Metlink upset over Google Maps price hike of $29,000 a month

Metlink's monthly bill for using Google Maps will increase from $1000 to $30,000. Photo / Twitter

Wellington's Metlink says a $29,000-a-month price increase for its use of Google Maps is unfair and it was not given enough notice of the change.

The public transport provider was told yesterday that its monthly bill will increase from $1000 to $30,000, coming into effect in mid-July.

"Our monthly bill will jump from $1000 a month to $30k. We are a service organisation. We have no advertising to generate income so we will need to wear the cost or move to another mapping service which also has significant costs in terms of web development," said Clayton Anderson, a spokesperson for Metlink.

"There is very little notice. If we had been better informed we would have been able to build the move to a new mapping service into our regular development programme.

"As it stands we have the most significant change to public transport in the Wellington region for 30 years on 15 July and we need a stable website environment to ensure the website continues to deliver our customers' travel information."

Anderson told the Herald that rates or fares won't go up and that the price increase would be covered out of existing budgets.

Google Maps allows Metlink users the ability to get to their destinations as efficiently as possible.

Map users can set their departure point and destination and receive route and service options that they need to take to get them there.