From Monday, February 3, guests using The Remarkables road outside of the ski season will be charged a fee of $10 per vehicle via a new access gate.
The revenue generated from the access charge will contribute to the high costs associated with maintaining the road.
NZSki owns The Remarkables access road and over the past 30 years has invested upwards of $20 million in the road, including the recent $5 million sealing project, to ensure it is safe and well-maintained for users. Currently, these costs are met only by winter visitors to the ski resort and a few commercial operators.
NZSki CEO Paul Anderson says 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 ‘90s, 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. 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 access charge can be made at the access gate by a credit card transaction or with a pass purchased from our booking centre on 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.
