A Twitter bot is trying to fix D.C.'s parking problems

StateScoop: A Twitter bot created last year by a Washington, D.C., resident has put a clever and interactive focus on the city’s scourge of unpaid parking and traffic tickets. And the account could soon partner with the D.C. government to shame wayward drivers into paying up.

Software engineer Daniel Schep registered the @HowsMyDrivingDC account last July. Users who want to know if a car has been ticketed tweet a license plate number at the account. Schep’s bot is programmed to search the D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles for any unpaid parking or traffic violations issued to the requested car, take a screenshot of the results and tweet it back at the user who asked.

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