More than 500,000 fines given by Auckland Transport’s licence plate recognition vehicles
The amount of drivers pinged annually by Auckland Transport’s license plate recognition vehicles has almost doubled.
Data provided to Newstalk ZB shows the licence plate recognition vehicles issued more than 518,000 fines last year.
That’s almost twice as many as they gave out in 2023.
The cars scan licence plates to see if a vehicle has overstayed its paid time in a parking spot.
If a violation is detected, the system can issue an infringement notice.
Parking Services group manager John Strawbridge said the rise was because the fleet increased from nine cars in 2023 to 16 last year.
He said the most common type of infringement is failing to pay for parking in paid zones.
“That’s a $70 fine. It does my head in because if you use the AT Park app, for example, you only pay for the short time you’re there.”
He said people would very rarely pay $70.
AA policy director Martin Glynn said the jump between 2023 and 2024 is large, and they had asked AT about it.
He said he hopes the system is being used for the stated goal of keeping parking spots clear.
“In the past year or so, they’ve been set some pretty big revenue targets by the mayor and Auckland Council from areas they can get revenue from, including parking.”
Strawbridge said while no one likes getting a parking fine, there needs to be a way to manage kerbs and other spots.
“If we didn’t manage the kerbside, there’d be cars parked everywhere, it would be unsafe, and there’d be very limited opportunity for people to come into the city and find a spot,” he said.
Strawbridge said the Auckland Domain is a good example of how the license plate recognition vehicles had helped, with the consistent enforcement keeping the domain at 65% capacity.
“Prior to the LPR cars, we were only able to get up there on foot infrequently, so there was no parking availability.”
Glynn said the cars provide another potential benefit.
“We know it’s become more unsafe for parking wardens, so there’s an advantage to doing it in that automated way where people don’t receive their tickets on the spot.”
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Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
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Scam Alert: Bank cold calls
ASB is warning customers about reports of cold calls from scammers claiming to be from ASB. These scammers are trying to obtain personal information, including usernames, dates of birth, and verification codes sent to your mobile phone.
🛡️ The "Caller Check" Test
If you get a call from someone claiming to be from ASB and you’re unsure, just ask them for a Caller Check. You will then be able to verify the call through the app.
Remember, banks will:
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❌ Never need to know your full credit card number – especially the CVC
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If you have received a phone call and think your account has been compromised, call ASB on 0800 ASB FRAUD (0800 272 372), or visit your local branch.
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