Austin resident faces parking permit hassle, turns to 7 on Your Side

AUSTIN, Texas - Ronnie Carter has been living at the Pathways at North Loop, a city-subsidized apartment complex, for the past year and a half. 

The 70-year-old retiree has had no issues here, until he started driving for Lyft back in late August. Lyft rents him a car, which is the only one he drives.

"I just went into the office like I knew I was required to do," said Carter, "To ask the manager to give me a parking permit."

However, he says he ran into trouble when he told her he didn’t own the car—but instead was a legal operator of it.

"When I explained to her that it was a Lyft rental vehicle, she said that it could not be possibly permitted to park because it was not my vehicle," said Carter.

He looked up the complex’s policy, which states "vehicles owned or operated by a resident" are eligible to park there. He returned to the building manager with the required documents, before running into another roadblock.

"She said since the insurance is not in your name, you still would not be able to qualify for a parking sticker," said Carter.

Since Lyft owns the car, the insurance is listed as a fleet policy. When Carter pushed back, the situation was escalated to the Housing Authority of the City of Austin, or HACA, the public agency which oversees Carter’s complex.

"I even went to the HACA main office and technically I was told the same thing, that I have to wait for the supervisor," said Carter.

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For more than two weeks, Carter would park in the visitor lot during the day.

"After 9 p.m., there’s not supposed to be any parking in this visitor spot," said Carter.

He would take his chances in the resident spots at night, where he was informed his car could be towed.

"I can’t sleep at night. I keep waking up overnight wondering if my car has been towed," said Carter. "It keeps my blood pressure up." Carter added, "It’s like they're punishing me for going to work."

But then, about three hours after 7 on Your Side stopped by, Carter received some good news.

Carter sent FOX 7 Austin's John Krinjak a text saying he finally got his permit, and thanking 7 on Your Side for the help.

"When I come home, I can rest and be assured that my car is going to be here when I come out the next day to go to work," said Carter.

HACA sent 7 on Your Side a statement saying:

"At HACA, the needs of our residents always come first. Mr. Carter sent an email on Monday, August 26th seeking a parking permit. He was asked to provide documents that are requested from all residents before a parking permit is issued… Mr. Carter submitted his paperwork on Tuesday, September 3rd and a permit was subsequently issued on Tuesday, September 10th. While our Pathways at North Loop community has limited parking, Mr. Carter still had access to visitor parking while he waited to receive his permit."