First it was e-scooters, now a car-share trial launches in Wollongong

As of Monday morning, people can hire one of three cars parked in dedicated bays on the western side of Wollongong station.

It's part of a six-month trial from Transport for NSW, after a similar scheme was put into place at Katoomba station in the Blue Mountains.

"Wollongong is the perfect location for the car share trial," said Transport Minister Jo Haylin.

"It is a short train ride from Sydney and then a short drive to many of the most beautiful parts of the Illawarra and South Coast. It's part of our commitment to provide Wollongong residents and visitors with new ways to travel."

While the cars can be used by locals, they are targeted at day trippers who can catch the train down from Sydney and then hire a car for a few hours.

Transport for NSW said visitors opting to jump in a car at Wollongong rather than driving from central Sydney could save up to 43,000 kilograms of CO2 emissions.

The trial is run in conjunction with hire company GoGet, where drivers join via a website and then choose their hire car.

Before they can jump in the car, a hirer will need to walk from the station to Wollongong Central, where they can pick up the smartcard needed to get in the car at the newsagency on the ground floor.

Then they walk back to the station and hold the smartcard over the reader on the car windscreen and the doors will unlock. The cars have push-button ignition so no keys to start a car are needed.

The cars can be booked for as little as an hour or as long as days. They must be returned to the same parking spaces with at least a quarter tank of fuel left - petrol is paid for with a fuel card found in the car.

In terms of transport options it follows on from the e-scooter trial launched in Wollongong in October.

"This is a useful addition to the new e-scooters, providing people with even more ways to cover that last mile between home and the station," Wollongong MP Paul Scully said.