Sarah Herrmann, Yorke Peninsula Country Times
Recreational boaters in the Yorke Peninsula Council area will soon be unable to buy a single-launch permit with cash, after elected members voted to remove traditional coin machines from boat ramps.
From July 1, the only way to purchase a single-launch ticket will be via the EasyPark phone app, which was launched by YPC in 2022.
Boaters will still be able to purchase monthly and annual permits from YPC offices, participating caravan parks, and online at yorke.sa.gov.au/boat-ramp-launch-permit.
Community member Iain McQueen gave a 12-minute deputation at council’s ordinary meeting last Wednesday, January 22, arguing against the recommendation to remove the cash payment option.
He referenced the report tabled by council, which said more than double the number of boaters used cash to pay for their single-launch tickets (38 per cent) compared with the app (17 per cent); 44 per cent purchased long-term permits.
This was despite YPC charging $8 for a single-launch ticket paid for in cash, versus $7 if purchased via the app.
Mr McQueen’s concerns also included the security of the app and the risk of scams, those who would be unable to operate the app, and that community groups would lose the 10 per cent commission they currently receive from YPC for emptying the coin machines.
The council report said the coin machines were regularly referenced as the reason for a customer launching without a permit, claiming they did not carry coins, and physical tickets blow off vehicle dashboards.
The report also said the machines cost YPC $45,000 per year in maintenance, as well as about 90 hours of time off in lieu and $4750 in staff wages spent attending to afterhours call-outs.
EasyPark has an after-hours call service for ticket purchases with a credit card for customers who cannot download and use the app.
However, the service is only available from 6.30am to 8.30pm on weekdays, and 7.30am to 8.30pm on weekends.
This concerned recreational fisher Neil Haddow, of Edithburgh, who said he knew several people who did not own a smartphone, and that this change would be a barrier for them.
“We still have a generation going through who are not literate as far as this sort of thing is concerned, and because they haven’t got the skills and knowledge should not prevent them from going out and doing something they want to do,” Mr Haddow said.
“I think we’ve got to consider everyone.”
Chris Johnson, also of Edithburgh, whose father established the town’s then community- run ramp in 1964 and would collect a $1 fee from users, said he supported the removal of the coin machines.
“They might as well (remove them) because they’re always having trouble with people putting stuff in them, trying to jam them up, to try and get away with having them broken down so they don’t have to pay,” he said.
However, Mr Johnson’s biggest concern was maintenance of the boat ramps.
None of the money made from the boat ramps is spent on them, it goes into general revenue and gets spent everywhere else, he said.
YPC made $204,000 from boat ramps in the 2023-24 financial year, according to the report tabled in the meeting.
RecFish SA: ‘Rein these councils back into line’
A recreational fishing organisation has called on the State Government to stop councils from “put(ting) profits over people” in the way they run boat ramps.
RecFish SA executive officer Asher Dezsery said app-based payments had caused issues across the state.
“The app charges people multiple times, they’re having issues with payment, and the onus is on the individual to organise a ticket beforehand, so they can’t do an ad hoc afterwork trip because all the offices or caravan parks are closed,” he said.
“And when people are getting overcharged by the app, councils just turn around and say ‘it’s a third party issue, it’s not our problem’.
“It just ends up with fines because people don’t want to have to sit there, download an app for a once-off use, create an account, download their credit card onto an app they don’t really know, and then get charged two or three times for the one use.
“It’s an over-embrace of technology to put profits over people.”
Mr Deszery said RecFish SA was working with the Minister for Infrastructure to “rein these councils back into line” to be “responsible custodians” of the boat ramps.
“The arrangement is the SABFAC (South Australian Boating Facilities) Fund builds the ramps, and then they get handed over to council and it’s their job to maintain them, utilising the money that they’re charging — but they’re not doing that, they’re just pocketing the money, letting the ramps fall into disrepair.”
A State Government spokesperson said the government was happy to meet with RecFish SA to discuss their concerns.
This article appeared in Yorke Peninsula Country Times, 29 January 2025.