Bendigo residents spent almost $3.5 million on parking last year.
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Annual report data from the City of Greater Bendigo showed drivers spent $3.425 million on parking in 2018, an increase from $3.301 million in 2017.
This year's financial user fees have yet to be finalised.
At the same time, council parking inspectors issued 18,103 parking fines in the 2018/19 financial year - the highest number of fines issued in the last six financial years.
The 2018/19 data was an increase of 3000 infringements from the 2017/18 financial year.
In 2016/17, only 14,152 fines were issued, the lowest since the 2013/14 financial year.
City of Greater Bendigo safe and healthy environments manager Caroline Grylls said outsourcing the collection of coins from ticket machines and meters.
"(Council) could then redeploy existing staff to monitor on and off street parking to ensure motorists complied with parking rules and restrictions," she said.
Ms Grylls said parking fees for the 2019/20 financial year were the same as the previous financial year.
It costs drivers $1.80 per hour or $6.50 all day to park in Zone 1 (paid parking in the CBD exclusing the two multi-storey car parks) of the CBD and $1.10 per hour or $3.70 all day in Zone 2 (Tom Flood and QEO car parks).
From July 1, parking fines in Greater Bendigo rose to $83 - a $28 increase on the previous financial year.
The increased penalty for those who fail to pay for a parking ticket, or overstay the allotted time, was part of the city's budget for the 2019-20 financial year.
Parking fines increased by $5 in the 2018-19 financial year, and $5 the year prior. They were steady in the 2016-17 budget, at $45.
Ms Grylls said money from parking fees and fines is used for services and projects across the Greater Bendigo region.
"Money from parking fines and fees goes into consolidated revenue," she said.
"(It) is used to deliver a number of important services and projects which benefit the community each year."
Ms Grylls said the credit car-enabled ticket machines, along with the use of the PayStay phone app and website in two all-day car parks in the CBD, had been a success.
"Credit card machines are installed in each street so there shouldn't really be any bays which don't have this option," she said.
"We currently only have two municipal car parks with PayStay, these are all day car parks which historically have a high level of compliance with the requirement to pay."
Council is also developing a plan for the future of parking in the CBD.
"The City's Regional Sustainable Development unit are developing a Parking Futures Plan, which may impact on parking in the city centre," Ms Grylls said.
"There have already been public forums with the draft due to go out to the public for comment in the next few months.
"It was expected the introduction of credit card payment options would increase user compliance and we hope this will continue to improve.
"City staff are working hard to ensure parking is accessible by implementing a range of payment options to help residents comply with parking rules and avoid receiving an infringement."
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