Timor Street Newsagency owner Terri Kramm told The Standard customers were constantly raising their frustrations with the new system.

“It’s morning, noon and night,” she said.

Ms Kramm said people of all ages were critical with the system and she questioned why the council decided to install the meters over the busy summer period.

On street parking in the Warrnambool CBD costs $1.40 per hour. Motorists in Ararat, who use a similar system to Warrnambool, pay $1.60 per hour in the town’s central shopping district.

In Ballarat the cost of street parking increased from $1.80 to $2 last year and in Geelong motorists pay $2.80 per hour.

In Colac parking in the CBD is free.

Thumbs Up Music Plus owner Wendy Hooke said she had heard her customers complaining of how difficult the meters were to use.

“I’ve had to go out and help a few times,” she said.

“You see them standing and scratching their head.”

The new pay-by-plate system was introduced into the CBD in December and earlier this month a council spokesman said the meters would be more flexible and reliable for motorists.

He said the council had received considerable feedback, both positive and negative, but there had not been an increase in fines issued in the past month.

“Council’s approach has been one of educating motorists about the new system and allowing people to become accustomed to the change,” he said. 

“We have issued advisory cards to help motorists use the new meters however we have also issued some fines where it is clear that motorists have made no attempt to do the right thing.” 

He said the advantage with the pay-by-plate system was that motorists no longer had to print out a ticket and walk back to their car to display it. 

“They can also pay for their parking session at any meter,” he said. 

“The other advantage is that the time people have paid for can be used at another car park with the same time limit.” The spokesman said the intention was to create convenience for motorists to be able to pay for their parking at any meter. 

In August the council initiated a public tender to replace its aging fleet of 300 on-street parking meters with 80 ticket machines and a fully integrated parking management system.

At the time the cost of a staged roll-out was estimated at up to $725,000. with ongoing recurrent costs estimated to be $102,000 per annum.