Public transport bus services run by CDC and Kinetic will either not operate tomorrow, or with limited services, causing chaos across Melbourne, Ballarat, Geelong and Mildura.
The Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) has confirmed a fourth round of bus driver strikes will be held tomorrow, with two operators set to have around 1,600 drivers take protected industrial action.
The action will take place from 3am on Thursday, July 10 until 3am on Friday.
The action is the first for Kinetic’s drivers this year in Melbourne and the fourth instance of CDC Victoria drivers taking industrial action since negotiations.
Bus routes operated by CDC and Kinetic are expected to run less frequently or not at all. Train, tram and other bus services will continue to run as normal.
In Melbourne, routes 150 to 192, 200-370, 400-498, 501-567, 600-699 and 900-923 will either revert to weekend timetables or not run at all during the 24-hour period.
In Ballarat, all bus routes won’t run, while routes 1, 10, 11, 12, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 43 in Geelong will revert to a Saturday timetable. Route 19 will run as normal.
In Mildura, all routes will run as normal.
“We are deeply disappointed that the Transport Workers’ Union has chosen to take strike action when we have made a fair and comprehensive offer that would see our drivers continue to be the highest paid in Victoria,” Kinetic executive general manager of Victoria Graham Smith said.
“We have been actively engaged in negotiations for the Enterprise Bargaining Agreement for several months,” a CDC Victoria spokesperson said.
Due to school holidays, school bus services are not impacted.
Bus services are expected to return to normal from the first scheduled service on Friday, July 11.
