Taupō council issues parking ticket an hour early

A Taupō resident is protesting after receiving a parking ticket with an issue time an hour before she parked on a yellow line. Photo / File.

A law-abiding Taupō citizen is seeing red over a parking incident at the town's library.

She was eager to return her library books on time but unable to get a park due to the town being packed for an event. The carpark at Taupō Library was full and so she parked on the yellow lines in front of the library's roller doors. Not wanting to be named, let's call her Bill and Ted.

She admits she parked unlawfully.
"I wouldn't normally do it, but there was no parking." But she was surprised by what happened next.

Bill and Ted has a set lunch break of 1pm to 2pm each day, and on this day the ticket stated an issue time of 12.12pm. At that time, she says she was safely at work and hadn't yet driven to the library. Bill and Ted contends the actual time of the infringement was 1.12pm, exactly one hour after the stated time on the time-travelling ticket.

"I accept I parked in the wrong place, but I do not accept that they have not re-calibrated the parking ticket machine.

"I am not the sort of person to always pay attention to the fine print. And I don't get tickets on a regular basis. I noticed the time was incorrectly printed on the ticket because I was annoyed when I couldn't get a park, and then I was doubly annoyed when I got a ticket."

In response to an inquiry from the Taupō & Tūrangi Weekender, a Taupō District Council spokesperson said the parking wardens use mobile phones that are automatically updated for daylight savings.

"However we encourage the customer to come into the Customer Service Centre with the infringement number and we will be able to investigate further. If there is fault found we will waive the ticket."

Bill and Ted says she knows she will be required to prove her whereabouts and is fairly confident she can prove she was at work at the time in question.

"I suggest everyone who has parking ticket check the issue time."

That should be an excellent adventure.