Invercargill drivers who park for less than half an hour in the central city are being fined $70 for not entering their number plate into the parking system, even though the first 30 minutes are free, infringement notices seen by the Herald show.
The Herald asked readers to send in their tickets after more than 130 people commented on its story on Thursday about a driver ticketed for a 15-minute overstay.
Three of the notices we have seen were issued for the same offence: "failed to register the registration plate in the parking system". Each carries a $70 fee, and each records the vehicle as parked for less than 30 minutes.
On Spey Street on Tuesday 27 October, a notice records a car from 9.02am to 9.18am. The driver, who asked not to be named, told the Herald she was at a medical appointment nearby.
On The Crescent on Saturday 7 November, a notice records a car from 2.28pm to 2.47pm, 19 minutes in all.
Both notices leave several fields blank. Under the street name, the "Location", "Meter / Park #", "Dist from Sign (approx)" and "Restriction" lines have nothing filled in, so neither ticket records exactly where the car was parked or what restriction applied.
A third driver shared a reminder notice for a Spey Street ticket issued on Friday 11 September. It says the offence includes "any vehicle parked where the intension [sic] was to stay for less than 30 minutes", and cites clauses 6.3 and 16.1(i)(ii) of the council's Parking Control Bylaw 2024.
The rule is not new. Between February and June 2024 the council did not fine drivers who skipped activating their free 30 minutes at the kiosk, while it sorted out problems with its bylaw, RNZ and 1News reported last year.
When the kiosk won't work
Other readers say they were ticketed when they could not register because a kiosk was not working.
One woman, who had recently moved to Invercargill, said she was ticketed on Saturday 4 July while at a long eye appointment. She told the Herald the nearest kiosk's screen was black and did not respond when she touched it. When she came out about 11am she saw another kiosk working, paid $11.20 for four hours to cover the time she had been parked, and then found the ticket on her windscreen.
She asked the council to waive it, offering photos of the kiosk and her payment. "Please please, I really did try!" she wrote.
About a week later the council replied: "Your defence for this infringement was considered but we are unable to accept your explanation as grounds to justify a waiver." She paid the fine.
What the app charged
The parking app the council uses has caused problems too.
Its Zone 1 on-street screen for Invercargill says: "$3.20/hour for the first 2 hours. $6.40/hour for the rest of the day. 30 free minutes apply."
But when a member of the Herald's team went to buy 30 minutes, the app showed a message headed "Step Tariff Applies" and charged 30 minutes at $6.40 an hour, $3.20, the rate the screen lists for after the first two hours. With a 50c card fee the total came to $3.70. The app gave no reason why the higher rate applied.
A step tariff is a pricing structure where the rate changes in steps depending on how much is used, in this case how long a car is parked. On the app's own listed rates, a 30-minute stay falls in the first step, which would cost $1.60 at $3.20 an hour, before the 30 free minutes are counted.
The day before, the same team member could not finish paying in the app at all, because the bank's security code was sent to an email account that could not be reached during Friday's Microsoft 365 outage.
What we asked the council
The Herald has asked Invercargill City Council to confirm that the $70 infringement applies within the free 30 minutes, how drivers are told they must register their plate, and how many of these infringements it has issued and how much they have raised.
We have also asked whether it gives warnings, how many kiosk faults it has recorded, how drivers can report a kiosk that is not working, what evidence it needs to waive a ticket when a kiosk or the app fails, when the app's step tariff applies, and whether it is reviewing how the free period is enforced.
The council has until 12pm on Wednesday 18 November to respond. This story will be updated when it does.
What happens next
Drivers who think a ticket is unfair can ask the council to review it. The notices say enquiries and appeals can be made through the council's website, icc.govt.nz/parking/appeal.
The Herald would still like to hear from drivers who have been ticketed. Send a photo of your ticket, with your plate and notice number covered, to news@iherald.nz or message our Facebook page.
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