The Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) has called on the NSW government to cut fares on public transport, as more people are forced to ditch cars thanks to the rising fuel crisis.
Petrol prices rose nearly 50 cents per litre across Australia’s five largest cities from 20 February to 11 March, now averaging close to 220 cents, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has found.
Current estimates show Australians are paying about $30 more per tank of unleaded petrol and $70 per tank of diesel since the start of the US and Israel’s war in Iran.The cost of unleaded petrol has now reached almost $3 per litre.
As of Monday, 105 of New South Wales’s 2,500 service stations were without diesel and 35 had no access to any fuel. Most of the affected sites were in regional NSW.
A number of measures have been implemented in a bid to ease demand, with the federal government releasing supplies from its emergency stockpile and temporarily lowering fuel standards so onshore refineries can redirect supplies into the local market.
Thanks to these pressures on commuters, the RTBU believes public transport fares should either be reduced significantly or temporarily removed altogether.
“We could reduce to nothing for a period of time, or drop it to 50 cents, which has worked well in Queensland,” RTBU NSW branch secretary Toby Warnes said at a press conference in Sydney today.
“Get them out of their cars, give them cost-of-living relief, use the fuel where we need it.”
However Transport Minister John Graham has rejected the idea, claiming public transport in Sydney was already priced fairly.
“Public transport is a good alternative if you are worried about fuel prices,” he said without supporting the union’s initiative.
The daily cap for adults using public transport in Sydney is $19.30 between Monday and Thursday, and $9.65 from Friday to Sunday and on public holidays.
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