A newly available online portal helps people to find out if their vehicles were towed in Oakland.

City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan said she discovered that the city was already supposed to have such a portal while looking into existing problems with Oakland’s beleaguered 911 dispatch system.

A screenshot of Oakland’s new online portal that allows vehicle owners to search for whether their vehicle has been towed. (Screenshot via oaklandautoplustowing.com)

Instead of an online system, the tow company’s website directed people to call the Oakland Police Department when making inquires about their vehicles, which took dispatchers’ attention away from handling actual emergency calls.

“We are committed to taking action to improve the 911 dispatch, including by funding staff and equipment and reducing other calls so they can focus on urgent needs,” Kaplan said in a news release.

Kaplan said she worked with OPD and the Oakland Department of Transportation to make the portal available.

Kiley Russell writes primarily for Local News Matters on issues related to equity and the environment. A Bay Area native, he has lived most of his life in Oakland. He studied journalism at San Francisco State University, worked for the Associated Press and the former Contra Costa Times, among other outlets. He has covered everything from state legislatures, local governments, federal and state courts, crime, growth and development, political campaigns of various stripes, wildfires and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.