Towing Changes

[Redplague]

Apologies for the format of the post but this is lifted and shifted from my business plan. This was originally planned for my business GOATow but there may be an opportunity to roll this out to the wider community if the government establishes cookie cutter tow yards around the island that businesses can rent and start working from.

 

1.1 Business Summary

The Tow business is a simple one, we impound vehicles tagged by LEO or complete jobs sent by Dispatch for local cars however there is currently an issue where player cars which are illegally parked can be impounded for very little return to the tow drivers.

1.2 Business Aims

GOATow aims to clean up the streets of Los Santos, we have already seen a marked improvement in player parking around the city as we started towing cars parked illegally however this was done for the good of the city rather than our own pockets as this results in us earning between $180-280 per vehicle however I believe a balance could be struck to ensure Towing can be a successful career beyond sitting and waiting for LEO to call in tows.

We hope to be the business that the city can trust to uphold the parking standard expected by LEO and City Officials and ensure the streets remain clear to ensure commerce and commutes flow as expected.

 

1.3 Financial Summary

The cost of owning/operating an impound doesn’t have to be high, as always location, location, location however in order to ensure the city has enough tow coverage I believe some changes should be made to allow a simple business like ours to flourish.

In addition to the regular LEO and Dispatch Tows I believe the company should be rewarded for towing illegally parked cars beyond the couple of hundred dollars currently available. I propose that the business receives the funds paid to retrieve the vehicle from the GOATow impound lot, this will reward the company and employees for enforcing the parking restrictions as well as free up LEO resource as tow drivers will no longer have to call and await tagging before being fairly compensated.

Expected Revenue

Given than we can expect to only tow 0-10 player vehicles a week from the additional revenue stream of 50-100k per month if the company and its employees put in the work. This profit will be split between employees who are active and putting in the work required. Most importantly, no revenue will be generated unless work is put into the system, this is in no means a passive income.

 

1.4 Rules and Regulations

Given the possibility for the business to just start yanking players left and right I would propose the following guidelines for the business to ensure both the government and fellow citizens are happy.

 

1.       A photograph should be taken of any illegally parked vehicles prior to towing using a smartphone or gopro to prove a parking violation has occurred.

2.       A ‘drop fee’ will be offered and enshrined in city bylaws to any citizen who approaches the tow truck, once the vehicle is on the truck this must be paid to release the vehicle.

3.       Any citizen who approached the tow truck before it is hooked has the opportunity to move the vehicle without any fee.

4.       If possible, any LEO passing by and not on an active call should monitor any tows in progress for the safety of tow drivers who face constant threats of violence and abuse for doing their jobs.

 

1.5 Final Word

 

I don’t think anyone will get rich from this business plan; however, I do feel it will fairly reward tow truckers for getting on with the day job. I feel with this business model and rules in place we could get on with the job of ensuring the streets of Los Santos are free of wrecks, abandoned and illegally parked vehicles.

[RockfordIceBenders]

Something ive been debating putting ideas in for, is some way such as tire chalk, or a temporary tracker.... I also would like to see a way for tow drivers to see who a car belongs to. If a car is spotted parked illegally, tow driver has to put tracker/ chalk on tires, look up registered owner, via text, call or lifeinvader post. Tow driver then warns owner that hteir car will be towed in x amount of time if car isnt moved, then tow it for fair compensation at that point. I feel like this allows those who have head pops a chance to get their car back, while also not allowing tow drivers to just grab every car they see to make ots of money. Tow driver doesnt waste time, etc. Obviously if a cop calls for tow it would negate all of the above. I think it is a fairly solid idea though, as someone who dedicates a lot of time, and ic money to towing/ recovery, anything to advance it. or make it better is a +1 from me

 

[Redplague]

The rules state that tow drivers don't have to attempt to contact the owner of a vehicle before they tow but perhaps tow drivers could be moved to a whitelisted role? that way randoms won't be able to buy a truck and licence and start towing left and right. We could be the parking enforcement arm of the city/PD but I agree there does need to be a certain level of trust in the system so that it can't be abused. I don't think anyone wants to spend their time trying to track down car owners. 

With regard to head pops like last night I don't think any of the tow truckers I know would start yanking cars unless told by the police but again there was another random tow trucker accepting calls but never showing up to tow or answering on the radio.