On Wednesday afternoon the Boston City Council voted in favor of an ordinance that essentially bans the parking app Haystack. The ordinance, filed by Councilor Frank Baker at the end of July, prohibits the selling, leasing or reserving of public ways in Boston which Mayor Walsh’s administration contends Haystack does.
Though the ordinance doesn’t specifically reference Haystack, the Baltimore-based parking solution in effect allows one user who occupies a parking spot to earn money from another who’s searching for a parking spot. And while Haystack founder and CEO Eric Meyer argues that it’s simply a transaction involving information and not public property, the City of Boston has a vastly different take.
According to BetaBoston, “The motion to pass the ordinance was put forward by Councilor Michael Flaherty.”
Meyer told me previously that Boston was the obvious choice for a Haystack launch after Baltimore, wherein he received the utmost support from Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. And despite any dissent from Mayor Walsh and the City Council, he’s since enlisted thousands of users by his own rough estimation.
On Wednesday, Meyer released the following statement in response to the City Council’s decision:
Although we think that Ordinance 1310 should not apply to Haystack (as Haystack does not sell, lease or reserve public parking spots), it seems clear to us that City Council has passed Ordinance 1310, at least in part, to challenge and end Haystack service in the City of Boston.
We believe that taking actions against new ideas and passing legislation based upon hypothetical concerns that have not materialized in the actual implementation of the Haystack app is premature and does nothing to help solve Boston’s acknowledged parking issues. The passage of this ordinance is a step in the wrong direction for parking innovation, and for innovation of every kind.
Nonetheless, it is our company’s mission to solve parking issues collaboratively. Accordingly, Haystack will suspend service in Boston this week until further notice in the hopes of engaging with the Office of New Urban Mechanics and local lawmakers to identify a modified approach to parking issues that can be supported by City Hall.
Meyer received a bit of empathy from Councilor Tito Jackson who, while ultimately voting in favor of the ordinance, see’s where Meyer is coming from.
I’m worried about blowback,” he said, according to BetaBoston. “Are we taking a potential opportunity?”
Though obviously disappointed, it seems Meyer will endeavor to comply with Boston’s regulations and make Haystack a viable option for Bostonians and everyone else fed up with circling the block looking for a place to park their vehicle.
