Sydney and its surrounding regions are served by an extensive network of public transport services. According to the New South Wales State Plan, the state has Australia's largest public transport system. In the 1920s, Sydney had the Southern Hemisphere's largest tram network. Public transport in Sydney accounts for almost double the share of commuter journeys as in other state capitals. 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.
Sydney's notably low population density can be traced in part to its public transport network. The city, founded in 1788 acquired its public transport system relatively early on in its life — rail services began in 1855. Working-class suburbs could thus be built far from the city centre, whereas in older cities the need to maintain walking distance between residential and employment centres kept sprawl to a minimum.[1]
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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.[2]
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.
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.[3]
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.
Sydney's bus network has been divided into different regions. Of these regions, bus routes are classified with three-digit route numbers:
Special services are denoted by letter prefixes in their route number:
Currently, Sydney has two operating T-Way's:
Additional bus networks operate in the Outer Sydney region, which include:
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:
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.[4] 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, which is scheduled to be completed by 2010.[5][6][7] In 2007 a report found Cityrail performed poorly compared to many metro services from other world cities. [8] 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.
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 181 miles (291 km) in 1923. A short tramline linking Loftus station and the Royal National Park has operated since the 1990s as a museum and tourist attraction.
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.
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.
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. Sydney Ferries operates nine routes, with approximately 14,000,000 passengers per year.[9] 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.
Several private sector companies run passenger ferries in the Sydney region. These include:
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:
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