Queenstown Lakes district councillor Alexa Forbes said part of the Countdown supermarket car park at Five Mile was earmarked as a hub for the 12-month trial.
But the fact the site was temporary had been a key reason for the council dropping the proposal last week.
Even if the trial had proved highly successful, it could not have kept operating from the car park long term, Cr Forbes said.
Another problem was the service could run only at 15-minute intervals during limited periods of the day, she said.
''We felt we couldn't deliver a park-and-ride at the level of service that we required, and in a way that would keep it going if it was successful.''
The trial, targeted to start before Christmas, was dropped by the council in a public-excluded session at its final meeting last Friday.
Former mayor Vanessa van Uden said the council would focus instead on a subsidised public bus service.
Cr Forbes confirmed the Otago Regional Council (ORC) objected to granting the trial a transport licence as it would have affected the existing, unsubsidised bus operator, Ritchies.
The ORC also said neither it nor the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) had funding available for the trial.
Whatever public transport service the new council designed, it had to be reliable, efficient, cheap and enjoyable enough to entice people out of their cars, she said.
Although she had yet to speak to the new mayor, Jim Boult, she was keen to oversee the council infrastructure portfolio, which includes transport, for another three years.
It is the second time in five years the ORC has helped put the brakes on a park-and-ride scheme in the resort.
In 2011, the Otago Daily Times reported the regional council opposed a similar scheme on the grounds it would reduce the number of bus users in outlying areas, thereby undermining the unsubsidised service then run by Connectabus.
