Amid ongoing disputes between union representatives and the NSW government, Premier Dominic Perrottet has announced that travel will be free for five days across Sydney’s rail networks. You can travel for free on trains from today, Monday, November 21 until Friday, November 25. Please note that buses, light rail and some regional services will still charge commuters.
Soon after the union confirmed strikes next week were likely to go ahead as planned, the premier announced fare-free travel from Monday to Friday to prevent further industrial action from going ahead.
RTBU Secretary Alex Classens said one of the only ways to prevent slashing rail services to 30 percent on Monday and Friday was for the government to make fares free for commuters on those days.
“We’ve been going on for way too long,” Mr. Perrottet said.
“Providing free travel for the week will ensure that industrial action does not occur.”
He added that ongoing conversations between the union and the state government had been constructive, stating that he hopes a resolution can be reached by the end of the week.
The longstanding dispute between the two has been caused due to safety concerns over a new fleet of Korean-built trains which the RTBU regards as unsafe. The Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) NSW had previously switched off Opal card readers last month in an attempt to put pressure on the premier and his coalition government.