The Minns government has announced cheaper Opal fares for NSW commuters who travel on Fridays in a bid to revitalise Sydney's CBD.
From today, Friday fares will be slashed by 30 per cent, matching the discounted fare that passengers receive on weekends.
This means a Friday train ride from Parramatta to Central Station will now cost $4, instead of $5.72.
The Friday travel cap will also be halved meaning passengers will pay no more than $8.90 for an adult fare and $4.45 for children and concession holders.
Speaking at Wynyard train station today, NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen said the initative was part of a suite of measures to enliven Sydney as a global city.
"We have seen reductions in public transport use because people have changed the way they work and of course then the way they travel," she told reporters.
"Fridays is the lowest level of patronage hovering between 70 and 75 per cent, whereas on the weekends we're well over 110 per cent.
"We want to encourage people to use our public transport network as the mode of choice every time, where they can, and we hope that this Friday discount will mean that more people choose public transport on a Friday."
Cheaper Friday fares will be available to all Opal customers across the public transport network.
The measure is mostly cost-neutral after an Opal fare increase of 3.7 per cent came into effect last Saturday.
Business Sydney executive director Paul Nicolaou said the government scheme was a "great bonus" for the city.
"As we know, a lot of people work from home on Mondays and on Fridays," he said.
"Anything we can do to encourage people to come into the city and work and play and enjoy the beauty of our wonderful city is greatly appreciated by businesses.
"Many businesses have suffered greatly post-pandemic because of the number of people who are still working from home.
"Sydney can not become a part-time city - Sydney is an international global city."
