Boycott call over Waiheke parking fee

Angry Waiheke Island commuters are cramming into buses to reach their ferries each morning, in a revolt against new waterfront parking charges on public land.

Full-day patronage of Auckland City Council carparking spaces near the Matiatia ferry terminal has slumped since a $6 daily fee was imposed on Tuesday on what was previously a free facility.

Only a handful of commuters are leaving their cars, although patronage picks up after the morning peak when casual ferry users can park for a half-day fee of $3.

Commuters who once filled up free parks by 7.30am are now cruising past on buses - on which there is no charge to holders of monthly ferry tickets - and cheering at the sight of the empty tarmac.

Posters have appeared at bus-stops around the island calling for a boycott of the new parking regime, and a day-long protest is planned for tomorrow.

Ferry operator Fullers says it can cope with the extra patronage for now on its buses, but may have to ask the Auckland Regional Transport Authority to subsidise more services if the boycott continues.

The council says parking charges are needed to help to pay for its $12.5 million takeover of a private company, Waitemata Infrastructure, to rewrite unpopular development plans for Waiheke's main gateway.

It stepped in to quell fear among residents that a $35 million development by Waitemata would have meant the "Aucklandisation" of Waiheke, with apartments, restaurants, bars and motel accommodation spread over 8.7ha.

Waiheke Ferry Users Group spokesman Vern Whitehead said feelings were running high, particularly as commuters in mainland Auckland were being offered free park and ride facilities at railway and bus stations to boost public transport patronage.

"We are the only area with unsubsidised ferries and we are having to pay a wharf tax on top of that so we are getting whacked in every way possible," he said.

"I think we are seen as captive, but we are getting to a tipping point where blue collar workers are selling up and leaving the island as they can no longer afford to live there."

Mr Whitehead said having to pay a $6 daily charge would add $120 to the $260 a month it now costs to travel to Auckland and back each day by ferry.

Waiheke's representative on the council, Faye Storer, said there was no dispute about retaining charges on what was previously private land but she would try to persuade the council to reinstate free-parking on what had always been public space.

Political heat is being felt by Auckland City Mayor Dick Hubbard, who wants to meet council transport committee chairman Richard Simpson to see what can be done to ease the row.

The mayor's office said last night that Mr Hubbard was "concerned about the level of feeling on Waiheke."

A confidential council memorandum reveals a light-handed approach by parking officers in the first fortnight of the new regime, when there is to be "little or no enforcement while people are finding their feet and adjusting to the new system".

But traffic and roading service manager Neill Forgie defended the new charges, saying ferry users had a choice between paying for their use of premium waterfront land or parking for free at a site provided by the council several hundred metres away.