Article: Car space shortage driving train commuters to park illegally

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From the Herald Sun click here!

Car space shortage driving train commuters to park illegally

Car space shortage driving train commuters to park illegally

    by: Greg Thom
    From: Herald Sun
    December 02, 2011 12:00AM

COMMUTERS are paying for a chronic shortage of parking at Melbourne railway stations.

More than 719 travellers have this year been fined for parking in no-standing areas around suburban stations.

A further 49 people were given infringement notices for parking on the footpath at train stations.

Another 26 commuters were fined for illegally parking in a permit zone.

Transport Department figures show 27 drivers were so desperate to make their trains they left their car in a disabled parking space.

Public Transport Users Association president Daniel Bowen said overcrowded carparks were driving desperate commuters to park illegally.

"Many station carparks are at capacity and fill up early in peak hour, with some passengers resorting to parking illegally or in nearby residential streets," he said.

"Others just give up entirely on the trains and drive to their destination."

Mr Bowen said some of the problems stemmed from the poor quality of connecting bus services.

"Often they are only every 30-40 minutes, even in the middle of peak hour and aren't co-ordinated with the train timetables," he said.

"Where higher frequency Smartbus services have been provided, people are finding this a good way to get to the station."

Mr Bowen said the Government should consider providing these types of feeder services right across Melbourne.