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Anzac Bridge, a cable-stayed bridge leading from central Sydney to the Inner West and Northern suburbs.

Circular Quay, a bus, rail and ferry interchange in the Sydney central business district

Public transport in Sydney is provided by an extensive network of public transportation operating in road, rail and water transport modes. According to the 2006 census, in terms of travel to work or study Sydney has the highest rate of public transport usage among the Australian capital cities of 26.3%.^[1] According to the New South Wales State Plan, the state has Australia's largest public transport system. The network is regulated by Transport for NSW, which is working towards an integrated network serving Sydney, Newcastle, the Central Coast, the Blue Mountains, Wollongong and the Illawarra.^[2][3]

Sydney's early urban sprawl can be traced in part to the development of its passenger rail network.^[4] The first rail services began in 1855, 67 years after the settlement's foundation and a tram network which began in 1861 became the Southern Hemisphere's largest by the 1920s. This rail infrastructure allowed working-class suburbs to develop at a large distance from the city centre.^[4]

Ticketing and fares [edit]

In April 2010 the NSW Government introduced MyZone, a standardised fare structure, to simplify the previously complex fares. Government-run bus, train and ferry operators share an inter-operator Automated Fare Collection System, based on magnetic stripe technology. Since the failure of the Tcard project, the Government has recommenced the process of introducing smart card integrated ticketing to Sydney's public transport network.^[5]

Across much of the network, fares are controlled by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal of New South Wales. Operators must demonstrate value to passengers before IPART will allow fare increases above the level of inflation. In practice, this has kept fares artificially low, and, since the government does not provide enough extra funding, depriving the network of the investment required to improve services. The perceived need for higher fares was a key theme in the 2003 Ministerial inquiry into sustainable public transport in New South Wales.

As of January 2009, Sydney public transport prices were slightly higher than in other mainland cities.^[6] Prices quoted are for single full-fare prices and do not include discounts available for electronic tickets, such as myki in Melbourne or go card in Brisbane.

Bus [edit]

Transport for NSW manages an integrated metropolitan bus system stretching from Newcastle in the north to Wollongong in the south.

Commuter bus services account for about half of the public transport journeys taken in the city on weekdays. Of the 921,000 weekday bus trips, 554,000 are provided by the State Transit Authority of New South Wales, a government authority, the remainder by a large number of private-sector operators.^[7]

East of Strathfield, the bus network replaces the city's former tram network. Sydney Buses, a subsidiary of the State Transit Authority of New South Wales, operates a network tightly integrated with train and ferry services. Further from the CBD, services are generally operated by private-sector companies under contract to the New South Wales Ministry of Transport. Under pressure from bus contracting reforms, many of the private bus companies have merged or entered into joint ventures. The largest private bus operator is ComfortDelGro Cabcharge, owners of Westbus. Other significant players include Punchbowl Bus Company, Busways and Veolia Transport NSW. State Transit operates bus rapid transit services on the Liverpool-Parramatta T-way through its Western Sydney Buses subsidiary.

Bus services in the regions surrounding Sydney are considered part of the metropolitan network. Apart from the city of Newcastle, where State Transit subsidiary Newcastle Buses & Ferries operates, outer-metropolitan services are provided by the private sector. Here, ComfortDelGro Cabcharge, Busways and Premier Illawarra are significant players.

Network [edit]

Sydney's bus network has been divided into different regions. Of these regions, bus routes are classified with three-digit route numbers:

• 100 series – Northern Beaches
• 200 series – Northern Districts and North Shore
• 300 series – Eastern Suburbs
• 400 series – Inner West and Southern Suburbs
• 500 series – North West
• 600 series – Western Suburbs and Hills District (T-way)
• 700 series – Outer Western Suburbs and Hills District (T-way)
• 800 series – Outer South-Western Suburbs
• 900 series – St George/Sutherland and South West

Special services are denoted by letter prefixes in their route number:

• M – metrobus services (since 2010 – original metrobus services merely used two-digit route numbers, now prefixed with "M")
• E or X – Express service (used by State Transit; "E" is used for Northern Beaches services, "X" elsewhere – private operators use other conventions)
• L – Limited Stops service (used by State Transit, although some Limited Stops routes use normal three-digit numbers)
• T – Services operating, at least for the most part, via a T-Way
• S – "Shopper Hopper" route (used for some private operators' routes that typically run between morning and afternoon peaks, Monday-Friday only)
• N – NightRide services

Currently, Sydney has two operating T-Way's:

• The Liverpool-Parramatta T-way opened in 2003
• The North-West T-way opened in 2007

Additional bus networks operate in the Outer Sydney region, which include:

• Blue Mountains
• Central Coast
• Illawarra
• Newcastle

Reform [edit]

Prompted by the Parry and Unsworth reviews of bus services, the Ministry is introducing significant changes to fare and contracting arrangements on the network. In particular:

• New contract areas. There were previously 87 small contract areas where private bus companies operated, however the recent Unsworth Bus Reform has seen this consolidate into ten areas, which will be further consolidated into eight in 2012.
• New bus corridors. This will also include 43 'strategic' bus corridors, offering enhanced and more frequent services. The first of these, Hurstville to Miranda and Liverpool to Bankstown, have come into operation.
• Unified fare scale for public and private buses.
• Integrated ticketing.

Rail [edit]

Heavy rail [edit]

The waiting area at Central Railway Station, the main station on the CityRail network

Passenger rail services in Greater Sydney are provided by CityRail. Fares are calculated on the basis of distance travelled. Sydney's suburban commuter rail service consists of eleven railway lines. Sydney does not have a separate metro system, but most suburban lines run through the city centre. On most lines, there are two to four trains an hour at off-peak times.

In the years following the 2000 Olympics, CityRail's performance declined significantly.^[8] Public anger resulted in the continued poor performance of Sydney's commuter rail system, despite the introduction of new timetables, employment of more drivers and large infrastructure projects called the Clearways project.^[9][10][11]

In October 2012, a report published by PwC found CityRail performed poorly compared to many metro services from 27 other major world cities. Sydney was ranked as the fourth-worst public train system, beating only Los Angeles, São Paulo and Johannesburg for operation efficiency and coverage, while being proven to have the most expensive tickets of any major city public transport system. ^[12] There are no train services to the Northern Beaches, lower Eastern Suburbs or parts of Western Sydney. Work is underway on the Rail Clearways Project, a series of infrastructure upgrades aiming to "untangle" the network and reduce the interdependence of the separate lines.

CityRail interurban trains to the Illawarra, Southern Highlands, Blue Mountains, Central Coast and Newcastle leave from the network's hub, Central railway station. This station is also the terminus for CountryLink trains to country New South Wales, Melbourne and Brisbane, as well as the Indian Pacific to Perth.

Trams [edit]

An underground platform of Central Railway Station

Sydney once had the Southern Hemisphere's largest tram network. Patronage peaked in 1945 at 405 million passenger journeys. The system was in place from 1861 until its winding down in the 1950s and eventual closure in 1961. It had a maximum street mileage of 291 km (181 miles) in 1923. A short tramline linking Loftus station and the Royal National Park has operated since the 1990s as a museum and tourist attraction.

Light rail and monorail [edit]

Sydney Monorail above Darling Harbour, Sydney

As part of the Darling Harbour development, an urban renewal project timed to coincide with Australia's bicentenary celebrations in 1988 a monorail line was opened to link the harbourside's tourist attractions with the city centre. In 1997 a short light rail line was opened between Central and the Inner West. Both are now owned by Metro Transport Sydney and operated by Veolia.

Extensions of Sydney Light Rail, operated by Veolia Transport, were proposed in NSW Government 'Sydney Metropolitan Transport Plan'. When completed, extensions will result in almost doubling of current Light Rail system.

Taxi [edit]

New South Wales is served by a fleet of around 6000 taxis with over 22,000 taxi drivers. The network is the largest in Australia. Most taxis are Ford Falcons, with a smaller number of Holden Commodores, Ford Fairlanes, Holden Statesmen/Caprice, Toyota Camrys, Toyota Taragos, Volkswagen Vans, Chrysler Voyagers, Mercedes Vans, and Toyota Hiaces. In general, taxis run on liquid petroleum gas. Many taxis are owned by small-scale operators who pay membership fees to regional or citywide radio communication networks. These networks provide branding and telephone and internet booking services.

Ferry [edit]

Sydney Ferries [edit]

Sydney Ferry Freshwater with Sydney Harbour Bridge in background

Sydney Ferries, another State government-owned organisation, runs numerous commuter and tourist ferries on Sydney Harbour and the Parramatta River. Harbour ferries are used in equal measure by commuter and leisure users; Parramatta River ferries are overwhelmingly used for leisure and tourist trips.^{[citation needed]} Sydney Ferries operates nine routes, with approximately 14,000,000 passengers per year.^[13] Sydney Ferries operates from Circular Quay Ferry Terminal, a major transport hub in Sydney's central business district, with popular routes including services to the beachside suburb of Manly and to Taronga Zoo, a major tourist attraction. Sydney Ferries also operates sightseeing cruises for tourists.

Other passenger ferry operators [edit]

Several private sector companies run passenger ferries in the Sydney region. These include:

• Church Point Ferry, from Church Point to Scotland Island
• Cronulla and National Park Ferry, from Cronulla to Bundeena
• Dangar Island Ferries, from Brooklyn to Dangar Island
• Matilda Cruises, from Circular Quay to Darling Harbour and Lane Cove
• Palm Beach Ferry, from Palm Beach to Great Mackerel Beach and the Basin, and to Ettalong Beach and Wagstaffe
• Palm Beach & Hawkesbury River Cruises, from Palm Beach to Patonga

Vehicle ferries [edit]

Several car ferries form part of Sydney's road system. These ferries are controlled by a combination of the Roads and Maritime Services and local government, and are toll-free. They include:

• Berowra Waters Ferry, across Berowra Creek
• Lower Portland Ferry, across the Hawkesbury River
• Mortlake Ferry, across the Parramatta River
• Webbs Creek Ferry, across the Hawkesbury River
• Wisemans Ferry, across the Hawkesbury River
• Sackville Ferry, across the Hawkesbury River

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• NSW TransportInfo – comprehensive information on trains, buses and ferries.
• NSW Bike Plan – Bicycle Information for New South Wales