$10 charge for road to Remarkables

NZSki plans to charge a $10 toll for vehicles using the road to its Remarkables Ski Field.

The charge will apply to summer traffic from Monday, February 3.

The road is owned by NZSki and chief executive Paul Anderson said today the revenue generated from the access charge would contribute to the high costs associated with maintaining the road.

Over the past 30 years NZSki had invested ''upwards of $20 million'' on the road, including a recent $5 million sealing project.

''Currently, these costs are met only by winter visitors to the ski resort and a few commercial operators.''

Mr Anderson said that when the road was built in the early 1980s by the Mt Cook Group, a manned toll booth was installed, and a road toll paid by each vehicle.

This was discontinued in the 1990s, but since the road was sealed in 2014, the number of vehicles using it in summer has increased substantially.

"At the moment, costs of maintaining the road are met only by our ski resort guests and concessionaires. Those who use the road in the summer do not contribute to its upkeep," he said.

''To ensure all users share in the cost of keeping the road open and safely maintained we are introducing a small access charge for each vehicle.”

Payment for the charge can be made at the access gate by a credit card transaction or with a pass purchased from NZSki's booking centre in Shotover St from Saturday, February 1.

Anyone who had a 2019 Season Pass in winter will have two free access passes loaded onto their MyPass cards automatically.

The $10 fee won't apply to cyclists or those on foot and won't be in place when the ski area is operational during the winter season.

Emergency services will have access and the gate is able to be unlocked remotely should it need to be.