24hr public transport coming to Sydney?

More night bus services and longer hours for Sydney Bus drivers could be on the agenda as the NSW Government considers plans to extend public transport operating hours until 4am on Friday and Saturday nights sometime in the next 12 months.

A review into the CBD lockout laws has called for better transport planning, with ‘major event’ sized crowds in the city centre and Kings Cross each weekend requiring more transport options to ensure that partygoers can get away from trouble hotspots, and not allow bad behaviour to get worse as people fight for limited taxis.

This means that transport workers face longer shift times on potentially more dangerous routes.

RTBU Victoria have had recent battles on this very topic when the state government introduced 24 hour public transport on weekends.

Union officials in Melbourne said extra public transport services on weekends meant extra responsibilities, security concerns and different rosters for members.

Should the NSW Government try and push extended weekend hours onto workers, you can be assured that the union will be fighting every step of the way to ensure that members are not worse off and workers secure a fair and reasonable agreement.

The Baird Government is currently considering this, along with a number of other options for the CBD, and we expect that a response will be released in the coming months. We will keep you updated as more information becomes available.