Auckland Business Chamber chief executive Simon Bridges has urged the city's transport body to re-think its approach over its announcement to charge 24/7 parking fees in the CBD.

From July 1, Auckland CBD residents and visitors will face the new 24-hour parking charges overnight, weekends and on public holidays. Mayor Wayne Brown has expressed dissatisfaction about the change, and CBD workers and residents say they were blindsided.

Heart of the City chief executive Viv Beck told the Mike Hosking Breakfast this morning the fees were "completely out of step".

She said the parking approach should be based on demand - the price regulated depending on the peak hours of parking.

"What they've done here is sort of thrown this out there without any discussion or any consideration," said Beck.

"We've asked for the demand information and we haven't got it yet, but it's basically just hit people out of the blue."

Bridges said the parking fees would make the city centre more costly and less attractive.

He said sectors that need customers in town spending will be the hardest hit, including hospitality, retail and tourism. But any business within the city would be negatively affected, Bridges claimed.

"I am sure Auckland Transport consulted to an acceptable legal level but it's also that this is a big and, for businesses, a negative change," he told ZBPlus.

"There will be many, many businesses that had no idea about this until it hit the headlines. While Auckland Transport will want to raise revenue to do the things it wants to do, I suggest it go back to the drawing board."

Hospitality New Zealand's Steve Armitage empathised with the difficult position AT was in trying to find new streams of income during tight economic conditions. 

However, he believed the consultation process was lacking.

"The irony is we're actually actively working with other council agencies on a nighttime economy strategy to try and boost the economy of the city, so things like this coming out of left field end up spooking the work we're trying to do to support the city's recovery," he told Newstalk ZB.

Bridges has other ideas of focus for AT.

"Ensuring it is efficiently collecting regarding its current parking fees regime would be a good place to start, rather than a new 24/7 regime and making the city less attractive."

Beck also claimed although AT had changed its signs, it had not listened to issues around its $150 fines charged on Queen St, which also affected the city's nighttime economy, she said.

"What I don't understand is the severity of impact the central city has had. We've had nearly a decade of construction, Covid, cost of living: it's hurting a lot of businesses," she told Hosking.

"So these decisions that get made during this period are critical to how people will operate through this time."

Bridges said he hoped AT were listening to the blowback from agencies and organisations on the parking fees. He said the agency was missing the bigger picture.

"All of us, including council and its associated organisations, want to make the city centre more attractive - not less - with more businesses, workers, residents and consumers. This policy clearly doesn’t help move that aspiration along."

Bridges promised to talk to Mayor Wayne Brown about the next steps on the fees.

"I will also seek to raise this with other councillors and Auckland Transport. I hope they listen and go back to the drawing board."