Bus drivers' strike halts services in parts of Melbourne and regional Victoria for 24 hours
Bus drivers have gone on strike in Victoria for the second time as part of an enterprise bargaining dispute.
About 600 drivers for public transport operator CDC Victoria are in the midst of a 24-hour strike.
No buses will run on CDC routes in Melbourne's west, including Wyndham Vale and Sunshine, Tullamarine in Melbourne's north, and Oakleigh in the city's south-east, as well in the regional cities of Geelong, Ballarat and Mildura.
Late last month, 1,300 drivers from CDC and operator Dysons took part in what the Transport Workers' Union (TWU) said was the largest bus strike in VIctoria's history, shutting down one-third of the state's bus routes and charter services.
The union said Dysons had since progressed its negotiations, but matters remained unresolved with CDC, resulting in a strike that began at 3am today and will last until tomorrow morning.
"Bus drivers, like everybody in Victoria at the moment, are struggling under the cost-of-living crisis," TWU organiser Sam Lynch told ABC Radio Melbourne.
"Their wages have not gone up with inflation over the last five to 10 years.
"The offer that's currently on the table is just absolutely nowhere near resolving that."
Mr Lynch said the drivers did not take strike action lightly.
"Bus drivers don't want to be impacting the community like this," he said.
"They like what they do, they like driving buses and getting people where they need to go, but unfortunately we are not getting the offer that we need to get from CDC in order to resolve this."
The ABC has contacted CDC Victoria for comment.
Mr Lynch said the drivers would take further strike action if the negotiations did not progress.
Meanwhile, a tram derailment has caused early-morning disruptions in Kew, in Melbourne's east.
A tram came off the rails on High Street at the Kew Junction at about 5am, cutting services along routes 48 and 109.
The Department of Transport said it was caused by a fault with the rail.
There were no passengers on board at the time.
The driver was not hurt.
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