The NSW Opposition wants free weekend transport to and from the Blue Mountains to boost business. Source: AAP
THE NSW government should provide free bus and train rides to and from the Blue Mountains these holidays to help businesses recover from the October bushfires, the state opposition says.
The government needs to encourage visitors back with the message that the Blue Mountains is open for business, Opposition Leader John Robertson says.
Analysis by Blue Mountains Lithgow & Oberon Tourism and Blue Mountains Economic Enterprise estimates 200 jobs and more than $47 million in tourism revenue have been lost in the six weeks following the bushfires.
Domestic day trips alone are estimated to be down by more than 144,000.
Mr Robertson says there are dozens of bus and train services to the Blue Mountains every weekend.
"These public transport services should be free and promoted across the Sydney Trains network to encourage families and tourists to plan a trip to the mountains."
Opposition transport spokeswoman Penny Sharpe says she's written to Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian asking that Labor's proposal be implemented immediately, effective until the Australia Day long weekend.
"For a family of two adults and two children it would cost $34.80 on a Saturday to travel from Central to Springwood by train ... that's $34 better spent in a Blue Mountains small business."
Blue Mountains Mayor Mark Greenhill says many visitors had been scared away by the bushfires.
"We have hundreds of thousands of hectares of world heritage listed National Park with breathtaking scenery, pristine waterways and amazing walking tracks," he said.
"We welcome any proposal that encourages visitors and their wallets to our region."
Ms Berejiklian said in a statement that the NSW government had announced funding for a campaign to encourage tourists to visit the Blue Mountains and continued to work with the community to help those impacted.
"An auction of Sydney Trains lost property items held on Saturday raised thousands of dollars that will be donated to victims of the Blue Mountains bushfire," she said.
The minister also said the government had announced residents would not be charged for water used to defend their homes during the bushfires.
Fees to replace documents such as birth certificates and driver licences had also been waived along with fees for taking bushfire waste to the tip, Ms Berejiklian said.
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