ORANGE motorists are three times more likely to be issued with a parking fine than drivers in Bathurst and the reason may be mobile parking patrols which keep Bathurst drivers on their toes.
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The cruising patrol car armed with a camera and number plate recognition technology, which can cover a much bigger area than Orange’s parking foot soldiers, only brings in a third of the parking fine revenue collected in Orange.
There were 2916 parking fines issued in Orange from July to December, but just 811 in Bathurst, according to the Office of State Revenue.
The difference in revenue is staggering: $331,251 to Orange City Council and $113,205 to Bathurst Regional Council.
The trend has been ongoing for the last few years, according to the data.
There were 1331 fines in Bathurst and 3765 in Orange in 2013/14, while Bathurst had 1771 parking fines issued and Orange 3743 in 2012/13.
Bathurst’s hi-tech approach to drivers who overstay time limits may also be helping reduce parking shortages.
Bathurst councillor Warren Aubin said drivers have also become more aware of parking restrictions since the mobile parking patrol commenced operations in March 2013.
“We didn’t bring the camera car in for revenue raising, we look at it in the fact that it will make parking in the CBD a lot easier,” he said.
“I think the camera car is doing a great job and people are doing the right thing.”
Orange City Council’s corporate and community relations manager Nick Redmond said it was “difficult to be precise about the reasons behind the differences in parking offences” from city to city.
“It could come down to factors such as the number of cars in each city [or] the total number of parking spaces or the number of shopping centres,” he said.
“Shopping areas in Orange generally have a two-hour limit where a three-hour limit is more common in Bathurst.”
In Orange, three parking patrol officers operate across the week, but council is “investigating the introduction of number-plate recognition technology”.
Mr Redmond said Orange council staff have already visited Bathurst and Wagga to assess the success of the technology.
“The trend in both those cities suggests drivers are more likely to comply with parking limits where this number-plate recognition equipment is in use and drivers perceive they have a higher chance of being caught out,” he said.
Mr Aubin said there are no plans by Bathurst Regional Council to re-introduce parking patrol officers