How to avoid parking tickets in Perth
Travel Tips, What's New — By Amanda Kendle on July 3, 2010 at 12:51 pmWhen I recently visited the Perth Zoo, I got a nasty surprise at the end of the day – a parking fine. It was a fair call though – in all the excitement of my baby boy’s first trip to the zoo, we’d completely forgotten to buy a ticket at all. But with this financial burden still bright in my memory, it was with interest that I read a story in the local papers about a new iPhone app that promises to help you avoid parking tickets.
I investigated this Australian-produced app and discovered that it definitely covered Perth – yes, here’s a map in case you’re having trouble remembering which side of Australia you’ll find Perth on!
It works by people “reporting” seeing parking inspectors at their current location just by hitting one button. You can also set it up to alert you if a parking inspector is reportedly getting close to your car. This screen shot shows the location of a couple of parking inspectors in central Perth near the Swan River.
Presumably, the idea is that you park your car, don’t buy a ticket, hope that enough people are using this app so that you’ll be alerted if an inspector is getting close to your car, and then you have to sprint back and buy a ticket, hoping you get there before the inspector does. Well, that all sounds like a bit too much trouble for me, so my advice is simple: Just buy a ticket! Although parking charges have increased in Perth recently, they are not too outrageous, especially for short visits, and a lot cheaper than getting a parking fine. What do you think?
4 Comments
The purpose of this app is not to park illegally, there are heaps of legal uses for this app. If parking in a nin fee 2 hour zone, use the app to know when the parking cops come by to chalk the car. If in a paid parking spot, you should buy the ticket in the first place, but with this app you’ll know when the time is up and what the lay of the land is when that expires. Will you walk or run back to the car.
Or when parking, and leaving your car to buy the ticket, whether an inspector lurking just around the corner. Of course the reliability is based on the contributions.
Hmm … but aren’t knowing when they chalk the cars or knowing if you need to walk or run back to your car if you’ve been parked there too long also ways of parking illegally or at least overstaying your welcome? Just sayin’ …