Duncan Quinn has quit his job as a parking warden on Waiheke Island over pressures to issue more tickets.

Waiheke's Scottish parking warden Duncan Quinn has quit in disgust at Auckland Transport turning the island into a "cash cow".

Auckland Transport has issued an extra seven parking tickets a day over the past six months, said AT media relations manager Mark Hannan.

Almost 3200 tickets have been issued in the past six months, far more than half of the 4961 tickets issued in the whole of 2016.

Rose Davis/Stuff Duncan Quinn found it hard to swallow Auckland Transport moves to impose more fines on disabled drivers.

After 20 years working as a parking warden on the island, Quinn says changes introduced by Auckland Transport have increased his work stress and made the job challenging.

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Traditionally, Waiheke's three parking wardens often issued warnings for people parked in loading zones or whose warrant of fitness or registration recently expired.

Rose Davis/Stuff Waiheke Island's Scottish parking warden Duncan Quinn has resigned after more than 20 years in the role.

Fines were frequently only issued when warnings were not heeded, whereas these days wardens are under more pressure that "if it's illegally parked, whack a fine on".

"They are turning Waiheke into a cash cow for Auckland.

"There's no compassion, no sense of community.

"It's not a matter of being an island, a separate community, we're regarded as part of Auckland and you will be punished accordingly," Quinn said.

Drivers with disability stickers have been allowed to park in 30 minute parking zones at Matiatia ferry terminal if they couldn't find mobility parking, Quinn said.

However, in the past year Auckland Transport has insisted disabled drivers are fined if they park in the 30 minute spaces for more than 60 minutes.

Hannan said Auckland Transport policies need to be applied consistently throughout Auckland, but Quinn couldn't stomach the "heavy handed" approach to disabled drivers.

"It's very hard working down there when some elderly person comes and they're walking a bit bad to have to tell them they're not allowed to park in the P30 or they're going to get a ticket.

"It goes against your own humanity.

"If you've got a disability badge, I don't see why you should be penalised if there's not enough disability parking."

Trying to get action from Auckland Transport over local problems, such as abandoned vehicles, has frequently been a long winded and frustrating process, he said.

"We used to be able to get things done within a day - now there's a whole different process and even to get a sign changed can take a couple of weeks."

Local knowledge is often ignored, while communication from Auckland Transport to the Waiheke community is patchy, he said.

Quinn, who describes himself as a "young 73", said new technology for regulating parking has added to the difficulty of his role.

He could check paper parking receipts, car registrations and warrants of fitness within 30 seconds, but new paper-free, online parking systems took five to 10 minutes to check on his smart phone.

After moving to New Zealand from Scotland 27 years ago, Quinn became one of the first parking wardens on Waiheke following a period without any parking enforcement.

"I got threatened a few times in the early days when Waiheke was getting used to parking wardens.

"One time, a guy told me he if he had a gun he would shoot me, because I was a Scottish immigrant, which I just killed myself laughing."

Quinn's compassionate approach to imposing parking fines has gained respect from many in the community.

"Nobody hated me as a parking warden because 99 per cent of people knew I was fair.

"We weren't seen as cash collectors, we were doing a job that kept the traffic flowing."

He continues in his volunteer work as caretaker and op shop manager for Oneroa Red Cross, a role that comes with accommodation in the building.

While Quinn has some qualms about speaking out over problems on the parking front, he said "free speech hasn't died yet".