Northern Beaches bus passengers will travel for free for anywhere up to a fortnight from Thursday, after drivers move to switch off Opal readers from in the latest escalation of industrial action against private operator Keolis. From 12.01am on Thursday 18 June until 11.59pm on Thursday 2 July, most Opal readers on Region 8 services will be switched off, meaning passengers will not be charged a fare for the duration of the action. The move is part of protected industrial action taken by the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU), which represents Keolis drivers, in an ongoing dispute over a new enterprise agreement. The union says the company has failed to offer drivers a fair deal, pointing to driver shortages, service cancellations and reliability issues that...