00:00It's one of Sydney's biggest Christmas events, carols in the domain, but getting there hasn't
00:09been a jolly time.
00:11Pretty much half the trains were cancelled, so it's about an hour or so wait for the next
00:15one.
00:16But the trains are full because half the service appears to be cancelled.
00:19It wasn't great, there was multiple cancellations, hour and a half wait.
00:24More than 360 services were either cancelled or delayed today, leaving commuters waiting
00:30at stations for up to 90 minutes.
00:33I was supposed to go on a spa day today, which was really nice, but I ended up being 30 minutes
00:38late because there were no trains.
00:39The actions by the rail unions are having a significant and real impact on people and
00:47on businesses.
00:48Especially businesses like Bobby's Cafe, a family-run shop just outside Newtown station.
00:54That's the first door they're going to see, so it's so good for them to even just do a
00:58takeaway coffee.
01:00And when there's cancellation or delays, you don't get that as much foot traffic, right?
01:04Not at all, because we are inside a train station area, we might have to reduce our
01:09working hour and even reduce our staff to just maintain our profit or loss.
01:15The government claims it's made a series of offers to the union, but says their demands
01:20are unaffordable.
01:218% each year, 32% over four years is unfortunately unaffordable, and we cannot bankrupt the state
01:31here.
01:32The rail, tram and bus union didn't front on camera today, but said in a statement it
01:37refutes the government's claims of rejecting substantial offers.
01:42It says track work was a factor in today's disruptions.
01:46If city transport can't be insured, the New Year's Eve fireworks could also be cancelled.
01:52Many hospitality outlets and venues have a lot riding on New Year's Eve celebrations
01:57as well, so those investments have already been made, whether it's in stock or staff.
02:04Transport chaos, threatening to derail the festive spirit.
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