From Parking Pain to Smart Solutions

How SharePark™ Aligns with NRMA’s Vision for a More Accessible Sydney

Sydney’s parking system is under enormous pressure. With daily parking rates reaching over A$77 in the CBD, mounting congestion across commercial hubs, and declining household incomes, parking has shifted from a civic utility to a barrier for economic participation. As outlined in the NRMA’s March 2025 report, “Parkin’ Mad”, this is a cost-of-living issue and a structural challenge affecting Sydney’s economy, social mobility, and urban efficiency.

But with innovative thinking, commercial investment from private carpark operators and landowners, and support from councils and regulators, it may not be necessary to build a single new car park to unlock real change.

At Park Agility, we believe that the answer lies in how we use the parking supply we already have, and in better connecting that supply to demand using digital, secure, and real-time technologies. This underpins the SharePark™ platform: a dynamic system that unlocks under-utilised private parking to the public, helping solve one of Sydney’s most intractable problems.

The Cost of Parking Scarcity: A Civic and Economic Handbrake

The “Parkin’ Mad” report, published by the NRMA in partnership with Business Western Sydney and Business Sydney, paints a stark picture. In Sydney:

Median all-day parking costs have risen to A$77.30 (US$51), far higher than comparable global cities including Boston, San Diego, and San Francisco.
Sydney’s parking fees are estimated to be 20% too high relative to affordability benchmarks when compared to Melbourne and Brisbane.
Since 2016, Sydney households have experienced a 13% drop in disposable income, while parking costs have climbed 9%.

This pricing dislocation is no longer sustainable. As the report notes, high parking fees directly reduce economic activity, limit access to the city centre, and disproportionately impact those who cannot rely on public transport, including essential workers, tradespeople, families with children, and people with limited mobility.

Ticketless parking fines have surged 54% in a single year, further eroding public trust in the system and raising equity and policy questions. While reforms are underway, the report calls for a comprehensive reassessment of how parking is priced, enforced, and integrated into the broader transport ecosystem.

Western Sydney: The Epicentre of Parking Inequality

While CBD parking costs make headlines, it is Western Sydney where the cracks are most deeply felt. In centres like Parramatta and Liverpool, the report finds a combination of:

Severe off-street parking shortfalls (Parramatta has lost ~2,000 bays due to infrastructure development).
On-street parking over-saturation, with Liverpool reaching occupancy rates of 85% or higher.
Wayfinding and signage deficits, which increase circling, congestion, and user frustration.
Lack of integration between public transport and parking access nodes.

Despite being touted as the “third CBD,” Liverpool has just 0.45 off-street spaces per employee; one of the lowest ratios across Sydney. And in Parramatta, the report notes that even major institutions like CommBank Stadium and the newly expanded Riverside Theatres offer little to no parking for their anticipated influx of patrons.

This imbalance threatens the success of Western Sydney’s post-COVID economic revival. As Business Western Sydney’s Executive Director David Borger warns:

“Getting parking right is critical to reactivate the economies of Western Sydney CBDs.”

The NRMA’s Prescription: Smarter, Unified, More Equitable Parking

The Parkin’ Mad report outlines three core pillars for reform:

1. Capping and Restructuring Parking Fees

Sydney’s Parking Space Levy and fee structures are under scrutiny. Although the ‘Parkin Mad’ report advocates for fee freezes, the reality is that the price of parking is driven more significantly by the underlying real estate prices, and that seem only to be going up under population increase. Rather than expecting regulatory price controls to make a significant impact on price, Park Agility advocates a different approach. Park Agility believe that with the right investment in property technology, the private sector can significantly reduce the impact of parking pressures.

2. Parliamentary Inquiry into Western Sydney’s Parking Deficit

The report calls for a formal inquiry to address chronic shortages in areas like Campbelltown, Blacktown, Parramatta, and Liverpool, including the creation of more strategic capacity around hospitals and transit hubs.

3. Unified, State-Wide Parking Technology Platform

A consistent, city-wide parking app like Park’nPay is essential. Fragmentation across councils has led to overlapping systems, confusing signage, hidden fees, and data privacy concerns. Integration is no longer optional.

This is the reform agenda. But how do we implement it cost-effectively, quickly, and at scale?

Introducing SharePark™: Unlocking Hidden Supply with Visible Impact SharePark™, developed by Park Agility, addresses all three of these challenges with a proven, scalable platform that connects motorists with underutilised private parking spaces securely, flexibly, and profitably.

It does so through a combination of:

Digital Bay-Level Monitoring: Sub-minute awareness of every space’s availability using bay sensors and IoT technology.
Access Control Integration: Secure, permission-based access for authorised vehicles only.
Capacity Management Module: Real-time reservations and dynamic availability updates.
User Behaviour Enforcement: Systems that detect and manage bay misuse, overstays or unauthorised parking.

SharePark™ is a full-spectrum parking infrastructure solution that empowers:

Commercial property owners to monetise surplus capacity
Councils and precinct managers to reduce pressure on public space.
Drivers to park affordably, predictably, and confidently.

Think of it as the Airbnb of parking, but built with infrastructure-grade engineering and civic-grade policy alignment. Aligned with Public Policy, Ready for Public Benefit. The NRMA’s call to action is clear: use the infrastructure we already have and use it more efficiently.

This is precisely the challenge SharePark™ solves. By digitising and distributing existing supply, SharePark™ transforms underutilised private space into civic value, and helps councils, state governments, and commercial operators achieve:

Congestion reduction (less circling, fewer emissions).
Price relief (by unlocking low-cost supply options).
Equity in access.
Faster ROI compared to construction-heavy options.
Data-driven insights into usage patterns and demand trends.

Rather than rely on costly multi-storey builds or political battles over pricing regulation, SharePark™ enables near immediate action through smart infrastructure deployment.

A call to collaborate: Rebuilding Urban Access One Bay at a Time.

Regulation alone will not solve Sydney’s parking problem. Whilst the policy framework evolves, the urgency for action grows. The technology-based solution to open up private parking to the public for mutual benefit has been built.

What’s needed now is collaboration with:

Councils, looking to reduce public dissatisfaction.
State government, seeking scalable solutions to support economic recovery.
Private Building Owners Surrounding Commercial precincts such as hospitals, universities and transport hubs, where demand is high and budgets are tight.

Park Agility is ready to partner.

Let’s turn underutilised space into economic opportunity and make Sydney more accessible for everyone.

For more information or to request a SharePark™ demonstration, please visit https://sharepark.net/

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From Parking Pain to Smart Solutions

How SharePark™ Aligns with NRMA’s Vision for a More Accessible Sydney

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