Revealed: Auckland Central’s most ticketed streets

More than 300 tickets a day are dished out to cars in Auckland Central by the wide-brimmed sleuths that roam the streets, according to data released to Te Waha Nui after a freedom of information request.

In the year ending July 2019, AT dished out 111,555 tickets to drivers across Auckland Central, with the most common infringement being parking over the time restriction, or a P382, attracting a fine of $40.

The top two most ticketed streets were Madden St with 7014 tickets given out last year and Princes St with 6810. Madden Street in Wynyard Quarter is close to offices and the ASB Theatre, while parking on Princes Street is used by university students.

Rounding out the top five were Queen Street with 3,963, Federal Street with 3,823, and Hobson Street with 3,711 tickets given out.

Toyotas were the most common type of car ticketed, racking up almost a quarter of all tickets given out, or 27,000. Only 16 Ferraris and nine Lamborghinis were ticketed, one for not having their registration not fixed properly.

Parking facing the wrong way down a one-way street netted 50 people tickets although only one of them was towed. But 4100 drivers had their cars towed over the past year, while 2474 taxis were ticketed.

Loretta Sweeney, 22, a student at the University of Auckland, has received four tickets while parking on Princes St.  She still prefers to drive, because “training (in) really takes up too much time,” she said.

Revenue from parking fines funds AT’s operating costs while fines for non-registrations or having no WOF goes to central government.

The least ticketed streets in Auckland Central were all pedestrianised, such as Freyburg Place or Alfred Street, or streets that did not have carparks such as Parnell Rise or Samoa House Lane.

Three price zones in Auckland Central include the Central Zone, which charges $5 for the first two hours and $10 for each subsequent hour during business hours. Princes St falls into the Outer Zone, which charges $3.50 for the first two hours and $7 thereafter.

In the central city, parking for ten minutes or less does not require payment.