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PAGE 4 PAGE 2

HAWKS v ESSENDON SHOWDOWN

Herald Sun heraldsun.com.au

MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2009 FORECAST: PARTLY CLOUDY. PAGE 28 $1.10*(Incl. GST)

Parking officers hit you with fines of $82,876 a dayFiona Hudson

MELBOURNE parking officersare on target to hand out $43 mil-lion in fines this year — raising $1a second for council coffers.

Motorists will pour another $25 mil-lion into city meters.

A special investigation by the HeraldSun revealed Lonsdale St as the No. 1source of parking ticket revenue.

Heartless parking inspectors werecaught in the act in their ruthlessquest for revenue.

The Herald Sun watched as vigilantinspectors hovered near meters dueto expire before slapping on tickets.Faulty meters were no excuse.

Melbourne City Council parkingspokesman Cr Brian Shanahan ad-mitted parking fees and fines were aneasy source of revenue.

‘‘The more we get, the less we haveto charge ratepayers,’’ he said.

Special report: Pages 8-9

CYBER CRIMINALS STEAL YOUR TAX SECRETS − PAGE 4

8 Herald Sun, Monday, August 24, 2009 heraldsun.com.au+

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REVEALED:Melbourne’s

Infringement No. tickets Revenue

HOW MUCH THEY MAKE 10 MOST TARGETED STREETS

TOP 5TICKETHITS

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Period longer

TICH

TICLoadingzone OP 5OTOgingding

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No stopping area

2 Pelo

No valid ticket

TTNoNNNN valid lidticketticket

3

All fi gures are averaged. Total (between January 1, 2009 and June 30, 2009): $15,000,726. Pictures: MIKE KEATING

Meter expired 108,435 $6,180,795Period longer 44,820 $2,554,740No valid ticket 26,764 $1,525,548Loading zone (1) 17,039 $1,158,652No stopping area 13,124 $1,483,012Permit zone 7,659 $520,812Clearway 5,173 $584,549Loading zone (2) 3,182 $216,376Taxi zone 1,908 $129,744Disabled parking 1,632 $184,416No parking 1483 $84,531

Streets No. tickets Revenue

Lonsdale St 20,183 $1,210,829

Queen St 16,981 $984,326

Collins St 11,349 $708,050

Exhibition St 11,330 $653,847

Russell St 9,391 $553,472

Bourke St 8,451 $581,053

Little Collins St 7,336 $479,946

Flinders Lane 6,898 $468,423

Elizabeth St 6,164 $386,362

La Trobe St 5,606 $377,177

Reading this story could save you money — use

it to discover when Melbourne’s parking

inspectors are most active and which streets they

haunt most

AVERAGE REVENUE RAISED EACH …

Day $82,876.94Hour $3453.21Minute $57.55Second $0.96

AVAVVVVERERERERERAGAGAGAGAGEEEEE REREREREREVEVEVEVEVENUNUNUNUNUEEEEE RARARARARAISISISISISEDEDEDEDED EEEE EACACACACACHHHHH …

10am BOURKE STREETToo late: This woman returns from a shopping trip to fi nd she has been booked. Looking upset doesn’t help a bit.

11111011110000amam BBToo late

SPECIALINVESTIGATION

TOMORROWThe excuses some drivers use to get out of tickets and we

lift the lid on those who don’t pay fi nes at all.

ZEALOUS Melbourneparking inspectors areissuing a fine a minuteacross the city, raising

$1 a second for council coffers.The Herald Sun has obtained a

computer database of everyparking fine issued in the City ofMelbourne between January andJune this year — almost 240,000tickets — to uncover Melbourne’sparking secrets.

A special investigation into cityparking found:DRIVERS are on track to incuralmost $43 million in fines this year— up 80 per cent on a decade ago.This is on top of the $25 millionpoured into meters and ticketmachines annually.LONSDALE St is the city’s venusflytrap, with almost 9 per cent oftickets issued there. Queen, Collins,Exhibition and Russell streets makeup the top five.BLOCKBUSTER footy matches area bonanza for inspectors, with BenCousins’ return game and thebushfires tribute match among themost heavily ticketed days.COIN jams, timing errors and otherfaults are affecting at least 150meters a day, putting drivers athigher risk of being fined.UNSUSPECTING drivers arecopping extra tickets in wet weatherbecause some multi-bay machinesmalfunction when it rains.PARKING officers have hiredformer premier Jeff Kennett for alecture in October titled‘‘Maximising Opportunities inChallenging Times’’.ASSAULTS and verbal attacks onparking officers have doubled in thepast five years as drivers take outtheir frustration at soaring fees andfines.

Melbourne City Council parkingspokesman Cr Brian Shanahanadmitted parking fees and fines wereexcellent revenue raisers for the city.

‘‘The more we get, the less we haveto charge ratepayers,’’ he said. ‘‘Butwe don’t take pleasure in peoplebeing fined. It’s a necessity.’’

Cr Shanahan said drivers who didthe wrong thing were costing citytraders extra visits from othercustomers.

‘‘We want to turn over spacesquickly,’’ he said.

As much as 10 per cent of CBDtraffic is generated by drivers circlingaround looking for an on-streetspace, he said.

And the shortage of on-streetspaces is only going to get worse,with council predictions showingdrier weather in Melbourne willlower use of off-street car parks.

The Herald Sun watched severalvigilant inspectors hover nearmeters due to expire and slap on aticket within a minute of themticking over.

Fined driver Lisa Totaro, 20,yesterday vowed to fight a $113 finefor stopping briefly in a loading zoneto pick up a parcel from a shop.

‘‘I’d rather go to jail than pay. I was

away two minutes and when I cameback the ticket was there and theinspector was already gone,’’ theTaylors Lakes P-plater said.

‘‘The inspectors are absolutevultures. They swoop in and they’regone so quickly.

‘‘I think the fines are too expensivefor such a small mistake. It’s a veryhigh price to pay for two minutes. Ihated driving into the city before,and now I’m even less likely to go in.’’

Cr Shanahan — who recentlycopped a ticket himself — saidparking inspectors did not have tomeet set quotas, and were not paidbonuses for issuing more tickets.

But fine revenue is built into thecity’s budget each year — puttinginspectors under heavy pressure tomeet annual targets.

The City of Melbourne has 104parking inspectors to police about3900 meters.

There are 12,000 on-street car

spaces across the CBD, EastMelbourne, Carlton, WestMelbourne and Docklands.

The Herald Sun found ageingmeters and ticket machines plaguedby coin jams, ticket jams, timingerrors and other faults are catchingout some drivers.

Council figures released underFreedom of Information show up to2500 drivers a day complained aboutfaulty machines last year.

This has fallen to about 680 faultreports a day after intensivemaintenance efforts and a costlyprogram to replace machines.

During several days’ monitoringinspectors at work, this paperwitnessed several drivers collecttickets despite having left notes onobviously broken parking meters.

The Herald Sun used FOI laws toobtain the electronic database of alltickets issued until June 30 this year.

Information analysts Forensic

Pathways Australasia mined the rawdata for trends.

Managing director ClintHampson said the ticket datashowed Melbourne’s inspectorscollectively issued up to five ticketsa minute at times.

‘‘They’re not slacking off,’’ he said.‘‘They’re pretty active, in some partsof town more than others.

‘‘We found that Friday is the dayyou’re most likely to get fined. AndLonsdale St is far and away thestreet that gets the most tickets.’’

Fined driver John Street, ofBrighton, said he thoughtinspectors were mean not to give afew minutes’ grace.

‘‘They charge so much for parking,the least they could do is give you atwo minute buffer if you happen togo a tiny bit over,’’ he said aftercopping a ticket in Lonsdale St.

‘‘I think they’re more than mean.’’But driver Chris Gould, booked in

a no stopping zone, said manydrivers deserved all they got.

‘‘I’ve done the wrong thing. It’ssomething I won’t do again now,’’ hesaid. ‘‘It would be anarchy ifeverybody disregarded the rules. Isee why we have to have them.’’

The council’s freedom ofinformation unit said the supplieddata was raw and unaudited, andthere was a chance a small number oftickets could show up twice fortechnical reasons.

FIONAHUDSON

heraldsun.com.au Herald Sun, Monday, August 24, 2009 9+

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parking secretsOUR TOP 20 TICKET-BUSTING SECRETS

35,000

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TICKETS ISSUED BY TIME OF DAY

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TICKETS ISSUED BY DAY

1BIG footy matches are a ticket bonanza. The bushfi res tribute game

in February, the NAB Cup grand fi nal in March, Ben Cousins’s fi rst game with the Tigers and the Collingwood versus North Melbourne match in May accounted for four of the top fi ve most ticketed days.

2STAY inside the lines. Inspectors booked 132 drivers for poking out of

a marked parking bay, 24 for not being parallel, and 16 for not parking close enough to the kerb.

3YOU’RE most likely to get booked on a Friday. Half of the top 30 most

ticketed days this year were Fridays. Tuesday is the next most likely day you’ll get stung.

4SUNDAY is the day the least tickets are issued and offi cers seem to

enjoy a sleep-in. The earliest Sunday ticket this year was 7.55am. Monday is the safest weekday, our analysis shows.

5THERE’S no grace period. Inspectors in some cities wait up

to fi ve minutes after a meter expires before pouncing. Not in Melbourne.

6NIGHT-OWLS are relatively safe between 2am and 6am. The earliest

ticket issued by offi cers on the morning

shift this year was at 6.15am, and the latest dished out by the night-shift was 1.30am.

7LONSDALE St is the city’s ultimate ticket magnet. Fines from that street

alone earn the council $200,000 a month. Many are issued in the legal precinct, especially on Tuesdays when traffi c court is on and inspectors are in the area to give evidence against earlier victims.

8THE tiny streets and alleys near the corner of Little Collins and

Swanston streets _ parking offi cer HQ _cop plenty of attention, especially at the start and end of shifts.

9 ON any given day about 150 ticket machines are broken. Phone 1300

555 130 or SMS to 0428 555 123 with the machine ID number, your registration, and fault details. You must still comply with time limits if meters or ticket machines are out of order.

10 INSPECTORS are creatures of habit. One of the fi rst streets

they almost always hit on a Sunday morning, for example, is Caravel Lane in Docklands. Search our online map to check for patterns on the streets where you normally park.

11YOU can still get a ticket even if there’s time left on the meter.

If it’s one-hour parking, you can get booked for overstaying even if you’ve

topped up.

12 HOSPITALS andconstruction zones

are favorite targets for inspectors. Many of the top 50 streets that attract tickets are very near building sites or hospitals.

13THE inspectors use red chalk to mark tyres sometimes, so don’t

just look for white markings if you’re being naughty and trying to overstay.

14COLLINS St and Flinders Lane loading zones are the most

heavily policed, so be extra careful around there. Of the cars booked in bus zones most were in Queen St, and Whiteman St, near the casino.

15PERMIT zones on Drummond and Faraday streets in Carlton are

ticket hotspots. If you have a permit, make sure it’s on prominent display. If you don’t, steer clear. Irate locals are known to ring inspectors to book selfi sh non-residents.

16MOTORBIKE parking on Elizabeth St often tricks car

drivers. Keep an eye out for dedicated cycle spaces.

17FINES for other offences drop off during clearway operating hours

as inspectors concentrate on La Trobe, King and Spencer streets and other arterials.

18UNLESS you genuinely need to turn them on, using your hazard

lights won’t help you escape tickets. If anything, they’re a sign to inspectors to take a closer look.

19EXPIRED meters are the most common offence, followed

by over-staying, no valid ticket, loading zone and no stopping zone infringements.

20THIS one’s not really a secret: the best way to avoid a ticket is

to pay up, and obey the rules.

r

13THE inspectors use red chalk to mark tyres sometimes, so don’t

just look for white markings if you’rebeing naughty and trying to overstay.

14COLLINS St and Flinders Lane

1.33pm McDONALD’S BOURKE STREETHe isn’t loving it actually. A cheap takeaway from McDonalds becomes a whole lot more expensive when you get a ticket while waiting for your burger and fries.

Go online now and see the hotspots at heraldsun.com.au

EVER wondered what your chances were of getting booked in the city streets where you normally park?

The Herald Sun has built an online interactive map pinpointing exactly where and when parking inspectors pounced in more than 650 inner-city streets in the fi rst half of this year.

Log on to heraldsun.com.au to search for the places you normally park and see how often the grey ghosts patrolled there.

Based on an analysis of details from more than 240,000 individual parking tickets, the map reveals Melbourne’s ticket magnets as well as the days and times inspectors most often struck in each street.

Data analysis company Forensic

Pathways Australasia used special software to sift through the staggering amount of raw, unaudited council data to identify the trends hidden within.

Information and mapping specialists ThinkSpatial built the online searchable map to represent the data.

Forensic Pathways managing director Clint Hampson said the software used to analyse the mountains of information was normally used for due diligence services to businesses.

ThinkSpatial’s Lachlan Beveridge said the interactive”mash-up” of data and multimedia showing parking fi nes was “more than a map with pretty pictures”.

Online Interactive map to help avoid fi nes“The resulting mash-up is more

than simply a map with some pretty pictures,” Mr Beveridge said.

“It’s a neat tool that readers can use to identify where and when the grey ghosts have been at work.”

Mr Beveridge joked he’d noticed from the map that streets near his offi ce were rarely ticketed.

“But the parking inspectors will probably use the map too, to fi nd all the spots they’re currently missing.”

He stressed because the map was based on historical data, it should not be used to predict when inspectors would patrol particular areas.

Go online now and

www.forensic-pathways.com.auwww.thinkspatial.com.au

45,000

40,000

35,000

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25,000

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TUET

TTTTICKETS ISSUED B

If it’s one-hour parking, you can get booked for overstaying even if you’v

topped up.

12 HOSPITALS andconstruction zones

are favorite targets for inspectors. Many of the top 50 streets thatattract tickets are verynear building sites orhospitals.

ga

s

“The resulting mash-up is more than simply a map with some pretty pictures,” Mr Beveridge said.

“It’s a neat tool that readers can use to identify where and when the grey ghosts have been at work.”

Mr Beveridge joked he’d noticed from the map that streets near his offi ce were rarely ticketed.

“But the parking inspectors will probably use the map too, to fi nd all the spots they’re currently missing.”

He stressed because the map was based on historical data, it should not be used to predict when inspectors would patrolparticular areas.

45,000

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35,000

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16 Herald Sun, Tuesday, August 25, 2009 heraldsun.com.au+

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FROM THE CASE FILES

Go online now heraldsun.com.au

SEE WHERE THE TICKET HOTSPOTS ARE

offenceloading zonePLEA: Guilty.EXCUSE: It was dark and the signs were really confusing.OUTCOME: Fine ($113) dropped, ordered to pay $40.90 costs.

offenceclearwayPLEA: Not guiltyEXCUSE: Defendant didn’t turn up to court.OUTCOME: Initial fi ne plus

costs imposed for total $174.30 penalty

offenceloadingzonePLEA: Guilty

EXCUSE: Car broke down. Left a note under

windscreen but got ticket anyway.OUTCOME: Fine dropped, no costs.

offenceover-stayedPLEA: Not guiltyEXCUSE: No-show by defendant.OUTCOME: Original fi ne plus costs, for total $97.90

offenceno stoppingPLEA: GuiltyEXCUSE: I just ran across the road to pick up a mate and give him a lift. The inspectors were very quick. OUTCOME: Initial penalty imposed, plus costs for total of $145.50.

offenceloading zonePLEA: Guilty.EXCUSE: Moving boxes into a new Docklands apartment, nowhere else to park.OUTCOME: Fine dropped, $40.90 costs.

offencenearintersectionPLEA: Not guilty, but didn’t turn up.EXCUSE: Photo taken by parking inspector has cut off a digit from number plate. Prove it’s my car.OUTCOME: Original fi ne plus costs, total $198.50

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WHEN WINNERS ARE LOSERSLUCY HOBSON APPEALED A PARKING FINE OF $113 IN COURT AND WON, BUT STILL HAS TO PAY COURT COSTS OF$40.90

City seeks clearwayto collect its $25m

Money spinner: parking officers compare notes. Picture: MIKE KEATING

‘I wrote to the council but they told me tobugger off. I know I did the right thing so I’mgoing to fight it’

− LEHARNA BLACK

FINE dodgers are thumb-ing their nose at the Cityof Melbourne and refus-ing to pay almost 200,000parking tickets.

The city council is owed$25 million by recalcitrantdrivers.

An investigation into cityparking also found our worstfine dodger is a male driverwho has accrued 166 infringe-ment notices and owes$18,963 — and counting.

More than 370 people areevading 10 or more outstand-ing fines, with thousandsmore refusing to pay one ortwo penalty notices.

About 40 per cent of peoplewho appeal to the councilsucceed in getting it waived,and more than 3000 driversappealed to the Magistrates’Court in a bid to get ticketsoverturned.

Drivers who go to court andplead guilty but offer a reason-able excuse often succeed ingetting tickets dropped.

Fined motorists who suc-cessfully appealed at theMagistrates’ Court after thecouncil rejected pleas forleniency told the Herald Sunthe council was too harsh.

B u s i n e s s m a n M i c h a e lPlacidi, fined for stopping in aloading zone while he dropped

off a coffee machine, said hehad tried to explain himself tothe parking inspector, andthen to the council’s internalappeal process.

‘‘They didn’t want to listen.I was taking something to ashop three metres away, and Iwas gone a minute. Bang,there was the ticket,’’ he said.

‘‘I tried to explain but theydidn’t want to know. So Icame to court,’’ he said.

‘‘And they dismissed the

ticket. I still have to pay thecosts (about $40). And I hadto spend time here in court. Itseems a waste of everyone’stime and money.’’

Mr Placidi also said it wasunfair that some people paidtheir fines, while many otherhabitual offenders were al-lowed to get away withmounting debts as they con-tinued to break the law.

Businesswoman LeharnaBlack will plead not guiltynext month at the Magis-trates’ Court after collecting afine in North Melbourne.

‘‘I wrote to the council butthey told me to bugger off. Iknow I did the right thing soI’m going to fight it,’’ she said.

Drivers lodged 32,000 ap-peals directly with the councilagainst parking fines last fin-ancial year, and almost 13,000motorists succeeded in get-ting their ticket dropped.

Council parking spokesmanBrian Shanahan said the highnumber of successful internalappeals showed parking offi-

cers and appeals officialsweren’t being too zealous.

Cr Shanahan said thatcouncil was alarmed at the$25 million owed by finedodgers and would like toclaw back the money, butadmitted some debts justwere not recoverable.

He urged people who owedmoney to pay up.

Tackling greyghosts in courtLUCY Hobson’s night at themovies was ruined by aparking fine fluttering underher wiper blade.

Dumbfounded, she huntedfor a sign showing the lawshe’d broken and finallyfound it posted 3m up a wall.

She was so annoyed by theplacement, she opted to go tocourt over the $113 fine.

After listening to her guiltyplea and explanation, thejudge dropped the fine butordered Ms Hobson to pay$40.90 costs.

It’s a common outcome, ifparking cases observed by theHerald Sun during two daysat Melbourne Magistrates’Court are any indication.

Remorseful motorists whoadmitted guilt, but offered avalid excuse got off in manycases, although the judicialregistrar took a hard line onstopping in clearways ordisabled zones.

Mechanical breakdownsand medical emergenciesattracted more sympathy.

One man, for example, wentoff to collect fuel andreturned to find the note he’dleft replaced by a fine. He waslet off with just costs to pay.

Ermanno Feliciani wantedto plead not guilty.

He had photos anddiagrams, and claimed thecouncil had changed the signssince he was booked for

parking near an intersection.But after seeing the registrarlet others off lightly forpleading guilty, he hid hisanger and reluctantly agreedhe was in the wrong.

‘‘I didn’t really want to, butit seemed the easiest thing,’’he said outside court.

The result? Fine dismissed,but ordered to pay $40.90costs.

The drivers who fared worstwere those who applied tocontest their fine, but thendidn’t bother turning up fortheir day in court.

With no words spoken intheir defence, dozens of no-shows ended up being foundguilty, with hefty court costsadded to the original fines.

Many absentee drivers wereclearly habitual offenders,including one who had rackedup 39 fines and now owed$2145 plus and extra $600 incosts.

The parking spaces aroundcourt are prime huntingground for inspectors — asone defendant clearlyknew.

Halfway through, helooked at his watchand asked for a shortadjournment,saying over hisshoulder as herushed fromcourt: ‘‘Mate, I’vegot to go and feedthe meter.’’

FIONAHUDSON