TransLink is mulling a number of options aimed at curbing demand for park-and-ride lots – including imposing fees at free locations or hiking rates at others.

Spokesman Jason Martin said the transit provider is currently studying usage patterns at its 19 park-and-ride lots, some of which are frequently filled to capacity.

"We understand that overcrowding at park-and-rides is frustrating to our customers and we need to take a look at the over park-and-ride strategy," Martin said.

TransLink says the lots are used thousands of times daily, but are costly to build and maintain. Martin said they can run between $3,000 and $15,000 per spot in capital costs, and require an additional $200 to $800 per year for maintenance.

The company is hoping that hiking fees, or possibly reducing the number of spaces, might motivate more commuters to leave their cars at home and bus to SkyTrain stations or other transit hubs instead.

But Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart said that option just isn't realistic for many in the suburbs who don't have the same convenient access to transit routes as those in Vancouver.

"The goal here is to get people out of their cars and into transit, and the way we do that in the suburbs is we offer park-and-ride," Stewart said.

"If you supplied sufficient bus service in the suburbs, you could perhaps get people to leave cars in garages or get a single family car instead of two cars."

Of the existing bus routes, many offer infrequent service, only arriving every 30 or even 60 minutes, Stewart added.

The city currently has a park-and-ride lot situated at the West Coast Express Station, but more are in the works to accommodate the arrival of the Evergreen Line in 2016, which Stewart expects will substantially increase the need for commuter parking – so long as the price is right.

"If TransLink wants people on transit they're going to have to make it convenient and they're going to have to make it less costly. Bumping the cost of the park-and-ride up to the point where it's cheaper to take my car, that's counter-productive."

Martin said TransLink is also looking into more partnerships with private companies, at is has at the lot at Bridgeport Station in Richmond and others.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Nafeesa Karim