Downey council to consider new three-year towing contract
A Titan Transportation truck at Downey’s Touch-A-Truck event in 2024. (City of Downey photo)
DOWNEY – The Downey City Council will hold a public hearing Tuesday to consider awarding a new three-year towing and storage services franchise to Mr. C’s Towing, replacing the city’s current provider whose contract is set to expire next month.
The Downey Police Department relies on contracted towing services to handle traffic collisions, abandoned and inoperable vehicles, impounds and vehicles held as evidence. The existing franchise agreement expires March 27, prompting the city to initiate a formal request for proposals process in September 2025.
The city received three proposals.
Titan Transportation Inc., which has provided towing services to Downey since 2009, informed the city in October that it no longer had a lease at its location and could not meet the agreement’s facility requirements. The company was unable to secure another suitable site and has since closed, according to the staff report.
A second proposal from Astro Tow of Bellflower was disqualified after city officials determined its storage lot did not meet minimum size and security requirements necessary to handle police impounds and evidentiary vehicles.
Mr. C’s Towing was the only proposer found to meet all minimum qualifications outlined in the request for proposals.
The company operates a facility near Firestone Boulevard and Interstate 710 and currently provides municipal towing services for several neighboring agencies, including Montebello, Bell Gardens and South Gate.
Mr. C’s began providing towing and storage services to Downey on an emergency basis Oct. 15, 2025. Police officials report the company has demonstrated prompt response times and successfully transferred and secured more than 40 evidentiary vehicles previously held by Titan Transportation.
Under the proposed nonexclusive franchise agreement, Mr. C’s would be required to meet a 20-minute response time for service calls, maintain secure storage facilities capable of holding at least 100 vehicles, and provide indoor storage for a minimum of 25 vehicles to protect evidence and sensitive property.
The agreement also requires compliance with California Highway Patrol towing rate schedules and mandates that certain services be provided at no cost to the city, including towing and storing vehicles held as evidence and providing emergency assistance for city vehicles.
In exchange, the city would collect a franchise fee equal to 20 percent of the company’s gross revenues derived from city-initiated tows. The fee averages approximately $60,000 annually and is intended to offset the city’s administrative and oversight costs associated with the towing program.
If approved, the agreement would run from March 28, 2026 through March 27, 2029.