City Parking

Trying to get a parking spot in the city is like trying to do Mission Impossible. Of all the cities I have been to in Australia, Sydney has to be one of the worst. Traffic is bad, parking is worse.

So the moment when we had seen an empty space, we had zoomed into it. We couldn't believe our luck. Usually we would be circling around the city for ages. But this was only our first round. Parking signs were valid. I was actually going to be on time for my dinner booking. It was almost too good to be true.

And it was.

When I went to pay at the parking meter, it read "No Coins, Card Only". wtf ?!

I'm not sure about you, but personally I have something against paying for my parking with my credit card (especially when it's side street parking). It just doesn't seem right. Especially since the guy next to me doesn't even have a credit card, which would mean I would have to pay for it.

Reluctantly, we got back into the car and found another parking spot about 400m down the road. And yet another "Card only" parking meter. I looked at some of the parked cars around us and noticed that only 2 had tickets. The rest didn't have anything displayed. Although one guy had "Machine out of order" displayed on his panel.

Not wanting to be liable for a $150 parking fine, I called up the Faults Reporting number displayed on the meter. The operator told me that, if I didn't have a credit card, then I would just have to find another parking spot.

But the whole freaking street was "Card Only". And what happens to those people who really don't have a credit card ?!

I pulled out a pen and wrote "Machine out of order" on a piece of paper, put it on the panel and closed the door. I was too hungry to get back into the car to find another parking spot. Third time lucky would just be too far away from the restaurant.

"If I get a parking fine, you're paying for it", was all my supportive and understanding boyfriend said.

"If you do get a parking fine, I'll take it to the courts".

Fat chance I was going to pay for that.