4 March 2022
Media: Local Democracy Reporter
Topic: CBD parking services costs and revenues
Enquiry
NOTE: Following a recent enquiry about parking services from the reporter, to which RLC responded on 18 February (see HERE), which followed a request filed under LGOIMA and responded to in December (see HERE), he informed us that he had not had the full information about Tauranga at that time and was starting his story over, looking only at the Rotorua parking services. He subsequently sent the following:
Kia ora,
Turns out Tauranga City Council didn't give us the full cost of its parking system in our LGOIMA - looks like it's actually making a net loss when salaries, administration and depreciation are included - so Kiri over at the BOP Times is picking that story up and I'm just doing a story instead on what parking cost and brought in to RLC last financial year.
I figure there may be some comments in the below response RLC still wishes to use as they possibly still apply, but of course you'll need to tell me if that's the case. Same with the mayor's comments - can you please clarify if I can still use these or if the council / mayor would like to change them?
I have some new questions - of course the council can disregard the earlier ones as they were based on that incomplete information from TCC.
Here's the new questions:
- The introduction of the I-Park system had a bit of a bumpy beginning - does RLC feel those issues are resolved now? How well does RLC think the I-Park contract is working for it now?
- The council recently acknowledged the impacts of Covid-19 on fees and charges - including parking - was affecting its revenue and therefore the current council deficit. What level of net revenue does the council expect in a 'normal' year, when the effects of Covid abate? (perhaps this will be based on pre-Covid net revenue)
- I note in the LGOIMA response there was a cost of $8050 for legal fees when a customer requested a court hearing (the court struck it out). Did the council claim back costs from the plaintiff? If so, have they been received?
I note the question for the mayor was also based on that incorrect info from TCC too, so if needed here is a revised question based on the info we have now:
Are Rotorua's ratepayers getting a good deal with i-Park, in your view? What is your view of the net revenue from the parking system (just over $620,000) in FY 2020/2021?
new comments provided for the right of reply from the council if it wishes:
Ratepayer Paddi Hodgkiss, who has previously spoken of her dissatisfaction with the I-Park system, said she believed many people parked at Rotorua Central mall carpark in order to avoid the council-run parking.
"People are parking there because it's free.
"The parking system now is definitely not user-friendly. If it was more user-friendly it would be more acceptable."
Hodgkiss believed many people, like her, objected to paying a card fee on the I-Park machines, which she said was often half the cost of the parking fee itself.
She said the council should consider free, time-limited parking in the city, such as in Taupō.
"[Free parking] would possibly draw more people into the CBD."
She said the loss of revenue would be worth it as it would help struggling inner-city businesses and the local economy.
Response
From Council’s Manager, Community & Regulatory Services, Kurt Williams:
Council is satisfied that the parking services contract and the system itself is achieving what it was intended to do.
The purpose of parking payment systems and time limits is to ensure there is turnover, which supports businesses.
Urban centres depend heavily on the availability of well-operated and demand-balanced parking facilities. Our current parking system offers a variety of parking and payment options throughout the CBD.
About 1700 of the 2816 parking spaces in the CBD are free parks (988 free all-day parks, over 600 time-limited free spaces including free P60 parks along Tutanekai Street and adjoining streets, over 80 mobility parks and 15 motorcycle parks).
When i-Park completed the rollout of the system in 2019, we had about 1176 transactions per day, rising steadily to 1894 per day in 2020 until Covid-19 arrived and started to impact trends. In February 2022, there was an average of 1260 parking transactions per day.
Since i-Park’s system has been in place, parking revenue through the meters has significantly increased and the ratio of parking transactions to payment-related infringements has more than doubled. In the beginning there was an average of 12.5 parking transactions for every payment-related infringement issued. Currently there is an average of 26 which, despite the lower number of parking transactions, indicates the system is being more consistently and correctly used.
In February 2022, over 85% of all parking transactions were card transactions, demonstrating a clear preference for this payment method by the majority of users.
Cash payment remains an option on select meters and these transactions incur no fees unless SMS receipts are requested.
For regular users, the PrestoPark App offers additional convenience, and lower fees per transaction for lower dollar value stays than the meters.
Re expected net revenue: Expected net revenue is about $300,000 per annum.
Re $8050 for legal fees for court case: These costs were not claimed back.
From Mayor Chadwick:
Council upgraded the parking system to provide a more consistent and modern service to the community, that also supports the turnover of parking spaces within the CBD to support businesses. I am confident our parking services provider and contract deliver an efficient and effective suite of parking services, and council officers continue to monitor and adjust this service as required