By Max Aldred For Daily Mail Australia
Published: 01:36 EDT, 30 June 2022 | Updated: 01:36 EDT, 30 June 2022
Councils across Australia have a new weapon in their war on drivers parking illegally - with sneaky high-tech equipment replacing roaming rangers on the streets.
The technology has been used by select councils across Australia and is now gaining widespread traction.
Unmarked cars, decked out with smart cameras and automated fining technology, can instantly fine cars overstaying their welcome in public carparks.
In Wolli Creek, in Sydney's south, locals have spotted tricky SUVs with awkward looking security-style cameras hanging out of their windows, replacing parking rangers armed with chalk.
The cars were introduced in the area by Bayside Council in 2020 but went mostly unnoticed due to Covid lockdowns.
The council is also mailing fines to alleged offenders, eradicating the need for a traditional slip left tucked under a windscreen wiper.
Some have been outraged by the covert vehicles, but the council say the cars have multiple upsides.
Hi-tech camera (pictured) and GPS technologies are combined in the formidable automated parking ranger cars
Residents in Bayside council have only now started noticing the ranger cars (pictured) as they were implemented during the pandemic
'(The technology is responsible for) a significant reduction in administration time and reduces the number of infringements impacted by weather or taken off vehicles by others,' said a spokeswoman for the council.
'It has also reduced physical and verbal abuse to our parking officers in these areas by 100 per cent.'
Licence Plate Recognition and GPS software enable the council to pick out offenders with precision - with details instantly sent to Revenue NSW to chase them up.
'The LPR system has simplified the process of issuing infringement notices.
'The file is sent to Revenue NSW who issue the penalty infringement notice directly to the offending vehicle owner.'
The LPR equipped cars (pictured) have reduced physical and verbal abuse to parking officers in Wolli Creek by 100 per cent according to the council
The curious cars have sparked a frenzy of speculation online - with Aussies wondering just how the tech-filled cars work.
Some hypothesised the driver may have to manually click to take a photo of the car, and whether GPS technology might instantly be able to determine what zone a car is parked in.
LPR technology allows the cars to automatically log the number plates of the vehicles it passes and their GPS coordinates.
Typically a corresponding database knows the limits in different areas.
'The system just records 'We first detected ABC123 at Lat/Long at 9:08AM, and again at the same location – or in the same restriction zone – at 11:30AM. That area has a 1 hour limit, and this vehicle has been there for 2 hours 22 minutes, we're going to flag that as a violation and generate a fine',' explained a Reddit user.
Many locals aren't happy with the tech.
'As we move further and further into the future everything is just becoming more dystopian,' wrote a disgruntled commenter.
'Sutherland Shire has this technology too, but covert pinhole style cameras attached to the roof rack, and a d*** behind the wheel doing laps of the beachside carparks searching for camper vans,' complained another.
A few commenters felt hard-done-by by the car.
'I stopped in a no stopping for less than 5 seconds to let my wife out and was lucky enough to be pinged by one of these bot cars in Wolli Creek, the photo literally had the passenger door open in it,' wrote one.
Others said it was an efficient way for the council to make revenue.
'This has been around for a long time, I worked for a regional council that was using something similar 15 years ago. It made a lot of money' one said.
'God bless Bayside council, to their credit they didn't book people during the pandemic who couldn't leave their home for work or isolation last year.
'Guess they need to recoup all that lost revenue by going from rangers marking tyres to number plate readers. Some may say it's like going from a fishing rod to a deep sea trawler,' wrote another.
'These systems are crazy expensive, circa 100k for many of them, plus other ongoing costs, but they very, very quickly pay for themselves. One system can cover as much ground as dozens of parking officers, and are far more accurate. Parking related revenue are many councils' second biggest revenue source,' said a third.
2021 budget figures show the council spends some $6.9million on traffic and road safety, including parking management.
The comments below have not been moderated.
The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.
We are no longer accepting comments on this article.
Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd
Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group