More Automated Ticketing Contracts Terminated

Contract Terminated

Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse for beleaguered Redflex Traffic Systems after losing 3 contracts this week due to successful ballot initiatives, more bad news came this week when Upland, CA announced that they were terminating their contract with Redflex, as reported by Examiner.com.

Sgt Matthews of the Upland Police Dept. said they terminated the contract with Redflex and removed the cameras at the end of June. “They were not effective in our city. What matters to us is the effectiveness in the city of Upland.” The cameras were “ineffective in reducing collisions”, which was the point of the cams, he said.

A report prepared by the police chief mentioned frequently cited objections to automated ticketing machines in recommending termination of the contract:

• Cameras had “...little influence on the number of red light related collisions at monitored intersections. At times rear end collisions have actually increased.”
• The system tied up police resources that could be spent fighting real crime
• Illegal provisions in the contract.

In the end, the straw that likely broke the camel’s back was the fact that the city was losing money on the program.

Examiner.com also reports that neighboring city Montclair also decided to discontinue it’s program run by Nestor which was recently acquired by ATS.

Evidently, you can put a price on “photo safety.” Fortunately, few cities are willing to pay for it.