Evening Post, Wellington June 2003

IT WILL not move your car, feed parking meters or charm parking wardens but a new ‘SmartPark” system being used by Wellington City Council might just save on parking pain.

The device is a hand-held electronic unit that uses a stored value card to measure out parking time.

Drivers hand it from their rear vision mirrors, or leave it visible elsewhere inside the car, and it eliminates the need to hunt for change, or get to a pay-and-display machine.

Trevor Fuller, who manages the council’s enforcement contact with Parkwise, said the device allowed drivers to specify how long they wanted to park and pay for it directly.

The units automatically switch off when metered parking times stop for the day, and also allow a driver to park early, with charging only beginning when metered time starts.

The units may also help disabled drivers who would no longer have to make their way to ticket machines.