North Sydney Dings High-Consumption Vehicles With Higher Parking Fees

6 June 2005

Sydney Morning Herald. The North Sydney, Australia city council has implemented a new parking permit plan that charges owners of high-fuel-consumption vehicles double for parking permits.

Owners of particularly thirsty cars, such as the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Mitsubishi Pajero and the eight-cylinder Holden Commodore, will pay $88 in the first year and $200 in the second.

Less thirsty cars, such as the Ford Falcon, will attract a $44 charge for the first year of the permit, and $100 in the second year.

Owners of low-fuel-consumption cars, such as the Toyota Prius and Holden Astra, will be rewarded by paying $24 in the first year and $80 in the second.

The Mayor of North Sydney, Genia McCaffery, said the aim of the scheme, adopted by six votes to five, was to discourage residents from owning vehicles highly detrimental to the environment. “It’s about education,” she said. “The philosophy behind it is to reward people who do the right thing and create higher fees for those people who are having maximum impact.”

The categories are based on a ratings system devised by the Australian Greenhouse Office. Funds collected from the scheme will be used to support the permit parking program.