FREE night-time parking in Melbourne’s CBD seems destined to disappear, under a revenue-raising plan that has angered motorists and traders.

The recently released Melbourne City Council budget has announced plans to extend the period of paid meter parking in the Melbourne CBD.  The council expects to raise additional revenue by extending the paid on-street parking hours in the city from the present 7.30am to 7.30pm to 7.30am to midnight.

Diners, revellers, shoppers and sports fans will will be asked to pay a flat rate of $4 from 7.30pm. The new charge, is expected to raise an extra $1.9 million, pushing the annual parking fee revenue to more than $38 million.

Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said that motorists should “factor in” the fee to their expenses, and also noted the $4 charge – applied to 3000 metered spots across the CBD – remained a much cheaper option than the city’s 30,000 private parking spaces.

Some CBD traders have expressed concerns that the increased parking fees will discourage people from travelling into the city.

SpaceOut provides a service for people looking for parking (or wanting to rent out their unused parking space) to find cheap and convenient Parking Spaces  for Rent in Melbourne.