t working or was jammed, so violations are less enforceable. With mobile apps, payments are arguably easier to send and receive via smartphones. Cities are reaping the benefits of the change. After Pittsburgh implemented smart parking technology, revenue increased by $13 million. San Leandro, California saw a 900% jump in monthly transactions after getting digital parking solutions. New York City has eliminated about 2,500 miles worth of receipt paper since switching to digital payment. The increased revenue means cities are unlikely to revert to traditional meters. So just use the app to pay, or you might get a surprise ticket. Motor1 has contacted Arias via email and TikTok direct message. We’ll update this if she responds. We want your opinion! What would you like to see on Motor1.com? Take our 3 minute survey. - The Motor1.com Team