In January, a group of downtown St. Louis boosters decried a so-called “hookah bus” that had racked up $2,000 in unpaid parking tickets while parked illegally around the neighborhood—all while seemingly receiving little incentive to stop.
But the hookah bus is hardly the worst offender. There’s a Tesla with Illinois dealer plates that has accumulated more than 200 tickets totaling $27,140 in fines. A set of Missouri plates that started out on a blue Honda and then were put on a gray Chevy racked up more than 500 tickets totalling $42,275. An Illinois Hyundai Santa Fe owes $31,775 from 350 tickets. That’s according to data from the office of the city treasurer, who controls parking in the city.
All told, by the treasurer’s own accounting, 13,100 vehicles have collectively accumulated more than $10.7 million in unpaid tickets. And there’s nothing to suggest any of those vehicles have been towed…