Dominion Post, Wellington        June 2004

The Aussies might have swiped pavlova and they got one over us with that underarm ball. But they don’t have smart parking.

In an Australasian first, Wellington motorists will be able to pay for parking using a new prepaid card method from Monday.

Under the SmartPark system motorists insert a prepaid card in a meter inside their vehicle, which is then displayed on the dash or hung form the rear vision mirror.

Unlike other parking systems, no charge is made for unused time.

However, because the device has an inbuilt clock, parking over the designated maximum time could still incur a ticket.

Wellington City Council parking services manager Wayne Tacon said the cards used in the cigarette-pack sized machines are pre-programmed with parking area zones, rates and times.

Codes are displayed on meters and pay and display machines around the city, he said.

“You just turn up, punch in the area, put in your card and walk off. The machine will keep deducting money till you come back and switch it off.”

The introduction follows a three-month trial last year and comes just a month after the council abandoned plans to bring in a controversial sensoring system.

Graeme Lockery, managing director of International Parking Systems, which developed the devices, said that they were primarily aimed at companies with staff moving regularly around the central city.

They can be rented at a monthly cost of $7 for a three-year term, $8 monthly for two years, and $10 monthly for a year.

Prepaid cards would initially be available in $50, $100 and $200 denominations. If there was a demand, higher value or rechargeable cards could also be introduced.

The company had talked to several other councils in this country and Australia, with some set to take on the system once it had been operating in Wellington for a month or so, My Lockery said.

Units can be ordered online at www.smartpark.co.nz while tickets are available from the council.