A commuter attempts to pay his $3 fee for parking at the Dalhousie station. (Terri Trembath/CBC)

Hours after a $3 fee for using park-and-ride lots kicked in at the first C-Train stations, city council voted to eliminate the fees after 6 p.m. weekdays and on weekends.

Aldermen asked city staff on Monday to come up with suggestions on how to make up for an estimated $1.5 million in lost revenue the proposed reversal will cost. Money from the fee, approved by city council in November, is meant to improve security and maintain the C-Train system.

Council will not ratify eliminating the evening and weekend fee until that report is presented, which is expected in April.

Drivers parking at the McKnight-Westwinds, Somerset-Bridlewood and Dalhousie stations had to pay the new fee Monday morning. By the end of May, all park-and-ride lots will charge $3 a day. Violators face a ticket of $40.

The vote passed 11-4 after aldermen were swamped with complaints about the new fee.

Ald. Andre Chabot said scrapping evening and weekend fees is the right move.

"To charge for parking, and try and get people to come downtown with the limited parking opportunities that there are in the evenings and weekends? I would say this is a great step for council," he said.

Ald. Gord Lowe, who wanted to charge 24 hours a day, said it's a case of Calgarians wanting something, but not wanting to pay.

"I hear two messages in my email and on the telephone. One is that safety and cleanliness issues have to be dealt with. On the other hand, I don't want to pay $3. It doesn't work that way. It's a fee for service."

Drivers switching to free lots

The lot at Dalhousie station in northwest Calgary was only half full at 7:30 a.m. Monday morning, with grumbling drivers lining up to pay their $3.

The Dalhousie station parking lot had lots of empty spaces Monday morning. (Terri Trembath/CBC)

Drivers, who said the lot was normally full by 6:30 a.m., said thrifty commuters were probably parking on residential streets or driving to the nearby Brentwood C-Train stop, where the park-and-ride is still free, but the lot was full.

Calgary Transit spokesman Ron Collins said complaints are to be expected as commuters get used to paying to park.

"There is going to be an adjustment period. Not everyone agrees with having to pay to park," Collins said. "All of the funds from paying for parking in Calgary Transit parking lots are going to be reinvested into ensuring that the transit system remains safe, clean and well-maintained in the future."

Collins called it a user-pay system, saying only 10 per cent of all transit riders use the park-and-ride lots.