From moving a car by a couple of centimetres to blaming bowel movements, people have delved into how far they'd go to get out of a parking ticket.
By Sammy Carter of RNZ
And over a third of the time it actually works, Wellington City Council data released to RNZ under the Official Information Act (OIA) shows.
Thousands of Wellingtonians try their luck to get tickets each year.
Numbers show the most successful way to get out of a parking ticket for council-run spaces in Wellington was by saying there was a system error, or contesting the facts of the ticket itself.
This worked about 60% of the time, according to data from 2023 to 2025.
Metered parks cost $5 per hour between 8am-8pm in Central Wellington, and most were limited to 120 minutes 8am-5pm, and 180 minutes from 5-8pm.
At the weekend the fee dropped to $3 an hour while most metered parks were limited to 180 minutes 8am-8pm.
Challenging the ticket's facts worked for local Kevin, who said he was parked in a coupon parking zone for more than two hours and got a $70 ticket earlier this year.
Kevin said the council claimed he had not moved his car, however, he said technically, he had.
"It was the same parking spot, but I have moved the car a little bit forward, that's all I needed to do."
He said he won his appeal after four days.
Kevin, along with others spoken to by RNZ, felt the council was too harsh on ticketing and should give people more grace.
Kevin said he tried and failed to challenge a ticket he got when visiting his friend in hospital, staying ten minutes over the limit of his park.
Over the three-year period, there were more than 10,000 appeals by people claiming there was a system error with their ticket.
In a statement from the Wellington City Council, it said the council acknowledged, as with any technology-based system, errors could occasionally occur.
It said the appeal process existed to provide an avenue to challenge tickets and for the council to review the circumstances.
It said decisions to uphold, waive, or cancel an infringement were based on the circumstances of each case, rather than the category under which the appeal was recorded.
"Paid and time-restricted on-street parking is used in high-demand areas to manage parking demand, support vehicle turnover, and improve access to businesses and recreational amenities."
The most popular appeal reason was for "other" circumstances to be considered, with grounds like bereavement, a car crash, or someone who wasn't the owner driving the car.
This only worked about 25%of the time.
One local told RNZ she successfully appealed two tickets, once by saying she had diarrhoea, and the other by saying she had to stop to breast-feed her baby.
Another said he won his appeal by saying he only recently arrived in New Zealand from America and didn't understand the rules.
Being unaware that you were breaking the rules, or saying you don't have the money to pay, worked the least.
When asked what circumstances the council does sympathise with, it said it considered the individual circumstances of each person.
And for those who think not getting out of the car means you don't need to pay yet, the council said it takes an educational approach before issuing a ticket.
The Land Transport Act stated that the stopping of a vehicle for more than five minutes was prohibited unless the vehicle complied with parking controls.
The council said it provided a six-minute grace period.
"Infringement notices are issued to people who either do not pay the fee or stay longer than the time restriction to allow turnover of a limited resource."
One man, who RNZ agreed not to name, said he'd managed to get out of at least 30 parking tickets in less than a decade.
The former law student described several ways he believed he got out of a ticket, mostly returning the mail to the sender with different instructions.
"It just goes into the too hard basket.
"I've been doing this for years... they never follow up."
The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including a strong quake rocks the south, and the rescue of a man stuck in a portaloo. (Source: Breakfast)
SHARE ME