Sydney Bus Strike – What You Need To Know

STA services in the Inner West will not operate tomorrow as drivers strike in respone to the planned sell off of Inner West bus services. Services operated from Burwood, Kingsgrove Leichhardt and Tempe are affected.

Some limited services on major routes will still run in addition to routes serviced by depots that are not affected. These include most Victoria Road services and a limited number of M10,M20, M30, M50, 303, 370, 400, 418 and 4440 services. All of these services will be severely limited and not run to a timetable, don’t rely on them. Some routes in other areas will also be affected as they are operated by these depots.

The NSW Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) announced the strike on Wednesday evening, saying it will begin at midnight and last for 24 hours. The Rail, Tram and Bus Union sys the strike will “affect all routes across the inner west and southern Sydney”. In a statement, the union said the strike was a reaction to Transport Minister Andrew Constance’s “betrayal of inner western and south Sydney commuters and public transport workers. This action is our members’ initial response to this outrageous action”.

Mr Preston said members of the public should make alternative arrangements to get to work and school, and urged Premier Gladys Berejiklian to intervene in the situation immediately. “Minister Constance needs to understand that you cannot treat the community and public transport workers with such contempt,” he said. “We call on the Premier to intervene as a matter of urgency and put a stop to this attack on our public transport network.”

In a statement on Wednesday evening, Mr Constance said he hoped workers would break the strike and turn up to work anyway. He said the government is sourcing a fleet of buses to operate a “more limited service in the areas of highest demand”. “This call for a strike is about union bosses putting themselves before customers, egged on by the Labor party,” Mr Constance said. “I hope the majority of bus drivers who want to deliver a better service to customers ignore their union bosses and show up to work tomorrow.