Sydney trains crisis: Uber prices surge
Uber accused of inflating prices from desperate Sydney residents as fares rise as trains collapse over ‘communication problems’
- Trains in Sydney stopped on Wednesday
- At the same time, Uber’s prices skyrocketed
Sydney commuters faced a transport crisis with Uber prices rising as trains ground to a halt in the city.
Sydney’s entire train network came to a complete standstill during the afternoon rush hour on Wednesday.
When trains fail, Sydneysiders often opt to take an Uber home, but unexpected price hikes made many decide to wait out the train crisis or take a bus.
Customers said Ubers charged up to $90 for rides across the city.
A commuter posted a screenshot of a trip from the city center to Bondi costing $88.21.
Uber customers around Sydney said their usual journeys skyrocketed in price to coincide with the train closure (pictured, the cost of an Uber from the CBD to Marrickville on Wednesday)
Trains around Sydney came to a complete halt during the afternoon rush hour on Wednesday (pictured, commuters pile up on alternative Light Rail services on Wednesday)
Another said her usual $20 Uber trip home would cost an astonishing $216.
A third frustrated commuter shared a photo of an Uber booking from the CBD to Marrickville that would cost up to $77.17.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Uber for comment.
The unexpected prices kept thousands of commuters at the stations or crammed into small buses or light rail alternatives.
The chaos started around 2.45pm when the computer screens at Central Station, in the city’s CBD, went completely blank instead of showing when the next scheduled trains would arrive.
There were similar problems at Wynyard Station, where travelers were turned away at the train gates.
Sydney Trains shared a warning to customers on Twitter at 3:50pm, saying: ‘Trains are not running due to a train communication issue affecting the entire network.
“Use alternative travel options whenever possible. We expect this to continue into the afternoon rush hour, updates to follow.’
The system has now been restarted and trains have started running again just over an hour after the outage started.
NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen blamed the Perrottet government for the incident.
“The Liberal government’s neglect of our existing train network has led to old infrastructure breaking down too often, and when it does, the entire network is disrupted, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded,” she said in a statement.
‘Our existing rail network needs investments. New rolling stock and new infrastructure are needed. Instead, the liberals have neglected and demolished it.
‘Labour will invest in our train network so that it can get passengers from A to B. The liberals have neglected it and there is a real risk that they will privatize it.’
At about 2.45pm the computer screens at train stations around Sydney went out (above)