KINGS CROSS BACKPACKER HEADACHE SOLUTION

Relief is on the way for residents and business owners of

Victoria St

, Kings Cross from the recent scourge of Backpackers trying to sell their tired but trusty cars & campervans on the beautiful tree lined inner city street.

Right in the nick of time, before the peak backpacker summer season kicks in a new backpackers car market will open in the Kings Cross Car Park in

Ward Ave.

The first day of the new car market will be November 15.

The City of Sydney, in response to a deluge complaints from unhappy ratepayers, has struck an agreement with Wilson’s Parking the current car park operators of the Ward Ave Car Park to provide 40 spaces on Level 2 of the semi-underground car park. This positive outcome is a direct result of Lord Mayor Clover Moore’s carrot & stick approach to moving the backpackers away from

Victoria St

. At times up to 30 or more cars & campervans belonging to young travellers from all over the world would line both sides of

Victoria St

from 9am to 6pm 7 days a week, taking parking from residents and causing local shop owners to suffer due to a lack of turnover in parking spots for their customers. This combined with the sellers often setting up makeshift picnic sites besides their vehicles, and even boiling water on the footpath for tea, coffee or that backpacker delicacy – 2 minute noodles.

The carrot for the backpackers is the car market, an orderly, sheltered, centralised location for buyers to view the cars offered for sale by fellow travellers. The car market will be free for sellers for the first 3 months as an added incentive.

The stick is new legislation making it illegal to sell a vehicle on

Victoria St

and making it possible for authorities to tow away any car in breach. Backpackers selling their car are usually at the end of their trip and very short of cash, so any delay in selling their car by having it towed and having to pay a hefty fine to recover the vehicle should prove extremely effective in helping the current crop of sellers that the new car market is the best place for them to park and sell their car.

The new car market will be known as the SYDNEY TRAVELLERS CAR MARKET and will be run & managed by the management team behind Travellers Auto Barn, a successful national backpacker car dealer & campervan rental company, that has been working with backpackers since 1993 and has 6 branches around Australia. The Managing Director of Travellers Auto Barn, Peter Burke, was also the first ever manager of the original Kings Cross Backpackers Car Market back in 1991 before going on to establish Travellers Auto Barn. This experienced and well resourced team should see

Victoria St

residents and shop owners enjoy a return to relative normality, for what is a very bohemian inner city avenue.

Mr Burke says ‘We are excited to be involved in this project for many reasons, but one of our main motivating factors was that we could see the animosity growing between locals and backpackers and being part of the backpacker industry and being a local business our self we though it almost our duty to both help the locals and to protect the image of backpackers as well. Tourism in Australia is struggling and the last thing we need is young backpackers going home with tales of being abused & threatened. Backpackers seem to easy targets for the mainstream media on slow news days, something which is not helpful to those struggling tourism related businesses’

The new SYDNEY TRAVELLERS CAR MARKET is not associated in any way with the business known as Kings Cross Car Market, which is a licensed Motor Dealer in Woolloomooloo

Peter Burke has previously held the position of President, NSW Backpacker Operators Association and Chair of Backpacker Tourism Advisory Panel

Travellers Autobarn is the winner of the following awards

2011 Golden Backpack Award best car/campervan rental company – finalist

2010 Golden Backpack Award best car/campervan rental company – Winner

2009 Golden Backpack Award best National Transport Company – finalist

2008 Golden Backpack Award best National Transport Company – Winner

2007 Golden Backpack Award best National Transport Company – Winner