Supercharger - Macquarie Park, NSW

[Vostok]

Yeah, waste the cops time with BS like this.

I’m sure EV drivers who are inconvenienced when charging spots are ICEd or hogged by non-charging EVs don’t consider this “BS”.

Most fines are handed out by council parking rangers, also I'm pretty sure the new rules don't apply to private car parks unless the owners have an agreement with council for them to patrol it, and the finally, the spots have to be properly signposted.

A growing number of EV charging spots are signposted in this manner - hardly a big deal.

Private car parks can ‘fine’ people who break the terms of an agreement they had with them, e.g. the terms of use displayed on that board that people never read when they enter a private car park, and also any additional signposting within the car park, such as “EV parking only while charging”. By entering a private car-park, that person has agreed to all the terms of entry. If they don’t agree with all the terms, then they should not enter, or else exit as soon as practicable.

NSW RMS can and will provide vehicle registration details to private land owners when prima-facie evidence exists that such an agreement has been breached (e.g. timestamped photographs) to enable that land-owner to commence court proceedings against the offender. While such fines can’t be enforced through Revenue NSW, they can and are enforced through Local Courts.

 

[RichardV]

NSW RMS can and will provide vehicle registration details to private land owners when prima-facie evidence exists that such an agreement has been breached (e.g. timestamped photographs) to enable that land-owner to commence court proceedings against the offender. While such fines can’t be enforced through Revenue NSW, they can and are enforced through Local Courts.

Has this changed again recently?

I had heard that,
"In the past, car park companies could obtain your details from the RMS, in order to send letters and even commence legal action against you.

In fact, the RMS has been forced disclose the details of more than 150,000 NSW drivers.

But changes to the law put a stop to this in 2012.

Under section 279 of the Road Transport Act NSW 2013, the RMS cannot be required to disclose information about the owner of a motor vehicle for the purpose of allowing an applicant to recover private car park fees."

Reference:

Do I Have to Pay Fines to Private Car Parks?

Finding a place to park in some parts of Sydney can be a nightmare. Imagine you’re driving around trying to find a spot in an unfamiliar area, when you sud

downingcentrecourt.com.au

 

[Vostok]

Has this changed again recently?

Well if it hasn’t, then the NSW Government needs to update this website:

https://www.lawaccess.nsw.gov.au/Pages/representing/lawassist_fines/lawassist_private_fines.aspx

 

[Sir Surfalot]

I charged at Macquarie Park this morning - had about 25% SoC and some driving to do today. Some short updates from there (from this session and my previous one a couple of weeks ago which I forgot to post about):

* Sometimes the Supercharger area is absolutely filthy - discarded fast food containers and disposable water bottles. There are bins inside that valet reception area and I think across where the carwash area is next to the Supercharger. I cannot believe people can bring all that stuff and consume it BUT then not either take it away with them or have a brief walk to dispose of it somewhere better. Maybe the carpark management could put a bin right at the Supercharger but maybe that wouldn't help either (just a rant, I really don't know what to do about human nature...)
* The time-of-use pricing seems to have been changed a few times since it was first brought in a couple of months ago. The current prices and times are:
0000-0400 $0.40 0400-1100 $0.49 1100-2000 $0.76 2000-0000 $0.5
* When I charged there this morning 3 of the 4 cars already plugged-in there had SPL-nnx numberplates, all had the fuel efficiency sticker on the windscreen, and I think in all cases the driver stayed in the car and had a nap. While I was charging another 3 SPL-nnx cars also turned up, so by the time I left (9 bays in use when I unplugged) 6 of the 9 cars there had that same numberplate prefix. Has to be a fleet or ride share bulk purchase deal of some sort (note for non-NSW people, the normal issue premium numberplates of the form xxx-nnx are up to about FBx-nnx, so SPL* is a special order of some sort). They are obviously perfectly entitled to use a Supercharger but it just seemed to me they were hunting in packs with so many of their cars all hitting the same Supercharger at the same time (8am or thereabouts on a weekday). It's a V2 charger so having so many of their fleet cars turn up at the same time meant everyone ended up with 1/2 speed charging. This was a bit annoying for me as I had wasted the power pre-conditioning the battery on the 40 minute drive up from Palm Beach, arrived at 25% SoC, and still only got 65kW peak charge speed due to the power sharing.
* As a general point on Superchargers on the nav map in the car, it seems to me the number of bays free at a Supercharger (including one you are navigating to) is NOT updated as frequently as it used to be. Specifically in my car (Model 3 with latest firmware 2023.44.30.5.1) the number of available bays ONLY updated when I actually tapped on the location on the map to bring up the details panel (ie with the pricing, photos, etc) and then it updated in that panel and on the map itself almost immediately.

 

[B3AU]

* When I charged there this morning 3 of the 4 cars already plugged-in there had SPL-nnx numberplates, all had the fuel efficiency sticker on the windscreen, and I think in all cases the driver stayed in the car and had a nap. While I was charging another 3 SPL-nnx cars also turned up, so by the time I left (9 bays in use when I unplugged) 6 of the 9 cars there had that same numberplate prefix. Has to be a fleet or ride share bulk purchase deal of some sort (note for non-NSW people, the normal issue premium numberplates of the form xxx-nnx are up to about FBx-nnx, so SPL* is a special order of some sort). They are obviously perfectly entitled to use a Supercharger but it just seemed to me they were hunting in packs with so many of their cars all hitting the same Supercharger at the same time (8am or thereabouts on a weekday). It's a V2 charger so having so many of their fleet cars turn up at the same time meant everyone ended up with 1/2 speed charging.

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[Quickst]

Private car parks can ‘fine’ people who break the terms of an agreement they had with them

No, it has been established by the Courts that private companies cannot issue penalties or fines. Only the Government and the Courts can. I know you used inverted commas. The only thing a private company can do it to ban the car from its car park. Neither will Private companies take a recalcitrant car driver to court. The only way a "fine" is legitimate is if a council ranger issues the fine. And no, the private car park owner will not enforce its rules in a court - not worth the effort or cost

 

[Lachlan Smith]

I've also seen SPL on Polestar so makes sense that they are rideshare, which also explains why the drivers are all taking a nap. I don't mind them using paid charging stations, but I do mind them using any of the free charging stations that are still around. High utilisation of public chargers encourages investment in new infrastructure, as long as there is some profit to be made. Evie in particular need to expand their installs at Macquarie, Pacific Fair and Indooroopilly to match Tesla.

 

[Quickst]

as I had wasted the power pre-conditioning the battery on the 40 minute drive up from Palm Beach

I don't think you waste the preconditioning.
At my last SC session the battery temp stayed at 60C all the way from 20% to 80% SoC. Ambient was 28C at the time. It was around 50-55kW charging rate when it hit 80% . It does means your battery stays at the elevated temp for longer than necessary

 

[Quickst]

Sometimes the Supercharger area is absolutely filthy - discarded fast food containers and disposable water bottles.

At least there are toilets at Macquarie Shopping centre

 

[Shock-On-T]

No, it has been established by the Courts that private companies cannot issue penalties or fines. Only the Government and the Courts can. I know you used inverted commas. The only thing a private company can do it to ban the car from its car park. Neither will Private companies take a recalcitrant car driver to court. The only way a "fine" is legitimate is if a council ranger issues the fine. And no, the private car park owner will not enforce its rules in a court - not worth the effort or cost

This is correct.
The best thing to do with a ticket issued in a private carpark is to put it in the bin.
If you read the fine print on the back you will find the words "this is not a fine" somewhere, it is basically a fee for an inspection service or however they choose to phrase it.
Also, they have no way of looking up the current owner of the vehicle.