Christchurch, Dunedin, Wellington, Hutt, Tauranga and other city councils are facing a barrage of complaints from users of the "PayMyPark" smartphone app, which is also used for paying fines. The New Zealand Herald understands its back-end is also used by various councils for their parking enforcement systems.
The PayMyPark website is also offline, with no explanation beyond a "This site can't be reached" message.
The creator of the app, Wellington company ADR (Arthur D Riley Ltd), did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Wellington City Council alerted users via Twitter on Saturday that there were "server problems". There is still no estimated time for ADR to get the system back online.
A WCC spokesman told the Herald that council staff were meeting with ADR this afternoon. The council hoped to learn more at that meeting.
The Dunedin City Council has come the closest to providing an explanation, saying in response to a question on Facebook: "Someone attempted to breach our supplier's website. Due to the security systems in place, no personal information or credit card details were accessed. Cyber security specialists were called in and as a security measure, the site and app were taken offline. They are working to get the site and app back online as a high priority."
Many drivers were confused about whether they should pay for parking if they had money still in their PayMyPark account, but the system was still down.
Celeste Wansink asked Dunedin Council, "When I have money sitting in an account (PayMyPark) waiting to be used for parking, why should I pay at the meter?" (The council did not immediately reply).
Mike James vented: "Typical DCC [Dunedin City Council], no real back up plan."
Wellington City Council said people could still pay at meters using cards or cash.
"In the unlikely event you get a ticket, you can appeal your ticket once the system is back online," the council said on its Facebook page.
Robyn Gilchrist posted in response: "This has been playing up for days... In a cashless society you need a need a more reliable service."
A number wondered why Wellington had dumped its previous app, Phone2Park, which was shuttered on January 7 this year.
The office of the Privacy Commissioner said it had not been notified about any data breach involving PayMyPark.
