Buses in Sydney

Buses in Sydney

Route 333 at Circular Quay in the new Transport for NSW livery
Overview
Locale	Sydney
Transit type	Bus network
Annual ridership	212 million in 2014-15[1]
Website	transportnsw.info
Operation
Operator(s)	Busabout Busways Forest Coach Lines Hillsbus Interline Maianbar Bundeena Bus Service Punchbowl Bus Company Sydney Buses Transdev NSW Transit Systems Sydney

Distribution map showing the percentage of the employed population who travel to work by bus only, according to the Australian census 2011.

Buses are a major part of public transport in the city of Sydney, Australia. Services are operated by both a large government operator, the State Transit Authority of New South Wales (STA), and numerous smaller private operators. The STA generally operates services in Sydney's east, north, inner west and inner southern suburbs, a legacy of the former tram network, most of which were replaced by the current bus network in the late 1950s. The western suburbs and most of the southern suburbs are served by smaller private operators in contract areas.

Sydney Metropolitan Bus System Contracts

Bus companies in Sydney operate public and school services under contract to Transport for NSW for a period of seven years. There are 15 contract regions in Sydney (now 14), with each region operated by a single operator with the exception of Region 10 which has two operators. A requirement of the contracts is that operators adopt a white and two blues livery as prescribed by Transport for NSW.

Bus Operators in Sydney

This vehicle, operated by Transdev NSW, is painted in the Transport of NSW bus livery currently being adopted by all bus operators within the Greater Sydney Metropolitan Area.

There are currently ten bus operators in Sydney:

• Busabout

Operates Region 15 bus services in the Campbelltown and Camden areas

• Busways

Operates Region 1 bus services in the Blacktown, Mount Druitt, Penrith, Windsor, St Marys, Richmond and Rouse Hill areas, as well as services on the North-West T-way.

• Forest Coach Lines

Operate Region 14 bus services in Sydney's northern suburbs.

• Hillsbus

A subsidiary of ComfortDelGro Cabcharge. Operates Region 4 bus services from depots at Dural, Northmead and Seven Hills and runs services in the Baulkham Hills, Rouse Hill and Blacktown areas, as well as services on the North-West T-way.

• Interline Bus Services

Operates Region 2 bus services out of a depot in Macquarie Fields in the Liverpool and Glenfield area.

• Maianbar Bundeena Bus Service

Operates a Region 10 bus service between Maianbar and Bundeena

• Punchbowl Bus Company

Operates Region 5 bus services in the south and inner south western suburbs, from a depot at Riverwood.

• Sydney Buses

Government operator. A subsidiary of government-owned agency State Transit Authority. Operates Region 6 to 9 bus services in inner Sydney

• Transdev NSW

Operates Regions 10 and 13 bus services in Sydney's southern suburbs and Region 12 bus services in the North Shore.

• Transit Systems Sydney

Operates Region 3 bus services in Western Sydney and services on the Liverpool-Parramatta T-way.

Many more bus operators have either gone defunct or now only operate coach/charter services, since the late 1900s. Some operators failed to regain regions in the tendering of the bus service contracts. The latest bus operators to do so were Westbus, Metro-link Bus Lines and Hopkinsons whose Region 3 services were passed to Transit Systems Sydney on 13 October 2013, with Metro-link and Hopkinsons still operating coach/charter services.

Bus Fleet

Double-decker buses were a common sight in previous decades and have recently returned to Sydney. This particular example, painted in the Transport NSW livery, is operated by Hillsbus.

Most of the bus vehicles in Sydney are single-decker rigid buses, with various liveries of their own companies, although these individual liveries are being gradually phased out in favour of a common livery (named "Transport for NSW") shared between all bus operators in the region.^[2] Some bus operators also have articulated buses, for example, Sydney Buses uses articulated buses for its Metrobus as well as popular services such as 333 and L90. Double decker buses have also been introduced since 2012. So far, only Busways, Hillsbus and Forest Coach Lines have these double decker buses.

Bus Routes

Public bus routes in Sydney have three digits, mostly 100-999. Some of these three digits maybe a letter prefix followed by a two-digit number. Examples of these letter prefixes are the Metrobus which has the prefix M, or the T-way routes which have the prefix T. The exceptions to three digit route numbers are Busabout Camden routes which are 31-49. School services operated by some private companies also have four digits.

The three digit route numbers can be classified into nine groups:

• 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
• 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

Metrobus

Metrobus is a high frequency bus network around Sydney. They often link key employment and growth centres. There are currently thirteen Metrobus routes in Sydney. They are operated by both government and private operators. The first route M10 commenced in October 2008, as route 10.

Metrobus services run at a frequency of 10 minutes during peak periods, 15 minutes during off-peak weekday periods, and 20 minutes on weekends. Buses have low floor entry, are wheelchair accessible and fully air conditioned. They have a dedicated red livery, though occasionally other buses are used.

B-Line

B-Line is a future bus rapid transit route serving the Northern Beaches, planned for late 2017. The route includes nine stops at Mona Vale, Warriewood, Narrabeen, Collaroy, Dee Why, Brookvale, Manly Vale, Spit Junction and Neutral Bay with buses then heading to the Central Business District.

The project include providing real-time information at bus stops, constructing six new commuter car parks at Mona Vale, Warriewood, Narrabeen, Dee Why, Brookvale and Manly Vale and roadworks including new bus lanes, bus bays, minor lane widening and other road improvements to support bus services. Services will operate every five minutes in weekday peak periods, and every ten minutes at most other times of the day, including weekends. The service will use a new fleet of double decker buses.^[3][4]

NightRide

NightRide is a network of late night buses around Sydney. They operate between midnight and 05:00 on weekdays, and are operated by private operators. It was first introduced in 1989.

There are currently thirteen NightRide routes in Sydney. Most of them start or terminate at Town Hall railway station, with the exception of N20 which start from Rockdale and N100 which start from Railway Square. Passengers can board the N100 for free only at King's Cross citybound.

Bus lanes

Many roads in Sydney have bus lanes where only buses, emergency vehicles, taxis, bicycles and motorcycles are allowed. Many of them are operational for 24 hours, or during the peak hour. Cameras are often set up along bus lanes and drivers who break rules by driving along bus lanes at dedicated times are fined.^[5]

Dedicated bus only roads include a separate road in Moore Park which shadows parts of Alison Road and Anzac Parade,^[6] as well as dedicated roadways at the centre of M2 Hills Motorway^[7] and T-ways.

T-way

Sydney has two operating transitways (or T-ways):

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

These T-ways can only be used by buses or authorised vehicles. Cameras have been set up along the T-way and vehicles without unauthorised access are fined. Bus stops, or T-way stops,

There had been plans to built seven T-ways since 1998. Currently, only two had been completed. A third one was half completed and has been classified a branch of the North-West T-way.

Notes and references

External links

• Sydney Bus & Coach Transport
• Bus & Coach Directory
• Coach Bus Australia
• Bus & Coach Companies Australia