Where's the most expensive hospital park in NZ?

Where's the most expensive hospital park in NZ?

When someone in your family is crook, really crook, you take them to the hospital.

The last thing you're thinking about in an emergency is how much you'll have to pay for parking. But seven New Zealand hospitals will charge you for the privilege.

So where is this money going? And who is making the money?

Auckland and Waitemata raked in almost $4 million each last year in hospital charges. Both hospitals charge $18 a day for parking too.

Between them they serve more than 1 million people and land in the City of Sails is at a premium.

So what about dear old Palmerston North? The mid-central DHB services just 170,000 people, yet pulled in a sweet $1.2 million last year.

Even though it's only $8 a day, your average hospital visitor in Palmerston North ends up paying the same per person, per year as Aucklanders.

Wellington's public can't complain though - despite living in the country's second biggest city, all they pay is $10 a day. Parking in Wellington is somehow cheaper than Palmerston North during weekends.

Hamiltonians get a good deal on hospital parking too. Waikato services 400,000 people and earned $2.2 million last year, but they only charge $7.50 a day.

The overall winners in New Zealand however are the public of Canterbury.

Unlike many of the other hospitals, Christchurch Hospital doesn't actually have its own parking, and there's a small Wilson's Park across the road.

The main car park people use for the hospital though is the old brewery - a general city carpark owned by the council - and it's only $2 an hour, or $5 a day.

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