Sydney's rail crisis has been averted for now. But business groups say the damage has been done with foot traffic and spending noticeably lower in the CBD today. They're warning that even the threat of ongoing strikes could hurt businesses.
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00:00It was back to normal for Sydney's trains today, after the rail unions agreed to a truce
00:07and called off their shutdown.
00:09I thought I would have been in a bit of a pickle if I didn't get in on the train this
00:13morning.
00:14All averted.
00:15Crisis averted.
00:16It was a little bit of planning and preparation in anticipation for what we assumed was going
00:19to be really impossible.
00:20At Barangaroo, the bustling lunch crowd was a relief for restaurant owners, who feared
00:25the strike would force customers to stay home.
00:28With customers not being able to get to the city, cancelling last minute, or just not
00:32showing up for their bookings altogether.
00:34But other parts of the city were virtually deserted, as people opted to work remotely.
00:39Damage was already done because it got called off so late, so a lot of people cancelled
00:43plans, cancelled bookings, cancelled medical appointments.
00:46Business New South Wales says the shutdown would have cost around $170 million in lost
00:51productivity and consumer spending, and it says the threat of future industrial action
00:57could dampen trade in the lead up to Christmas.
01:00This is the month or six weeks of the year where restaurants, hospitality and retailers
01:06make their money.
01:07This is where they make their profit, right?
01:09So we just can't afford to lose days.
01:11The Christmas time and the trade during Christmas and January is make or break.
01:15While commuters are feeling some relief, it's only a short term fix.
01:19The state government and the rail unions will now spend the next two weeks around the table
01:24in a period of intensive bargaining.
01:26In the hopes of finding a resolution before Christmas.
01:29I don't want to make out that the government's doing a lap of honour.
01:32We've got a long way to go to sort this out and I want to acknowledge that there's been
01:36disruption for people that live in Sydney.
01:38The Premier says he's working hard to get an agreement and keep Sydney open for business.