Dunedin drivers received almost $15,000 worth of fines for illegally parking in mobility spaces over the past six months.
The fine for this offence increased in June last year, from $40 to $150.
It was hoped the heavier penalty would deter illegal use.
In the six months before the increase, 41 tickets were issued.
Between July and December last year, 98 tickets were issued to people illegally parking in mobility parking spaces, parking services team leader Daphne Griffen said.
In July alone, 23 tickets were issued.
At the same time, the council launched a "zero-tolerance" campaign where drivers faced hefty fines, instead of a warning, as previously.
Mobility parks were commonly treated as "P5s", but with the increased awareness of the fine amount, they were now not being used as much for convenience, Mrs Griffen said.
However, people entitled to use the parks had also been issued with fines when they failed to display their mobility parking permit.
"Tolerance has also run out for mobility card holders. They need to display their cards," she said.
Before the fine was increased, CCS Disability Action conducted a survey to gauge the level of misuse.
A second survey was conducted before Christmas and the organisation expected results from it in a couple of weeks, southern regional manager Paul Martin said.
"We believe there has been [a decrease] in terms of the calls we get through our office."
Mobility parks on private property, such as supermarkets, were out of parking wardens' jurisdiction and it was up to the owners of those properties to enforce parking regulations.
Mrs Griffen said council parking wardens' zero-tolerance stance for parking offences was set to continue indefinitely.
