Taking the train in Wellington could soon become more expensive for those who park and ride. Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
Thousands of people who park at Wellington train stations before commuting to work may soon have to pay for the privilege.
There are more than 6000 park and ride carparks at 66 sites throughout the Wellington region, but there has been increased pressure on the carparks during peak hours and use of the areas by non-public transport users.
Greater Wellington Regional Council's transport committee will vote on Thursday on starting a project that could introduce paid parking.
Council documents note that implementing the proposal could see parking spill over onto neighbouring streets, force more people to drive into work and have cost of living impacts.
The fee would likely be lumped into people's charges for using the National Ticketing Solution - a Waka Kotahi project set to go live in 2026 that allows public transport users to pay with their phone or debit card.
Transport committee chair Thomas Nash said that was important because "that will help to make sure that people who are using the park and rides at railway stations are actually getting the train."
Porirua's Station has the largest park and ride area with 1000 parks and local mayor Anita Baker told RNZ the proposal is "pretty mean spirited."
"We've got very large parking areas at all our train stations and they're well used and Greater Wellington know that, so I think it's pretty rude."
Baker worried it would see an uptick in car usage.
"I think it's just pointless you see all these cars already going in with one person in or two people going in, we're trying to get people on public transport for climate change and everything else, so I do think that's just sort of the wrong way to go."
James - who travels 30 minutes each day to the Masterton train station - told RNZ he could live with it if the fees were reasonable.
"But that's just me, there's many people who catch the train that probably couldn't, so for them it would be unreasonable."
A commuter who wanted to stay anonymous wasn't a fan.
"The idea is to try and encourage people to try and take trains for the purposes of reducing carbon.
"All they are doing is creating a situation that makes it difficult for everyone."
Nash said they would need to take care implementing the plan.
"We have to do quite a bit of work to make sure we avoid any unintended consequences, and we will do that very diligently over the next couple of years, because it is going to take probably around two years to do this."
He said if the project went ahead, they will work with councils on it.