Paid parking introduced at Perth train stations
Posted
Commuters who park at train stations in Perth must now purchase a $2 ticket or risk a $50 fine.
Until today, drivers had parked for free at train station carparks across the city.
A steady stream of passengers filed into the Stirling train station before first light this morning.
Transperth customers who had registered their SmartRider cards for paid parking were swiping their cards on cashless machines.
Those yet to register were forced to walk back to their cars to display a ticket.
The system appeared to be going smoothly, with only short queues for the swipe and ticket machines.
There was some confusion about the location of the machines.
Transperth urges drivers to sign up for SmartParker
Transperth said the easiest way to pay for parking was by registering vehicle details for a new electronic SmartParker system.
It involved registering number plates using existing SmartRider cards on the agency's website.
Transperth spokesman David Hynes said more than 20,000 SmartRiders had applied for electronic paid parking.
Mr Hynes said passengers could still buy a cash ticket at the station.
"Paying for a cash ticket will mean you need to collect the ticket from the machine and then return to display it on the car," he said.
"With SmartParker it's a simple, cashless transaction, after which you go straight to the train."
Mr Hynes warned commuters they must still tag on to a Transperth train or they would not be able to swipe into SmartParker the following time.
Topics: rail-transport, state-parliament, perth-6000
