Austin Police Department asks for changes to towing services

APD currently has contracts with multiple towing companies, requiring an officer to call a company based on a rotation system instead of based on where the car is located in relation to a given towing service.

If City Council approves the contract request during its Feb. 26 meeting, APD will hire a vendor who will contact a towing company based on the location of the vehicle and the location of the nearest tow truck. This vendor would only help APD tow cars that were involved with a crash, abandoned or improperly parked in a city spot or lot, Assistant Chief Brian Manley said.

By requesting tow service based on what company is closest, Manley said it will cut down how long crashes can back up traffic. The average wait time for a tow truck is currently 45 minutes, but this proposal would cut that wait time down to 20 minutes, Manley said.

Councilwoman Ora Houston questioned the need for the service because tow trucks are stationed along I-35 to provide quicker access to potential sites where they are needed. That system helps, Manley said, but is currently only used during rush-hour traffic, and under this proposal the vendor would provide such service at all hours of the day.

Using the vendor would create an additional $25 towing fee for those who have their vehicles towed. Of that fee, $22 would go to the vendor used to connect APD with the right towing agency and $3 would go to the towing company used, Manley said. Using the fee prevents taxpayers from paying for the vendor and instead puts the burden on those being towed, Manley said.

The vendor would not be employed by APD to tow any cars from privately owned lots, Manley said.