Parking
City of Darwin provides both on-street and off-street parking across the Central Business District (CBD). Parking is regulated Monday to Friday between the hours of 8am and 5pm, unless otherwise sign posted. On-street parking provides for multiple durations from maximum 2 hour stays to all day parking across our Zones A (2 hour), B (3 hour) and C (all day). This allows for high-turnover and ease of parking for shoppers and other visitors of various businesses located in the CBD. Off-street parking provides all day parking for a flat rate and is mostly used by those travelling into the CBD for work and long meetings.. City of Darwin provides some free motorbike parking and 15 minute car parking spaces across the CBD. Payment for the parking can be made at the meters or via Paystay using the app, call, or text. Revenue received from parking goes back into the community helping Council to deliver services to the people of Darwin.
Usage Analysis
There are a number of options when it comes to parking in Darwin. City of Darwin currently supplies 3,621 car parking spaces in total for use.
There are three different on-street parking zones, 10 off-street car parks, and numerous assessible, motocycle, electric vehicle, bike, short term and loading bay parking spaces.
Off Street vs. On Street Usage & Durations
(FY YTD)
Off Street Durations:
Short Stay - 2 hours or less
Mid Stay - between 2-3 hours
Long Stay - more than 3 hours
Over 94% of off-street users stay for more than 3 hours. The off-street parking areas are frequently used by workers who come into the Central Business District each day and stay for the working day.
The off-street parking is not limited to all day use with just over 4% of users staying 2 hours or less and less than 1% staying between 2-3 hours.
The on-street parking is utilised more by users staying 2 hours or less with the Zone A parking bays being used over 60% of the time.
** The above graph reflects data for the current financial year 2022/23 YTD.
On Street Usage by Zone (FY YTD)
On Street Durations:
Zone A - 2 hour maximum parking
Zone B - 3 hour maximum parking
Zone C - All day parking
Zone A is the most frequented zone of the on-street areas providing 2 hours or less of parking to users.
The charts show that of Zone B, which has a 3 hour limit, almost half of the users are staying in those bays for a 2 hour period, whilst just under 45% of users are staying in the parking bays for the full 3 hour time duration allowed.
Zone C is the all day on-street parking bays and as the chart shows over 81% of users are utilising the space for the full day period. Less than 5% of users stay for up to 3 hours and the remaining 13% stay for just 2 hours.
This data shows that of all the on-street parking zones, the 2 hour parking and all day parking are the most used options.
** The above graph reflects data for the current financial year 2022/23 YTD.
Visitor Usage (all travellers outside NT)
The graph above shows data used from PayStay which is a vehicle registration system used for customers to make payment for parking. This data shows that by the vehicle registration the Top 3 visitors to Darwin in the 2022/23 financial year to-date have come from QLD, VIC & WA.
** The above graph reflects data for the current financial year 2022/23 YTD.
NT vs. Visitor Comparison
** The above graph reflects data for the current financial year 2022/23 YTD.
Parking Financials
Parking throughout the CBD is controlled by paid parking, which is required between 8.00am and 5.00pm Monday and Friday. There is no overnight fee for on-street parking. Parking is free for after hours, weekends and public holidays, excluding State Square carpark.
Pay and Display parking metres are located throughout the CBD. All metres accept coins and a number of off-street car parking locations accept Visa payWave or Mastercard PAYPASSTM payments. Alternatively all parking can be paid using the PayStay parking app, except in State Square carpark.
The parking fees vary depending on location, the fees are detailed below:
Parking Revenue
The below graphs provide an overview of the revenue received from the on & off-street carparks, and methods of payment for the current 2022/2023 financial year year-to-date (YTD).
Note: Revenue for past periods (2020/21-2021/22) can be accessed by clicking on the chart and adjusting the 'Year' filter.
Off-Street vs. On-Street Revenue (YTD)
The revenue for off-street car parking arises from our everyday off-street parking users and those who still hold reserved bays. For the financial year ended 30th June 2022 Council received over $1.9M in off-street revenue and $2.1M in on-street revenue. The above chart shows the current 2022/23 financial year revenue received to-date.
For both off and on-street parking, Paystay is the preferred method of payment representing over 70% of payments made.
On-Street Revenue by Zone (YTD)
Zone A - 2 Hour Max Parking
Zone B - 3 Hour Max Parking
Zone C - All Day Parking
As Zone A is in close proximity to The Mall and the retail shops in the centre on the CBD, this parking zone gets high turn-over and as such we see the most revenue from this zone.
Zones B and C are for longer durations of car parking and are located a further distance from The Mall and retail businesses, as such while good revenue is generated from these zones, they generate less than half of Zone A.
Combined On & Off Street Methods of Payment (YTD)
City of Darwin introduced Paystay as a new method of payment in February 2018. Since the launch of Paystay it has become the most popular method of payment from our parking users in both the on and off-street parking areas. Paystay now accounts for over 70% of all payments received, while cash is around 20% and credit card less than 10%.
Off Street Methods of Payment (YTD)
The off-street methods of payment are a mix between Paystay, credit card and cash. Paystay is the preferred method for off-street users followed by credit card.
On Street Methods of Payment (YTD)
The on-street meters in the CBD do not accept credit card, meaning that users can choose between using Paystay or cash. Paystay accounts for more than half of the on-street parking transactions generated for parking.
Parking Regulation
City of Darwin Officers are authorised under the Local Government Act to enforce legislation that City of Darwin is responsible for. This includes on-street parking regulations under the Northern Territory Traffic Act and Northern Territory Traffic Regulations, which include the Australian Road Rules. The key purpose of City of Darwin regulating on-street parking is to maintain public safety and amenity. As an example, Officers may encourage the regular turnover of parking bays through parking restrictions so that drivers can have fair access to areas with a limited parking, such as school zones.
Infringement Revenue by Location (FY YTD)
** The above graph reflects data for the current financial year 2022/23 YTD.
City of Darwin Officers may enforce the parking regulations by issuing fines to people who do not comply with them. It is preferable that people comply with the parking regulations, rather than be issued fines. The graph below displays the total number of parking infringements issued in the financial year to date. The infringements are shown by the area in which the infringement was issued; CBD on-street parking, car park parking, and on-street parking in the remaining suburbs of Darwin.
Infringements by Type (FY YTD)
** The above graph reflects data for the current financial year 2022/23 YTD.
Under the Northern Territory Traffic Act and Northern Territory Traffic Regulations, which include the Australian Road Rules, there are a range of regulations that must be adhered to. The graph below displays the total number of infringements issued by type of regulation, for example, ‘fail to display voucher’ or ‘stopping within a loading zone’.