24-hour bus strike leads to Sydney commuter chaos
HUNDREDS of thousands of commuters are having a rough ride to work today as a 24-hour bus strike hits Sydney.
HUNDREDS of thousands of commuters across Sydney have faced a difficult trip to work — and will do again on the way home — as bus drivers go on strike in a dispute about privatisation.
Around 60 standard bus routes are affected on Thursday throughout the inner west of Sydney and the CBD as well as a score of school services. But many commuters seemed unaware of the action on Thursday morning with some bus stops having no signs to warn of the strike.
A full list of affected routes is below.
Due to industrial action we’re expecting increased customer numbers & congestion. Pls don’t board overcrowded trains https://t.co/bxZMoP6L5T
— Trains Info (@TrainsInfo) May 17, 2017
Crunched some Opal stats and our own app use and worked out there are approx 141,000 trips on a weekday made on the strike affected routes
— the result respecter (@rpy) May 17, 2017
Train and light rail services are expected to be busier than usual as commuters seek alternative ways to get to work and school. Of all of Sydney’s inner west bus routes only the 438 and 461 along Parramatta Road will have some services running and then only in the morning and afternoon peaks.
The developer of travel app service NextThere has estimated 144,000 journeys could be affected.
On Wednesday, the Industrial Relations Commission ordered that the Rail, Tram and Bus Union and its members immediately stop any form of strike action but it’s unclear if that will have any effect on the stoppages.
The 24-hour stoppage began at midnight on Thursday and has impacted routes from four depots in the region: Leichhardt, Burwood, Kingsgrove and Tempe.
The strike has been called by the Rail, Tram and Bus Union over plans by the NSW Government to sell off the state-run bus operator in Sydney’s inner west.
Currently, four areas of Sydney — mostly around the CBD and the north shore — are run by State Transit while other regions have private operators. Whether buses are run by public or private operators, safety standards, fares, routes and frequencies are set by the Government through Transport for NSW.
On Monday, Transport Minister Andrew Constance said inner west services were being sold off because they had attracted the highest number of complaints out of Sydney’s metropolitan area operators in recent years, well above the results of bordering regions operated by private industry.
“There have been improvements in recent years, but State Transit still lags a long way behind its industry competitors in measures like on-time running and reliability,” he said.
“If the bus industry can provide quality in western Sydney, the inner west deserves the same, especially as Sydney grows.” he said.
But theunion has accused Mr Constance of backflipping on written assurances last year the routes wouldn’t be privatised.
“Members of the public should make alternative arrangements to travel to work and take their children to school,” RTBU spokesman Chris Preston said.
Mr Constance said inner west drivers would continue their employment under the new operator.
The plan would see the contract for Bus Region 6 — which runs 233 routes from Olympic Park in the city’s west to Kensington in the city’s southeast — put out to private tender to ensure a more reliable service.
Bus services affected:
400 — Bondi Junction to Burwood via Eastgardens (Limited Stops)
401 — Lidcombe to Sydney Olympic Park
406 — Five Dock to Hurlstone Park
407 — Burwood to Strathfield
408 — Burwood to Rookwood Cemetery via Flemington
410 — Prepay Only — Bondi Junction to Rockdale
412 — Campsie to City Martin Place via Earlwood
413 — Campsie to City Martin Place via Canterbury
415 — Campsie to Chiswick
418 — Bondi Junction to Burwood
422 — City Martin Place to Kogarah
423 — City Martin Place to Kingsgrove
425 — Dulwich Hill to Tempe
426 — City Martin Place to Dulwich Hill
428 — Canterbury to City Martin Place
430 — Kogarah to Kogarah Bay (Loop Service)
431 — City Martin Place to Glebe Point
433 — Balmain to Central Pitt St
436 — Central Pitt St to Chiswick
437 — Abbotsford Wharf to Chiswick Wharf
439 — City Martin Place to Mortlake
440 — Bronte to Rozelle
441 — Birchgrove to City Art Gallery via QVB
442 — Balmain East Wharf to City QVB
444 — Balmain East Wharf to Campsie
445 — Balmain East Wharf to Campsie via Lilyfield light rail stop
458 — Burwood to Macquarie University via Strathfield & Ryde
459 — Macquarie University to Strathfield via Ryde
460 — Concord Hospital to Five Dock via Canada Bay
462 — Ashfield to Mortlake
463 — Bayview Park to Burwood
464 — Ashfield to Mortlake
466 — Ashfield to Cabarita Park
470 — City Martin Place to Lilyfield
473 — Campsie to Rockdale
476 — Rockdale to Dolls Point (Loop Service)
477 — Miranda to Rockdale
478 — Miranda to Rockdale via Ramsgate
479 — Rockdale to Kyeemagh (Loop Service)
480 — Central Pitt St to Strathfield
483 — Central Pitt St to Strathfield via ACU Strathfield
487 — Bankstown Central to Canterbury
490 — Drummoyne to Hurstville
491 — Five Dock to Hurstville
492 — Drummoyne to Rockdale
493 — Rockdale to Roselands
495 — Bexley North to Kingsgrove
502 — City Town Hall to Five Dock
504 — Chiswick to City Domain
508 — City Town Hall to Drummoyne
525 — Burwood to Parramatta via Sydney Olympic Park
526 — Burwood to Rhodes Shopping Centre
L23 — Prepay Only — City Martin Place to Kingsgrove (Limited Stops)
L28 — Prepay Only — Canterbury to City Martin Place (Limited Stops)
L37 — City Town Hall to Haberfield (Limited Stops)
L38 — Prepay Only — Abbotsford to City Martin Place (Limited Stops)
L39 — Prepay Only — City Martin Place to Mortlake (Limited Stops)
M20 — Prepay Only — Botany to Gore Hill
M30 — Prepay Only — Mosman to Sydenham
M41 — Hurstville to Macquarie Park
X04 — Prepay Only — City to Chiswick (Express)
X25 — Strathfield to Sydney Olympic Park
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