But commuters may face delays from 9am as drivers start to return trams to their depots ahead of the strike and normal services may not resume until after 3pm. Also, City Circle trams will not run on Thursday or Friday. Replacement buses will run every 15 minutes along St Kilda Road and every 20 to 30 minutes on most other parts of the network, but will prioritise hospitals and universities. The tram union's state secretary Luba Grigorovitch said the strike action was necessary as Yarra Trams did not want to improve members’ pay and conditions. "We are trying our best to minimise any inconvenience to commuters," she said. The Transport Department's head of services Jeroen Weimar urged both parties to think of passengers and avoid the strike.

"It’s disappointing that this dispute will inconvenience the thousands of Victorians who rely on Melbourne’s trams to get where they need to go each day," he said. "We encourage all parties to continue negotiating. I apologise in advance to our passengers for the inconvenience they may face." Yarra Trams wants to lift a cap on the number of part-time workers on the network from 4 per cent to 15 per cent to help improve rostering, especially during busy periods. There is no such cap on part-time work at Metro Trains or V/Line and Yarra Trams has argued it would not threaten the jobs of full-time workers, while those on part-time rosters would be afforded the same working conditions. Yarra Trams' offer would also come with sign-on bonuses for workers, including a $1000 bonus for every worker and an extra $400 for workers when the new part-time shifts are rolled out at their depot.

Metro Trains staff had also threatened to walk off the job for four hours on Tuesday, but that strike was called off following "constructive conversations" with Metro earlier this month. Come Friday night, the City Loop will be emptied and buses will replace trains on 11 separate lines for a weekend of works on the rail network. Buses will replace trains on all or parts of the Werribee, Williamstown, Sunbury, Craigieburn, Upfield and Geelong lines from 9pm Friday until the early hours of Monday. Crews will also be conducting essential rail maintenance between Southern Cross Station and Caulfield station over the weekend, with buses replacing trains on the Cranbourne, Pakenham, Frankston and Sandringham lines and V/Line's Bairnsdale line. This will affect crowds heading to Melbourne Writers Week and Melbourne Fashion Festival. It could also disrupt the trip home for crowds attending the EJ Whitten Legends AFL Game on Friday night.

Services will continue to operate directly to and from Flinders Street Station on the Mernda, Hurstbridge, Belgrave, Lilydale, Glen Waverley and Alamein lines across the weekend. And just when you thought your transport disruptions were over, part of Flinders Street will be closed on Monday for Metro Tunnel works. Both eastbound lanes between Elizabeth and Swanston streets will be closed for three years. Trams will continue to run, except from October 2 to 7. The footpath will remain open past Degraves Street.

Transport Minister Jacinta Allan conceded the works would cause significant disruptions, but said several steps were being taken to reduce the impact on people travelling through the city. Loading Rail Projects Victoria chief executive Evan Tattersall said digging will extend 30 metres under Flinders Street and mechanical and electrical infrastructure will be installed. Workers will also construct a pedestrian underpass from Flinders Street Station to Campbell Arcade.