Train commuters from the AirportLink stations of Green Square and Mascot will pay lower fares starting Monday with the NSW Government scrapping the station access fee. Commuters will now get the same MyZone fares as the rest of the CityRail network.

Premier Kristina Keneally announced today the cost of a weekly ticket from Green Square and Mascot to the City will be slashed from $42 to $25 – a saving of $17 a week or $850 a year.

“This is about making ticket prices cheaper and fairer,” Ms Keneally said.

“The Station Access Fee was a legacy of the former Liberal Government – a last minute deal with the private sector that ended up costing the taxpayers of NSW $800 million.

“As a result of that Coalition deal, the people of Green Square and Mascot have been paying more than every other CityRail commuter since the day the rail line opened. The people of Green Square and Mascot have been paying for the Coalition’s incompetence for long enough.”

The savings will come into effect on Monday, March 7 for all commuters who use Mascot and Green Square stations.

The Airport Line is operated by a private company and until now had applied an additional ‘Station Access Fee’ on top of the ordinary CityRail fare.

An agreement has now been reached with the Airport Link Company that will see the cost of the Station Access Fee now covered by the NSW Government, meaning an immediate reduction in fares for commuters at these stations.

The following table indicates how much rail customers travelling from Green Square and Mascot to the City will save under the new arrangement.

Today’s announcement builds upon a number of recent initiatives by the NSW Government to reduce public transport fares and give families a break.

“In April last year I introduced MyZone, delivering simpler fairer and often cheaper fares across the public transport network,” Ms Keneally said.

“In 2011 we have implemented a fare freeze, helping to ease cost of living pressures for NSW families and if re-elected I will introduce the Fairness for Families Act and cap public transport fares at the rate of CPI.

“Current Liberal leader Barry O’Farrell was the Chief of Staff to former Transport Minister Bruce Baird who signed the deal on the Airport Rail Link.

“It is time for Mr O’Farrell to accept responsibility for his actions and apologise to the people of Mascot and Green Square,” she said.

Reform should be extended to airport stations

Sydney Airport has welcomed the NSW Government’s announcement that the station access fee at Green Square and Mascot rail stations would be scrapped from Monday.

Sydney Airport chief executive Russell Balding, said that this decision represented important steps in the right direction.

“The access fees discourage people from using public transport to get to Green Square, Mascot and the Domestic and International Terminals, so the abolition of the fee for two of the four stations means that we are halfway to getting a fair deal for rail passengers.

“Sydney Airport has been a strong advocate for improved public transport to and from the airport so I welcome this announcement as a positive sign of progress. Promoting the use of public transport involves removing financial disincentives.

Mr Balding said he remains concerned that thousands of Sydneysiders who work at the airport will continue to pay high fares.

“The next reform priority should be to drop the access fee from the weekly and periodical fares for the estimated 12,000-15,000 people who work at the terminals.

“There is no public policy reason why workers at the airport are the only commuters in NSW who have to pay a surcharge for using public transport to get to work.

“Sydney Airport will continue to seek fair fares for public transport users who travel to the airport terminals.

“Encouraging public transport will help reduce congestion and pollution and provide people with more choice when travelling to the airport,” Mr Balding said.

Currently, the rail fare from the International Terminal to Town Hall is $15.80, while a weekly is $49. With fair fares these would drop to $4.00 and $31.00 respectively.