Transport In Sydney
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Transport in Sydney is provided by an extensive network of public transport operating modes including
metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urb ...
,
train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...
,
bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
, ferry and light rail, as well as an expansive network of roadways, cycleways and airports. 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% with more than 80% of weekday trips to/from Central Sydney being made by public transport. According to the
New South Wales State Plan The State Plan, A New Direction for NSW is a document prepared by the New South Wales Premier's Department within the Government of New South Wales and released on 14 November 2006. The plan, modelled on South Australia’s Strategic Plan (Mar ...
, the state has Australia's largest public transport system. The public transport network is regulated by
Transport for NSW Transport for NSW, sometimes abbreviated to TfNSW, and pronounced as Transport for New South Wales, is an agency of the New South Wales Government established on 1 November 2011, and is the leading transport and roads agency in New South Wales, ...
.


History

Sydney's early
urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...
can be traced in part to the development of its passenger rail network as well as the availability of the
automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarde ...
as the dominant mode of transport–a similar history has shaped the transport and infrastructure of most major Australian cities.Forster, Clive 1996 ''Australian Cities: Continuity and Change''. Oxford University Press The first rail services began in 1855, 67 years after the settlement's foundation and a tram network which began in 1861, becoming 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. In terms of effectiveness and sustainability of public transport, Sydney lagged behind Brisbane and many other cities in a 2017 study by design firm Arcadis, where it was ranked at 51.


Ticketing

Transport for NSW public transport services use the Opal ticketing system. The rollout of this contactless system started in December 2012 and completed in December 2014. The previous generation of ticketing products were withdrawn in August 2016. Fares are controlled by the
Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal of New South Wales The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal of New South Wales (IPART) is an independent regulatory and pricing tribunal that oversees regulation in water, gas, electricity and transport industries in the Australian state of New South Wales. ...
. As of January 2009, Sydney public transport prices were slightly higher than in other mainland Australian cities.


Bus

Commuter bus services account for about half of the public transport journeys taken in the city on weekdays. Services are provided by private sector operators under contract to Transport for NSW. The largest private bus operator is
ComfortDelGro Australia ComfortDelGro Australia is a major Australian public transport company. Founded in October 2005 as ComfortDelGro Cabcharge, a joint venture between Singapore-based ComfortDelGro (51%) and Australian Cabcharge (49%), today it is a fully owned su ...
, owner of
Hillsbus Hillsbus is an Australian bus company that operates services in the Hills District, New South Wales, Hills District of Sydney. Founded in 2004 when National Express merged its Glenorie Bus Company and Westbus (Hills District operations only) sub ...
and
Forest Coach Lines Forest Coach Lines is an Australian bus and coach operator. Founded in 1930 in the Northern Suburbs of Sydney, since 2016 it has expanded with purchases in the Mid North Coast and North West Slopes regions in New South Wales. It is a subsidiar ...
. Other significant players include
Busways Busways is an Australian bus company operating services in Sydney, and in the Central Coast, Great Lakes, Mid North Coast regions of New South Wales and Adelaide. It is the largest privately owned bus operator in Australia. History The ...
,
Transdev NSW Transdev NSW is a bus operator in the northern, southern and western suburbs of Sydney, Australia, operating on behalf of Transport for NSW. It is a subsidiary of Transdev Australasia. It is a different subsidiary to Transdev John Holland, whi ...
and
Transit Systems Transit Systems Group is an Australian-based public transport company, which also operates overseas through its subsidiary Tower Transit Group. Transit Systems Group is a subsidiary of the Kelsian Group, formerly SeaLink Travel Group. History ...
Bus services in the regions surrounding Sydney are considered part of the metropolitan network. Outer-metropolitan services are provided by the private sector under contract to Transport for NSW. Here, ComfortDelGro Australia, Busways, Premier Illawarra and
Newcastle Transport Newcastle Transport is a public transport operator in Newcastle, New South Wales. A subsidiary of Keolis Downer, it operates bus, ferry and light rail services under contract to Transport for NSW. History and operations In November 2015, ...
are significant players.


Network

Sydney's bus network has been divided into different regions. Of these regions, bus routes are classified with three-digit route numbers. Currently, Sydney has two operating T-Ways: *The Liverpool-Parramatta T-way opened in 2003 *The
North-West T-way The North-West T-way is a continuous series of bus-only lanes and bus roadways between Parramatta, Blacktown and Rouse Hill in Western Sydney. Opened in stages between March and November 2007, the T-way was the second bus rapid transit route to ...
opened in 2007 Additional bus networks operate in the Outer Sydney region, which include: * Blue Mountains *
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...


Rail


Commuter Rail

Suburban rail services within Sydney are provided by
Sydney Trains Sydney Trains is the operator of the suburban passenger rail network serving the city of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The network is a hybrid urban-suburban rail system with a central underground core that covers over of track and 170 ...
. Sydney's suburban commuter rail service consists of a complex system of integrated railway lines, of which most run through the city underground. All city trains consist of eight double deck carriages with two crew members on board–driver and guard. Fares are calculated on the basis of distance travelled. Trains run from 4am until around 1am seven days a week with Nightride bus services covering the network throughout the night when trains are not operating. NSW TrainLink interurban trains operate from Central railway station to the
Illawarra The Illawarra is a coastal region in the Australian state of New South Wales, nestled between the mountains and the sea. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast region. It encompasses the two cities of Wollongo ...
, Southern Highlands, Blue Mountains, Central Coast and
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
. This station is also the terminus for NSW TrainLink's long-distance trains to numerous destinations in country New South Wales as well as Melbourne and Brisbane. The
Indian Pacific The ''Indian Pacific'' is a weekly experiential tourism passenger train service that runs in Australia's east–west rail corridor between Sydney, on the shore of the Pacific Ocean, and Perth, on the shore of the Indian Ocean – thus, like ...
also operates to Adelaide and Perth.


Rapid Transit (Metro)

Sydney Metro is a
rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be ...
line that opened in 2019 and runs from Sydney's north-western suburbs to its terminus at Chatswood, a major transport interchange. Construction is currently underway for the second phase of the line, where it will eventually pass through the city and then travel south-west to Bankstown. It currently consists of 13 stations and of twin tracks, mostly underground. Work is progressing to extend this line from Chatswood to
Bankstown Bankstown is a suburb south west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is located in the local government area of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, hav ...
, running under Sydney Harbour and the CBD with a scheduled 2024 completion. When completed, this line will have of twin tracks and 31 stations in total. Sydney is the first and currently the only Australian city with a fully automated
rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be ...
metro system. Despite extensive plans for an underground network in the past, disputes over privatisation and funding had hampered government approval, delaying its inception. In spite of difficulties getting the project off the ground, government approval for what was initially known as the North West Rail Link, Sydney's first underground metro, was given in 2013.


Freight

Freight services operate over most of the suburban railway lines in Sydney, however due to the high frequency of passenger services and the lack of freight only tracks, there is a curfew on freight movements during peak hours. The major interstate freight routes are the Main Southern and Main North lines, with the
Illawarra The Illawarra is a coastal region in the Australian state of New South Wales, nestled between the mountains and the sea. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast region. It encompasses the two cities of Wollongo ...
and Main Western lines serving lineside industries and as alternate interstate routes. In the inner city area the Metropolitan Goods lines connects major freight terminals to the main passenger lines and the
Southern Sydney Freight Line The Southern Sydney Freight Line (SSFL) is a freight only railway line in the south-western suburbs of Sydney, Australia. The line was built to segregate freight trains from the Sydney Trains network. It forms part of a dedicated freight only c ...
which runs parallel to the Main South line from the western end of the Metropolitan Goods lines to a point beyond the end of suburban services. As of 2013, construction of the
Northern Sydney Freight Corridor The Northern Sydney Freight Corridor (NSFC) was a project to improve access between Sydney and Newcastle for freight trains. Frequent passenger services operate on the Main Northern line between Strathfield and Broadmeadow. These passenger serv ...
is under way. This is a series of projects along the Main Northern line between Sydney and Newcastle aimed at increasing the number of freight trains operating along the route. The main traffic is
containerised freight Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers (also called shipping containers and ISO containers). Containerization is also referred as "Container Stuffing" or "Container Loading", which is the pr ...
. The main intermodal terminals are at
Enfield Enfield may refer to: Places Australia * Enfield, New South Wales * Enfield, South Australia ** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb ** Enfield High School (South Australia) ...
,
Moorebank Moorebank is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Moorebank is located 27 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Liverpool. Moorebank features a ...
(under construction), Yennora and
Minto Minto may refer to: Places Antarctica *Mount Minto (Antarctica) Australia *Minto, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Minto railway station * Minto County, Western Australia * Parish of Minto, New South Wales Canada * Minto City, British C ...
. Interstate trains to Sydney terminals are up to 1500 metres long, while short-haul container trains from the terminals to the Port Botany seaport are around 600 metres long. Coal services to
Port Kembla A port is a maritime law, maritime facility comprising one or more Wharf, wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge Affreightment, cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can a ...
are another major traffic. Freight operators include Crawfords Freightlines,
Southern Shorthaul Railroad Southern Shorthaul Railroad is an Australian rail freight services operator in New South Wales and Victoria. The company also provides workshop services, such as rolling stock manufacturing and wagon and locomotive maintenance. History Sout ...
,
Pacific National Pacific National is one of Australia's largest rail freight businesses. History In February 2002, National Rail's freight operations and rollingstock (owned by the Federal, New South Wales and Victorian Governments) were combined with Freig ...
, Qube Holdings and
SCT Logistics SCT Logistics is an Australian interstate transport company operating rail and road haulage, with facilities in Brisbane, Sydney, Parkes, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. History SCT Logistics was founded in 1974 as Specialised Container Tra ...
.


Trams and light rail

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 heritage tramway operated by the
Sydney Tramway Museum The Sydney Tramway Museum (operated by the South Pacific Electric Railway) is Australia's oldest tramway museum and the largest in the southern hemisphere. It is located at Loftus in the southern suburbs of Sydney. History Construction of th ...
has linked Loftus railway station and the
Royal National Park The Royal National Park is a protected national park that is located in Sutherland Shire in the Australian state of New South Wales, just south of Sydney. The national park is about south of the Sydney central business district near the loca ...
since the 1990s. In 1997, a short light rail line between Central and Pyrmont opened, now known as the
Dulwich Hill Line The Inner West Light Rail is a light rail line in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, running from Central railway station through the Inner West to Dulwich Hill and serving 23 stops. It is the original line of the Sydney light rail network ...
. The line was extended twice and is now 12.8 km long. A second line, passing through Sydney's CBD from
Circular Quay Circular Quay is a harbour, former working port and now international passenger shipping port, public piazza and tourism precinct, heritage area, and transport node located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on the northern edge of the Syd ...
to Randwick and Kingsford opened in stages between December 2019 and April 2020. There is also a planned line running from Westmead station to Carlingford via Parramatta station, reusing part of the old single tracked Carlingford line. The line is due to open in 2023. A second line is also proposed to branch from Camelia to Strathfield via Sydney Olympic Park. The Parramatta light rail lines will have no connection to the Inner West light rail or the CBD and South East light rail lines.


Punctuality

The punctuality of Sydney's rail network has been highlighted, and an April 2017 news report stated that "The punctuality of intercity trains lags behind suburban trains, and there was an extended period of declining punctuality between 2011 and 2014".


Ferry


Sydney Ferries

Sydney Ferries runs numerous commuter and tourist ferries on Sydney Harbour and the
Parramatta River The Parramatta River is an intermediate tide-dominated, drowned valley estuary located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. With an average depth of , the Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour, a branch of Port Jackson. S ...
. 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. 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 Taronga Zoo is a zoo located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, in the suburb of Mosman, on the shores of Sydney Harbour. The opening hours are between 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Taronga is an Aboriginal word meaning 'beautiful water view'. It ...
, a major tourist attraction. Sydney Ferries also operates sightseeing cruises for tourists.


Other passenger ferry operators

Several
private sector The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The ...
companies run passenger ferries in the Sydney region. These include: *
Church Point Ferry Church Point Ferry provides ferry services from Church Point, situated on Pittwater in the northern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The ferry provides an hourly service to Scotland Island and Ku-ring-gai Chase, where it stops a ...
, from Church Point to
Scotland Island Scotland Island is an island and suburb on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Church Point, Scotland Island's major mainland service locality, is located 32 kilometres north of the Sydney central b ...
* Cronulla and National Park Ferry, from
Cronulla Cronulla is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Boasting numerous surf beaches and swimming spots, the suburb attracts both tourists and Greater Sydney residents. Cronulla is located 26 kilometres south of the Sydne ...
to Bundeena * Dangar Island Ferries, from
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
to
Dangar Island Dangar Island is a forested island, in area, in the Hawkesbury River, just north of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Dangar Island is a suburb of Hornsby Shire and as at the 2016 census had a population of 303, which swells dramatically duri ...
* Captain Cook Cruises, from Circular Quay to Darling Harbour, Lane Cove and hop On/Hop Off loop service to
Taronga Zoo Taronga Zoo is a zoo located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, in the suburb of Mosman, on the shores of Sydney Harbour. The opening hours are between 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Taronga is an Aboriginal word meaning 'beautiful water view'. It ...
, Watsons Bay, etc. * Palm Beach Ferry, from Palm Beach to
Great Mackerel Beach Great Mackerel Beach is a suburb about 43 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, from 2016 in the local government area of Northern Beaches Council, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, formerly part of Pittwater Council. I ...
and the Basin, and to Ettalong Beach and Wagstaffe *Palm Beach & Hawkesbury River Cruises, from Palm Beach to Patonga


Vehicle ferries

Several car ferries form part of Sydney's road system. These ferries are controlled by a combination of the
Roads and Maritime Services ] Roads and Maritime Services (also known as Roads & Maritime Services) was an Statutory authority, agency of the New South Wales Government responsible for building and maintaining road infrastructure and managing the day-to-day compliance an ...
and local government, and are toll-free. They include: * Berowra Waters Ferry, across Berowra Creek * Lower Portland Ferry, across the
Hawkesbury River The Hawkesbury River, or Hawkesbury-Nepean River, is a river located northwest of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Hawkesbury River and its associated main tributary, the Nepean River, almost encircle the metropolitan region of Sydney. ...
* Mortlake Ferry, across the
Parramatta River The Parramatta River is an intermediate tide-dominated, drowned valley estuary located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. With an average depth of , the Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour, a branch of Port Jackson. S ...
* Webbs Creek Ferry, across the Hawkesbury River *
Wisemans Ferry Wisemans Ferry is a cable ferry across the Hawkesbury River in New South Wales, Australia. The ferry operates from the eponymous community of Wisemans Ferry on the south bank, to a point on the north bank downstream of the Hawkesbury River's ...
, across the Hawkesbury River * Sackville Ferry, across the Hawkesbury River


Roads

In Sydney, an expansive network of various
motorways A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...
and
road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...
s play a substantial and fundamental role, spurred by a high reliance on motoring as a means of transport. Collectively, 160 kilometres of motorways, freeways and tolled roads serve the Greater Sydney area and on average, the majority of households rely on at least 1 or 2 cars as a means of transport. However, despite this high reliance on roads, Sydney still maintains the highest rate of usage of public transport in Australia. The present highway network in Sydney and the rest of New South Wales, Australia was established in August 1928 when the Country Roads Board (the predecessor of the Department of Main Roads and the
Roads and Traffic Authority The Roads & Traffic Authority (RTA) was an agency of the New South Wales Government responsible for major road infrastructure, licensing of drivers, and registration of motor vehicles. The RTA directly managed state roads and provided fundin ...
) superseded the 1924 main road classifications and established the basis of the existing
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
(NSW) main road system. (the full list of main roads gazetted appears in the NSW Government Gazette of 17 August 1928). The number of a road for administrative purposes is not the same as the route number it carries e.g. the Great Western Highway is
Highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-acces ...
5 for administrative purposes but is signposted as part of route A32.) Many major routes in New South Wales, including Sydney motorways and even some routes named as "highways" are not officially gazetted as highways. For a list of all numbered routes in New South Wales, see List of road routes in New South Wales. While highways in many other countries are typically identified by number, highways in Australia, including New South Wales, are known mostly by names. These names typically come from 19th-century explorers, important
politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...
s or geographic regions. Major motorways and highways serving Greater Sydney include: *
Eastern Distributor The Eastern Distributor is a motorway in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Part of the M1, the motorway links the Sydney central business district with Sydney Airport. The centre-piece is a tunnel running from Woolloomooloo to Surry Hil ...
*
Southern Cross Drive :''Distinguish from the road of the same name in Cape Town, South Africa, on the eastern side of Table Mountain.'' The Southern Cross Drive is a dual carriage untolled motorway in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Part of the M1 and S ...
*
General Holmes Drive General Holmes Drive is a major divided road located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The road forms part of the M1, the A1, the Sydney Orbital Network, and the Australian Highway 1 network. Initially built in 1919 as a two-lane road ...
* M5 East Motorway *
M5 South Western Motorway The M5 Motorway is a motorway located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia that is designated with the M5 route and forms part of the Sydney Orbital Network. The M5 route number comprises two connected parts, separately owned and operated: * ...
*
Westlink M7 The Westlink M7 or M7 Motorway, formerly Western Sydney Orbital, is a tolled urban motorway in Sydney and is a part of the Sydney Orbital Network. Owned by the NorthWestern Roads (NWR) Group, it connects three motorways: M5 South-West Motorw ...
*
M2 Hills Motorway The Hills Motorway (also known as the Hills M2 Motorway, M2 Motorway or simply M2) is a tollway in north-western Sydney, Australia, owned by toll road operator Transurban. It forms majority of Sydney's M2 route and part of the 110 km Sy ...
*
Lane Cove Tunnel The Lane Cove Tunnel is an A$1.1 billion, 3.6 km twin-tunnel tollway in Sydney, Australia, which connects the M2 Motorway at North Ryde with the Gore Hill Freeway at Artarmon. It is owned by toll road operator Transurban and forms par ...
*
Gore Hill Freeway The Gore Hill Freeway is a divided freeway located in Sydney, New South Wales that is part of the Sydney Orbital Network and the Highway 1 (Australia), Highway 1. The primary function of the freeway is to provide an alternative high-grade rout ...
*
Warringah Freeway The Warringah Freeway (also known as the Warringah Expressway) is a divided freeway located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The freeway forms part of the M1, the Sydney Orbital Network, and the Highway 1 network. The primary f ...
* Sydney Harbour Tunnel (or
Sydney Harbour Bridge The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge in Sydney, spanning Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour from the Sydney central business district, central business district (CBD) to the North Shore (Sydney), North Shore. The view of the bridg ...
and
Cahill Expressway The Cahill Expressway is an urban freeway in Sydney and was the first freeway constructed in Australia, opening to traffic in 1958. It starts from the Eastern Distributor and Cross City Tunnel in Woolloomooloo, and runs through a series of ...


Cycling

Cycling in Sydney,
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
, Australia takes place for recreation,
commuting Commuting is periodically recurring travel between one's place of residence and place of work or study, where the traveler, referred to as a commuter, leaves the boundary of their home community. By extension, it can sometimes be any regul ...
and as a sport. Sydney has a hilly
topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sc ...
and so may require a slightly higher level of fitness from cyclists than flatter cities such as
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
and Canberra. Sydney depends heavily on motor vehicles where traffic and public transport operate at capacity. This means that cyclist are often competing with motorists for limited space on busier roads, and for limited government resources for expenditure on road infrastructure. In its favour, Sydney has a generally mild climate and there are active cycling groups. For the most part, cyclists ride on the road with motor vehicles (current regulations only permit cyclists under 16 years old to ride on the footpath. Historically, bicycle infrastructure was largely constructed in areas for recreational riding or along shared paths such as in parks. Prior to the involvement of Jan Gehl, the
City of Sydney The City of Sydney is the local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the greater metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament in 1842, th ...
created a Bicycle Action Plan in 2007, part of which involved building physically separated cycleways. In May 2009, the first of these, a 200m stretch along King Street in the CBD opened.


Taxis

Sydney and the surrounding areas of
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
are served by around 6,000 taxis, and the industry employs over 22,700 taxi drivers, the largest number of taxis and drivers in Australia. In general, individual taxis are owned by small-scale operators who pay membership fees to regional or citywide radio communication networks. These networks provide branding as well as telephone and internet booking services to operators and drivers. Fares are set by the
Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal of New South Wales The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal of New South Wales (IPART) is an independent regulatory and pricing tribunal that oversees regulation in water, gas, electricity and transport industries in the Australian state of New South Wales. ...
(IPART). Other aspects of the industry are regulated by the
Transport for New South Wales Transport for NSW, sometimes abbreviated to TfNSW, and pronounced as Transport for New South Wales, is an agency of the New South Wales Government established on 1 November 2011, and is the leading transport and roads agency in New South Wales, ...
and the
Roads & Maritime Services A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...
. The industry plays a self-regulating role through the New South Wales Taxi Council. Vehicle operators are represented by the New South Wales Taxi Industry Association and, in country New South Wales, by the New South Wales Country Operators Association. Drivers are represented by the New South Wales Taxi Drivers Association. The New South Wales Transport Workers Union purports to represent taxi drivers. Most regional centres have a local taxi network.


Airports

Sydney is primarily served by Sydney Airport, the busiest airport in Australia, serving up to 43 million international and domestic passengers on an annual basis. The airport is located 8 km from Sydney's city centre. An ever growing number of travellers passing through Sydney Airport has ultimately stressed its capacity, and subsequently, investment and construction for the new
Western Sydney Airport Western Sydney International Nancy-Bird Walton Airport, also known as Western Sydney Airport or Badgerys Creek Airport, is a new international airport currently under construction within the suburb of Badgerys Creek, New South Wales, Australia. ...
in
Badgerys Creek Badgerys Creek, also known as Badgery's Creek, is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of the City of Liverpool. It i ...
has taken place. Additionally, the Greater Sydney region is also served by smaller domestic airports such as
Bankstown Airport Bankstown Airport is an airport and business park located in the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, approximately from the Sydney Central Business District (CBD), Australia and west of Sydney Airport. It is situated on of land and has three pa ...
and Camden Airport which serve short distance and recreational flights from regional areas.


Sydney Public Transport statistics

The average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Sydney, for example to and from work, on a weekday is 82 min. 31% of public transit riders, ride for more than 2 hours every day. The average amount of time people wait at a stop or station for public transit is 13 min, while 18% of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is 9 km, while 21% travel for over 12 km in a single direction. Material was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.


Patronage

The 2010s have seen major investment in Sydney's public transport infrastructure. The introduction of a metro network and a significant expansion of light rail will lead to a substantial change in the city's modal mix as these projects are completed.


See also

* Taxis in New South Wales


References


External links


NSW TransportInfo
– comprehensive information on trains, buses and ferries.
NSW Bike Plan
– Bicycle Information for New South Wales {{Sydney public transport Sydney *