Embattled transport minister David Elliott has denied reports Sydney commuters will be given half-price tickets as compensation for last week’s travel chaos.
Mr Elliott told 2GB radio on Monday no decision had been made on discount fares, an offer that was floated by officials last week and widely reported by news outlets.
“It is certainly an option … but no formal decision has been made yet,” he said.
Treasurer Matt Kean also did not commit to offering cheaper tickets when he appeared before a budget estimates hearing on Monday.
But Mr Kean apologised to the people of Sydney for the government’s decision to shut down the city’s train system and vowed officials would sit down with union representatives again.
He also said he would seek to make sure last week’s train chaos did not happen again.
The Monday morning standstill caused widespread confusion for commuters and was estimated by the government to have cost about $33.3 million.
“I apologise for anyone that was inconvenienced as a result of what happened,” Mr Kean told a budget estimates hearing.
“It’s not acceptable, people were massively inconvenienced, they turned up at railway stations and there were no trains there.”
He invited union leaders to continue discussions with the government.
“With regard to affected commuters, I want to make sure that we do look after their interests, that we do ensure that this doesn't happen again,” Mr Kean said.
“We’ll work through these issues in a responsible way with the union movement and my message today is for them to sit down with us, come back to the negotiating table and put the consumers and travellers of NSW first.”
Mr Kean said he was not aware of plans to shut down the network before it happened.
According to the Treasurer, transport bureaucrats made the decision in response to “aggressive union tactics”.
“We got to this stage because the union movement would not provide the staffing necessary to run the train system,” he said.
The Rail, Tram and Bus Union has previously denied that claim, saying trains could have run safely despite limited industrial action.
The union is in talks with the government over a new enterprise agreement and has made demands about pay, hygiene and a commitment no rail or bus lines will be lost due to future privatisation of services.
Sydney trains are back on regular timetables this week as more workers return to work in offices.
