Auckland Transport will hike parking fees by 50 cents per hour across most of the city next month — a move the agency blames on higher operational costs.
From April 14, parking prices will increase by 50 cents per hour at all on-street parking spaces and Auckland Transport-managed carparks. Daily price caps at carparks will change as well.
Some areas of Auckland are excluded from this increase if they have had a recent price change. These include Devonport, Westgate, Eden Terrace South, Freemans Bay, Edgerley Ave in Parnell, and McNaughton Way and Delta Avenue in New Lynn.
Auckland Transport parking prices last rose in August 2023 by a dollar an hour.
The agency’s parking services group manager John Strawbridge said the price of doing business for Auckland Transport had grown over the past two years.
“Auckland Council is striving to keep rate increases low, and a small increase in parking prices is one way we are supporting this,” he said in a media release.
“Our operational costs have gone up by 13%, and we are responding to approximately 30% more requests from Aucklanders to respond to issues that are frustrating them, such as blocked driveways, footpaths, and clearways.
“We’ve also been investing in technology infrastructure and compliance tools to ensure parking spaces are used as intended and we are responsive to issues on the network.”
A weighted 5.2% price increase for Auckland public transport fares was added in February.
Strawbridge said parking prices were adjusted accordingly following an annual review.
“Public parking prices are adjusted sustainably and in several ways. The annual review looks at data including market conditions, economic conditions, operating costs, and considers socio-economic factors,” he said.
“We also make adjustments to prices based on demand and do this throughout the year.
“This is similar to the approach taken each year to review public transport fares, which we also changed recently and ensures that users are paying a small share of the costs of running and maintaining Auckland’s parking, so that this doesn’t fall on ratepayers.”
Parking revenue brought around $45 million into Auckland Transport’s coffers in the last full financial year, according to the agency’s most-recent annual report.
