Three mysterious Subaru owners have been running amok in Canberra but the unknown driver of a humble Honda City has beaten them all to claim a dubious title.
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It takes a special mix of talents to be the person who receives the most parking fines in Canberra's busy town centres: persistence, a flagrant disregard for parking laws, an understanding partner at home and an even more accepting bank account.
It seems in most cases it also takes something else: a Subaru.
In the Belconnen town centre in the past 18 months, the worst parking offender had no less than 32 parking fines worth $3168 slapped on the windscreen of the same Subaru Impreza.
In the heart of Tuggeranong in the same period, it was the owner of a Subaru Liberty who received 20 parking fines costing $1764.
As previously reported, a Subaru owner received 41 parking fines in the parliamentary triangle in 18 months, all of which were paid.
While some may be prompted to ask the reason Subaru owners have been so naughty so often, there is a twist in one of the quirkiest chapters of Canberra's often unhappy history with car spaces.
The owner of a Honda City has beaten them all.
The Honda owner racked up no less than 58 parking fines worth $5336 in the past 18 months in the Woden town centre.
It was the equivalent of more than three weeks wages for the the average Canberra worker.
The often-fined driver probably does not turn heads while driving the Honda City, a compact car known for its fuel efficiency, but his or her rate of fines was eye-catching with a fine recorded on average every 1.5 weeks.
Woden, home to a strong contingent during week days including hundreds from the Department of Veterans Affairs, has generated $1.3 million in parking fines for the ACT government in the past 18 months.
Inspectors handed out $1 million of fines in the Belconnen town centre as well as $606,000 in the Tuggeranong town centre.
It is understood some drivers in Canberra continually rack up regular fines because they have worked out it is cheaper than paying for the costs of legal parking each day they go to work.
The allure of running this risk could increase for some as paid parking is introduced across all areas of the parliamentary triangle in September, by which time the National Capital Authority hopes to have sorted out a number of technical issues.
The Australian War Memorial's management team was hoping the introduction of four-hour parking would foil public servants who often parked at the national institution and walked or rode to their workplaces.