The MCC's
recent budget contains two measures that are a slap in the face for all city
retailers.
This
week's Council Budget increased city street car parking fees from $4.00 to
$5.50 per hour. While suburban and regional shopping centres continue to offer
free parking for their customers, the ongoing increases from our city council
can do little more than turn local shoppers away.
In the
same budget council announced that the free tourist shuttle bus would now be subject
to a $5 per day fee for passengers over 9 years old. A free tourist shuttle
makes a strong welcoming statement to Melbourne's tourists and could be seen as
an important ingredient to customer mobility. It remains to be seen what impact
a $5 fee will have on passenger numbers but it is fair to say that any
reduction in tourist numbers will be a severe blow for QVM Traders in the top
end.