Sydney bus route 144 is operated by

Keolis Downer Northern Beaches Keolis Downer Northern Beaches is a bus operator in Sydney, Australia. A subsidiary of Keolis Downer, it operates services in Sydney Bus Region 8 on the Lower North Shore and Northern Beaches under contract to Transport for NSW. Its headquart ...

between

Manly wharf Manly Wharf is a heritage-listed passenger terminal wharf and recreational area located at West Esplanade and serving Manly, a Sydney suburb in the Northern Beaches Council local government area of New South Wales, Australia. Since the 1850s, ...

and Chatswood station. It was

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

's first government operated bus route.

History

In the late 1920s, White Transit Company commenced operating route 144 between

and Cremorne Junction where it connected with tram services. It ceased on 31 October 1931, when White Transit Company were forced out of business by the ''Transport (Co-ordination) Act 1931'' with its services deemed to be in competition with tram services, which the act prohibited.Operators of Renown…White Transit Co Ltd ''

Australian Bus Sydney Bus Museum (formerly the Sydney Bus and Truck Museum) is a not-for-profit transportation museum and education centre for public benefit located in the suburb of Leichhardt, in Sydney, Australia. The museum is open to the public on the fir ...

'' issue 52 July 2012 pages 10-15 On 25 December 1932, the service was recommenced by the

Government of New South Wales The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governmen ...

, with buses initially hired from White Transit Company. The service was an instant success with over 2,000 passengers carried on the first day alone. Route 144 has been extended multiple times from its original terminus at Cremorne Junction. On 1 April 1933, route 144 was extended to

St Leonards St Leonards may refer to: Places Australia *St Leonards, New South Wales **St Leonards railway station *St Leonards, Tasmania, suburb of Launceston * St Leonards, Victoria Canada *St. Leonard's, Newfoundland and Labrador New Zealand * St ...

, on 15 April 1965 to

Royal North Shore Hospital The Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located in St Leonards. It serves as a teaching hospital for Sydney Medical School at the University of Sydney and has over 600 beds. It is the prin ...

. and on 11 September 1988 to Chatswood station. From 20 December 2020, route 144 ceased to divert via Royal North Shore Hospital. At the same time overnight services commenced between Manly Wharf and as route 144N In October 2021 it was included in the takeover of region 8 by

Current route

Route 144 operates via these primary locations: *

Balgowlah Balgowlah is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Balgowlah (or Bulgowlah) said to be an Aboriginal name for "North Harbour". The area now known as Balgowlah was known to the Aboriginals as Jilling. Balgowla ...

* The Spit * Cremorne *

Neutral Bay Neutral Bay is a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Neutral Bay is around 1.5 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of North Sydney Council. Neutral Bay takes ...

* Crows Nest * St Leonards station *

Gore Hill Gore Hill is an urban locality on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Gore Hill is located within the southern part of the suburb of Artarmon, and the north-west of the suburb of St Leonards. History It takes its na ...

Artarmon Artarmon is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, 9 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Willoughby. History ...

* Chatswood station

References

{{Sydney public transport, state=collapsed Bus routes in Sydney