A woman has hit out at no-ticket parking tickets after she was forced to pay $960 for unknowingly breaking a traffic rule three times.
Kate Fumberger lives in Box Hill, west of Sydney, and regularly takes the train at Tallawong tube station to work.
Mrs. Fumberger explained that she went to the station last month, but had difficulty finding a parking spot during the morning rush hour.
After driving for a while, he saw a street that had a few spaces available and was a 10-minute walk from the station.
“I looked around for ‘no parking’ signs on the road and there was nothing,” he said. 9News.
Mrs. Fumberger parked her car on the street on September 9 and two other days that same week.
However, about a week later he received a $320 fine in the mail for parking next to a yellow line.
Fumberger said he was not aware that parking next to a solid yellow line was illegal under New South Wales traffic laws.
A woman was fined $960 for free parking in just four days after unknowingly breaking a common traffic rule.
She admitted she was wrong after discovering she had broken a traffic law, but added that many of her friends didn’t know the law either.
However, he was outraged after two more parking tickets, each worth $320, quickly followed.
Fumberger said he wouldn’t have made the same mistake a second and third time if he had left a physical ticket on his car after his first violation.
“I really hoped they would be lenient on the other two because I wouldn’t have made the same mistake if they had left a real ticket on my car the first time,” he said.
Since getting his traffic violations, Fumberger said he has seen tickets on the windshields of cars parked on the same street.
Ms Fumberger lodged an appeal with NSW Revenue over the three fines amounting to almost $1,000.
However, NSW Revenue rejected his appeal and sent him a letter explaining that under New South Wales law the fine could be imposed in person or by post.
“The issuing officer may impose a ticket for a variety of reasons, such as when it is unsafe to stop or if a vehicle leaves the area before a ticket can be issued,” the letter said.
Fumberger said she was also surprised that the parking violation cost $320 each, and that the total value of $1,000 in fines added to her financial stress.
“I can understand speeding tickets being a little more expensive, because you’re putting other people at risk, but this just feels like an increase in revenue,” he said.
Fumberger said he wouldn’t have made the same mistake a second and third time if he had left a physical ticket on his car after his first violation.
Ms Fumberger criticized the NSW government and council for failing to provide enough parking for commuters around the Metro station.
He added that parking around the Metro station had worsened since the expanded rail line opened in August.
The frustrated traveler said she had to leave her house almost an hour early just to find a parking spot, and she still has to walk more than 10 minutes.
It comes after the Minns government announced its plan to ban the no-ticket system so drivers are notified at the time of parking violations.
Finance Minister Courtney Houssos presented the new laws to the New South Wales Legislative Council on September 26.
The legislation has not yet been passed, meaning no-ticket parking tickets remain legal.
The new rule would ensure that drivers receive physical notification that they have been ticketed.
“No one likes getting a parking ticket, but the idea that you only find out about the ticket weeks later doesn’t pass the test of common sense,” Ms. Houssos said.
‘Frustration among drivers and community members over the ticketless parking system is high, and that’s fair enough.
“The fine-free parking ticket system was introduced by the previous government with no regard for the impact on drivers and families.”
In the 2023 to 2024 financial year, NSW councils recorded a whopping 822,310 fines, a 49 per cent increase on the previous year.