Parking meters in Lower Hutt will all be made cashless. (File photo) Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller
Parking meters in Lower Hutt will all become cashless due to the cost of ongoing theft and vandalism, the mayor says.
Since the start of 2025, 30 parking meters in Lower Hutt had been intentionally damaged or destroyed, with Petone especially hard hit.
The council said the total stolen amounted to $2975. But replacing just one vandalised meter costs $2500-$7000 and Hutt City Council has spent $114,000 replacing vandalised meters so far this year.
Mayor Campbell Barry told Morning Report making the parking meters cashless was not something the council wanted to do.
"We know it will have an impact on those who choose to use coins to pay for their parking," he said.
Mayor Campbell Barry said the council did not want to have to make the meters cashless. (File photo) Photo: Supplied / Hutt City Council / Elias Rodriguez
"But we really have no choice, particularly under some of the financial constraints that we have at the moment."
Barry said they were working with organisations that would be able to assist some customers in the community, such as the elderly, who only used coins and did not have paywave or parking apps on their phone.
Around 96 of Council's 181 parking meters across Lower Hutt still accept cash.
As meters have been vandalised, they have been replaced with cashless meters, but council would now move to proactively block off coin payments at all meters to prevent further vandalism.
Conversion to card-only payments will begin on Monday August 18 and was expected to be completed within two weeks.
Other councils have made similar moves away from cash meters in recent years, and meters in Porirua are now cashless.
Justin Roberts Head of Environmental Protection at Hutt City Council said the damage done far outweighed the small amount of cash stolen per meter.
"It's ratepayers who end up footing the bill, and the result is frustration for drivers and added pressure on businesses," he said.
"Most people are very comfortable with using a card at meters or paying via the PayMyPark app, but we understand this change will be an adjustment for some people."
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