The Calgary Parking Authority has written up 1,300 tickets to Calgary drivers who have avoided paying the $3 park-and-ride fee.
Still, despite all the uproar surrounding the March implementation of transit parking fees, the majority of people are paying up.
Compliancy rates in lots are approximately 95 per cent, said Dale Fraser, general manager of the Calgary Parking Authority.
“Transit parkers are quite consciencious about making payments when they park,” Fraser said.
“Compliance is quite high and the amount of tickets issued is quite low,”
Fraser said the trend started out high and has continued over the months since the fee started.
The top three ticketed lots are Dalhousie with 236, McKnight with 185 and Somerset with 175. Fraser said this may be because they are all larger lots.
Ald. Ric McIver said he is surprised that the rate isn’t closer to 100 per cent.
“With the size of fines we give people when they don’t pay according to the rules, so I’m surprised it’s not higher than 95 per cent,” said McIver.
McIver said compliancy rates won’t rise further unless large signs are posted so people will know the consequences of not following the rules.
Fraser said the compliancy rate for parkers downtown is lower than in park-and-ride lots.
The Calgary Parking Authority sees an 86 per cent compliancy rate downtown.
“In downtown there are more people who possibly have reason to avoid fair payment. (They) just pop in and do some business,” said Fraser. “At transit lots you usually park all day.”
McIver said that the differences may be a result of a lack of parking downtown and people willing to take the chance of getting a ticket.
“Downtown people take the attitude of, ‘I’m just going to run in here for five or 10 minutes and no one will know.’”
