Sydneysiders have been taking advantage of free travel on the city’s public transport network over the long weekend, with fare-free travel to continue across the network until 4am on 26 April.
The free travel across buses, trains, light rail and ferries follows an agreement struck between Transport for NSW (TfNSW) and the Rail, Tram and Bus Union NSW in an effort to make up for the sudden shutdown of the city’s rail network on 21 February.
Chief Operations Officer at TfNSW, Howard Collins said the initiative would deliver some hip-pocket relief, encourage people to enjoy what Greater Sydney had to offer and provide a boost to businesses.
“Station staff will assist commuters if they encounter any problems during the fare-free period, but people are reminded to be patient and to tap on and off with either an Opal card with a positive balance, or a contactless credit or debit card to help ensure the transport network runs effectively,” Mr Collins said.
“While fares will not be charged to commuters during this period, the Opal system will still operate, as it helps TfNSW and other operators plan services and keep people safe by monitoring passenger numbers and capacity across the network,” he said.
Mr Collins said free fares would apply automatically and customers did not need to apply for a refund to get free travel.
“If an Opal fare reader incorrectly charges a customer during the fare-free period due to a technical fault, the customer will be automatically credited when they next tap on the network,” he said.
“For commuters tapping on with a contactless payment card or device, a pre-authorisation $1 charge will appear as a pending transaction on your statement and will be reversed at the end of the day.”
However, it has not been smooth sailing for the fare-free period, with Sydney’s ferries struggling to keep up with demand over the long weekend as certain F3 and F4 services were cancelled due to staff shortages and F1, F2, F3, F4, F8 and F9 services reached capacity.
Minister for Transport, David Elliott said Good Friday had been one of the busiest days for the ferry network with 63,903 passenger trips recorded.
“That’s four times last Friday and about a 25 per cent increase from pre-COVID ferry trips,” Mr Elliott said.
Mr Collins urged travellers to check their trip before they left.
He said the free travel did not cover private ferries, the airport line, NSW TrainLink Regional trains and coaches, or Point to Point bus service.
