Andrew Dickens: Who's paying $74 a day to park in the city?

News that Wilson Parking in Fort Street, Auckland, is the most expensive parking in New Zealand says a lot more than just a company creaming it. 

If you turn up first thing at the park and you use the on site machine then a days parking will cost you $74.

Now who pays $74 for a days park?

If you park casually then it will cost you $22 an hour - more than the minimum wage. 

I’m picking that if you park in this park then you’re not working in hospo, you’re earning enough to blow money like this, you don’t feel you have an alternative and you love your car and want to park near work. 

So let’s break that down.

The average wage in Auckland is $72,000 a year, after tax that’s $900 bucks a week in the hand. The median rent is $700 dollars, you need $100 a week for power, phone internet and gas, you need to eat.

So where’s the money for that park?

The only people paying that earn way more than $72 grand.

On the alternative, most don’t have a car park. 50 per cent of workers in Auckland’s CBD take public transport into work. That’s because they don’t get a park from their employer and they don’t earn enough to face the parking charges. That’s not their choice, it’s an economic necessity, that’s why public transport is critical to our productivity. Remember that the next time you complain about a bus lane.

And finally a love of the car distorts the debate, because there are plenty of parks that don’t cost that much. Like the city owned downtown car park, a car park which is half empty most days, which is why the council has sold the car park to developers to become a skyscraper and much more expensive parking. But park there and you may have to walk, so many don’t and pay a fortune on wasted productivity.

There comes a time in every city where the ease and convenience of driving to town becomes only available to the better off and that kills a CBD, a CBD that has already been gutted by suburban malls and cinemas. 

The fact that so many Aucklanders are prepared to pay so much to park a car in the CBD it makes me believe that the idea of congestion charges in an attempt to reduce traffic will fail, we’re just going to pay to stay stuck in the same traffic queues. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
News that Wilson Parking and Fort Street Auckland is the
most expensive parking in New Zealand says a lot more
than just about the company that is absolutely creaming it.
And you know it. If you turn up first thing
at this Wilson car park and you use the on
site machine and you want to park for a day,
this will cost you, wait for it, seventy four dollars
a day. Now, who pays seventy four bucks for a

(00:23):
day's park? If you go there and you park casually,
it will cost you twenty two dollars an hour. Now,
hold on, what was the minimum wage? What did I say?
The minimum wage was, Oh, it's just under the minimum wage,
but anyway, it's pretty close. So obviously minimum wage people
aren't going to be parking at this Wilson's car park.
I'm picking that if you park in this park, you
are not working in hospital, you're earning enough to blow

(00:47):
money like this. You don't feel like you have an alternative,
and you love your car and you want to park
near work, so you pay seventy four bucks. Let's break
that down average wage and allan seventy two thousand a
year after tax. That's nine hundred dollars a week. The
media rent is seven hundred dollars a week. You need
one hundred dollars a week for power, phone, internet and
gas and oh, by the way, you need to eat.

(01:07):
So where's a spare money for that park? At seventy
four dollars for a day, the only people paying that
are paid way more than seventy two grand on having
no alternatives, well, we don't have any. Fifty percent of
the workers in Auckland CBDD take public transport into work.
That's because they don't get a park from their employer
and they don't earn enough to face the parking charges.
After all, seventy four dollars a day twenty two bucks

(01:29):
an hour. It's not their choice to take the public transport,
it's an economic necessity. That's why public transport is critical
to our productivity. Fifty percent of the workers in the
CBD need it. Remember that the next time you can
plain about a bus lane. And finally, we love our
cars because actually there are plenty of cars. Sorry, there

(01:50):
are plenty of parks. They don't cost seventy four bucks
an hour in the CBD, like the city owned downtown
car park, a car park which on most days is
half empty, which which is why the council has now
sold the car park to developers to become a skyscraper
because it's half empty. Part there you may have to walk,
so many don't and so they go and pay a

(02:11):
fortune on waste of productivity. Eh there's here's the thing.
The fact that so many orchands are prepared to pay
so much to park a car and the CBD makes
me believe that the idea of congestion charges reducing traffic
will fail because we're prepared to pay this rubbish. We're
just going to pay to stay stuck in the same

(02:34):
traffic queues. For more from Early edition with Ryan Bridge.
Listen live to News Talks it Be from five am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio