Melbourne city council made over $90 million last year in parking fines and fees. The Sydney suburb of Mosman pulls in about $1.6 million a year in parking fines alone. There is no doubt that councils are becoming more cunning in their plans to meet budgets by getting more income from ordinary drivers. With quotas in place, drivers plate scanning and sophisticated sensors, Big Brother really is watching when and where you park. With this in mind we wanted to give you some ideas on how to avoid the dreaded white ticket.
1. Use Parkhound
By far the easiest way to avoid a parking fine is to use the new Parkhound marketplace. Just visit the site, find a parking space, book it and go. Parkhound is a marketplace that connects drivers looking for parking with local property owners who have spare parking spaces. You can book from a few hours to a few months and the best part is your money goes to people just like you, not the coffers of the local council or parking inspectors. Go to www.parkhound.com.au to find out more.
2. Keep an old parking fine and stick it on your windscreen
This is an oldie but a goodie. The trick here is accuracy. Keep the same fold lines and little piece of sticky tape. Carefully position the ticket and away you go. Once you have received a parking fine you can’t receive another. Just think double jeopardy. It is a risk versus reward game however and for every $200 in parking saved, you run the risk of getting a $60 fine. Still it could result in an extra $140 in your pocket and some fun along the way.
3. Always carry some spare change in your car
By far one of the most common reasons people get a parking fine is because they don’t have the right change to hand. You know the story. You are desperately trying to find a park, you’re circling and circling and then you finally find one. You go to get a ticket and you realise you don’t have enough change. Then the dilemma hits. Do you move from your Rockstar park at the front entrance? Or do you chance it? Whilst parking lots are getting better at offering alternatives to hard currency, nothing beats having some spare change in your glove box.
4. Double and triple check road signs
Have you ever tried to read a road sign properly? None of it makes sense. You sometimes feel like you need a PhD. Hurried drivers, too keen to get on with the day, often forget to read the signs properly. Loading zones, no parking zones and rush-hour zones are common headaches. In addition, “temporary” signing is posted for construction sites, street cleaning, street repairs, emergencies, tree trimming, water or sewer line work. With most areas of capital cities under tight parking restrictions it pays to check twice…or thrice.
5. Find an unexpired or broken meter
One of life’s great pleasures is finding an unexpired or broken meter. As they say the best things in life are free. How good does it feel when you see the words ‘out of order’ just as you are about to stump up $20 for the day. It is however akin to finding a needle in a hay stack and is more a game of luck than skill. If you do find one the best thing to do is stick a piece of paper on the meter and share the news on Facebook or Twitter so others can share in your great find.
Let us know if you have any other ideas.
Happy parking,
Team Parkhound