There could be less free parking and an increase in parking fees in the Perth CBD within weeks.
A City of Perth report prepared by commercial services general manager Steven Holden recommends lifting parking fees from March 30 and winding back free parking incentives across some of the city’s most-used car parks.
Free parking at the Pier Street, Cultural Centre and His Majesty’s Theatre carparks is proposed to be reduced from three hours to two hours, and the one-hour free parking at Point Fraser would be scrapped entirely.
The report says the changes will force faster turnover in areas struggling with congestion as “a change to two-hour free parking will allow more visitors to access parking spaces, reducing congestion, and ensuring fairer use of parking facilities”.
“Parking services currently provides $5 million in free parking incentives introduced to drive visitation back into the city,” the report said.
Camera IconPoint Fraser carpark could be losing its one-hour free parking promotion. Credit: CPP
Parking revenue is considered “vital” to the city as an “enabler for investment in infrastructure, event activation and to minimise increases to rates”.
Drivers using boom-gated areas at these car parks and others could also face higher charges, with most hourly rates rising by 50 cents and weekday day rates increasing by $1.
The proposal states demand is outstripping the capacity and the “proposed modest increases to parking fees … are balanced and necessary to offset the increasing demand for all day parking in boom gated off-street car parks”.
Camera IconThe proposed parking fees. Credit: City of Perth
Weekend day rates and night rates would remain the same.
While meter prices at non-boom gated carparks would stay the same, motorists who pay via mobile apps would pay more as the city moves to stop subsidising app fees.
The city has been absorbing an 11.5 per cent service fee charged by the EasyPark app to keep costs aligned with parking meters, but the report makes clear that this approach is ending.
“Aligning the total cost of a parking meter transaction with the total cost of using the Payment App … was only ever intended to be a short term strategy (promotional phase) as it obligated the city to absorb the 11.5% Easy Park App service fee,” the report said.
With more than 80 per cent of people now paying via the app, city staff believe it is time to return to a “user-pays” system.
“Re-establishment of the user pay service fee on all Easy Park payments supports the intended long term pricing model where the user pays a convenience fee direct to the app provider,” the report said.
If the council supports the introduction of two-hour free parking, it will bring more money into the city’s coffers. The new fees would bring an additional $1 million in the 2025-26 financial year alone and $4m for the 2026-27 year.
The removal of one-hour free parking at Point Fraser is estimated to generate $400,000 a year.
In February last year, the council voted to increase parking fees, end free night parking and introduce payment for electric vehicle charging facilities.
The council is scheduled to consider the proposal at its February 24 meeting.