11-07-2025
Residents in Newcastle, Sydney, Wollongong and the Central Coast to pay more as public transport fares increase
Residents living in the Greater Sydney, Wollongong, Central Coast and Newcastle areas are set to be impacted by a fresh cost of living squeeze when the price of public transport goes up on Monday.
The increase by 2.5 per cent is, according to Transport for NSW, linked to the annual Consumer Price Index.
However, weekly fares will still be capped at $50 for adults and $25 for youth travel.
The daily fare cap for an adult riding public transport across Sydney, the Central Coast, Newcastle and Wollongong will be $19.30 on weekdays and $9.65 on Fridays, weekends and public holidays.
For children and those on concession cards, weekday travel will be capped at $9.65 whilst weekend travel will be capped at $4.80.
Pensioners on Gold Opal Cards will be capped at $2.50.
The fees will apply to Sydney Trains, metro lines, InterCity line services to the Central Coast, Hunter and Illawarra, ferry services and Light Rail Services in Sydney and Newcastle.
People travelling to Sydney Airport will also be slugged with an increased fee, with the fare to access the domestic and international terminals going up to $17.92 for adults and $16.03 for children.
Unlike other services on the network, the Airport Line is operated under license from Sydney Trains by the Airport Link Company which is owned by the British-based Universities Superannuation Scheme.
Discounts for switching transport modes in an hour will not change, nor will fares for travelling to regional areas of NSW or the ACT on TrainLink services.
The cost of living squeeze on residents comes after months of industrial disruption crippled the Sydney Train network over Christmas and the New Year.
Earlier this week, union members accepted an offer of a 12 per cent pay increase over three years with an extra four per cent backdated to May 2024.
This was down from their original ask of a 32 per cent increase over four years and a 35-hour working week.
If approved by the Fair Work Commission, it will cost the NSW taxpayer $17 million.
A 48-hour fare-free day on Sydney Trains and Metro will start on July 31 as compensation for the disruption caused by the industrial dispute.
