INDIANAPOLIS -- More options for people looking to pay off their parking tickets are bringing in more money for the city, but not everyone's convinced the new system is fair.

The city has boosted the hours of its parking ticket court to three to four days a week and began sending out reminders to people who owe money, informing them of their court date.

Since then, officials said they've seen a swell in people paying up instead of coming to court, generating $164,000 in revenue, 6News' Kara Kenney reported.

"We're starting to see people trend up in sending their payments in prior to the court date," said Deputy Controller Manny Mendez. "(But) the process is built that we have to have an opportunity for you to speak."

Some say the program is meant to bully those with parking tickets into paying the fine instead of having their day in court.

Attorney Paul Ogden claims in a lawsuit that the court's policies "violate the United States and Indiana constitutions by punishing defendants who choose to have their day in court rather than simply pay the traffic or parking ticket they receive."

The city stipulates that the court can fine defendants up to $2,500 if they challenge their parking tickets, although Mendez said that has yet to happen.

Jimmy Cox cut his parking ticket fines by $20 by coming to court on Tuesday, but said he doesn't like the concept of the new system.

"If I am wrong, he can charge me up to $2,500 in fines, which I think is extremely wrong," he said.

Under the new policies, if a person has more than four unpaid parking tickets and does not show up in court, they could have their license suspended. Mendez said his office is getting ready to suspend more than 2,000 licenses.

The goal of the parking ticket program is to generate $500,000 a year. The city said it has $1.2 million in unpaid parking tickets.

The lawsuit also names traffic court Judge William Young, who launched a program in December that fines defendants up to an additional $500 if they contest their case and lose.

In a previous report, TheIndyChannel.com erroneously reported that parking ticket fines were administered by traffic court. They are each named in the same lawsuit, but are two separate entities.