Auckland Transport's new camera car issues nearly 8000 tickets

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12354332

New cars fitted with high-tech parking cameras are proving lucrative for Auckland Transport.

Since the first camera car started patrolling residents' parking zones in inner city suburbs, it has issued about 200 tickets a day, compared with about 50 to 60 tickets for a parking warden on foot.

Between September last year and July 21, the car ticketed 7947 vehicles at residents' parking zones in Ponsonby, Freemans Bay, Grey Lynn, Parnell and Mt Eden.

More than half the tickets - 4818 - were issued in Ponsonby. This was followed by 1727 tickets in Freemans Bay and 1260 in Grey Lynn. Just 45 tickets were issued in Parnell and 97 in Mt Eden.

AT said the fines ranged from $12 to $57, but said there was no easy way of compiling the total value of fines.

Since July 21, AT has rolled out four more camera cars. Later this year, new generation cars will have a real time link to all paid parking machines with the ability to nab offenders.

AT parking compliance manager Rick Bidgood has said residents are delighted with local parking zones, saying the car cameras are aimed at the vast majority of drivers who comply with the rules but there for those who game the system.

People living outside a residents' parking zone can park a vehicle for up to two hours without getting a ticket during working hours on weekdays.

Under the new scheme, cameras mounted on the cars scan a car's number plate and work out if it belongs to a resident with the permit for that zone. If not, the cameras capture an image of the car's surroundings, such as street markings and trees, its position on GPS, and the exact position of the air valves on its tyres.