Sydney has the best public transport system in Australia, making it easy and convenient to get around the city. Trains or replacement buses run all night and return tickets purchased for use on a particular day are valid until 4:00am the following morning.
Click here for real time Sydney transport information to help you find the best public transport options.
The buses in central Sydney are operated by Sydney Buses. They are blue and white in colour. In and to the outer suburbs, there are buses operated by some 35 other companies, but most of your needs can be met with Sydney Buses. The buses go everywhere and are too numerous to list in detail. However, it is useful to note that the route numbers give a general guide to the destination of the buses.
Route groups are as follows.
100 - 199 Manly, Northern Beaches
200 - 299 Lower North Shore, Northern Suburbs
300 - 399 Eastern Suburbs
400 - 499 Inner Southern and Western Suburbs
500 - 599 North-Western and Upper North Shore
600 - 699 Parramatta and Outer North-Western Suburbs
700 - 799 Outer Western Suburbs
800 - 899 South-Western Suburbs
900 - 999 Southern Suburbs
There are also weekly travel passes for buses and ferries only (without trains). Although these are slightly cheaper, the buses tend to be rather slow and tedious for long journeys. The blue travel pass corresponds to the red area mentioned above in the Trains section.while the orange travel pass corresponds to the green area (but, of course without the train services).. The third pass is called the Pittwater Pass and includes all Sydney Buses services and all ferry services. In addition to the ordinary bus services, some special buses are operated by Sydney Buses, catering mainly to the requirements of visitors to the city. These services are the airport buses (green and yellow), which are routes 300 and 350, as mentioned at the start of this section, the Sydney Explorer bus (red) and the Bondi Explorer bus (blue). These buses are conspicuously different because of their colouring, and all require special tickets. They cannot be used with ordinary bus tickets or with travel passes. For further details, see the section on Tickets.
If you need assistance with buses, the telephone number to call is 131 500.
Sydney is a city which makes use of its harbour. Various ferry services operate, of which the most famous is the one to Manly. To this destination there are both conventional ferry services and Jetcat (fast catamaran) services. A Rivercat also operates to Parramatta in the west. To other destinations, only the traditional ferry services operate. The ferries are fun. They provide some beautiful views and they are also quite a quick way to reach the points which they serve. The city terminal is at Circular Quay, easily reached by train.
The conventional ferry services can be used with all of the travel passes, except that with the red and blue passes one cannot travel as far as Parramatta or any. Conventional ferries to Manly can be used with other passes at any time, but the Jetcats are available only after 7pm. Ticket offices are located at the entrance to each wharf at Circular Quay.
Harbour cruises are also operated by the ferry company. Morning cruises last one hour and afternoon cruises last for two and a half hours. Evening cruises last for one and a half hours. However, only with the afternoon cruise will you get to places which you cannot reach on an ordinary ferry.
Ferry Information Centre, Opposite Wharf 4, Circular Quay. 9207 3170.
Ferry Lost Property Office, Wharf 3, Circular Quay. 9207 3101
In August 1997, one tram route was reinstated in Sydney. It runs from Central Station via Darling Harbour to Lilyfield, a distance of 6.7 kilometers. This service operates 24 hours per day every day of the year. However, between 11pm and 6am services go only as far as Star City. Frequency is every ten to fifteen minutes during the day and every thirty minutes at night. There are two zones. Tickets for other forms of public transport cannot be used on the tram, except for a weekly tram plus monorail ticket.For information call 9285 5600.
Zone 1 stations
Central station for:
CityRail, Train and bus connections and trains to the airport.
Capitol Square station for:
Capitol Square; Capitol Theatre; George Street Cinemas; Radisson Hotel; Capitol Square Hotel; Pacific International Apartments; Royal Garden International.
Haymarket station for:
Chinatown; Sydney Entertainment Centre; Paddy's Markets; Market City; Chinese Garden of Friendship; Carlton Crest Hotel; Holiday Inn Darling Harbour; Mercure Hotel Lawson City West and the Novotel Century Hotel.
Exhibition Centre station for:
Darling Harbour; Sydney Exhibition Centre and Tumbalong Park.
Convention Station for:
Harbourside; IMAX; Sydney Convention Centre; Hotel IBIS Darling Harbour; Novotel Sydney Hotel; Grand Mercure Apartments, Goldsborough Apartment Hotel.
Zone 2 stations
Pyrmont Bay station for:
Australian National Maritime Museum; Cockle Bay Wharf; Harbourside; King Street Wharf.
Star city station for:
Lyric Theatre, Star city hotel and entertainment complex.
John Street Square station:
Centre of Pyrmont
Fish Market station for:
Sydney Fish Market
Wentworth Park station for:
Wentworth Park and greyhound track.
Glebe station for:
Glebe
Jubilee Park station for:
Bicentennial Park; Jubilee Park
Rozelle Bay station for:
Federal park
Lilyfield station:
Terminus
The elevated monorail service which runs round the city centre was opened in July 1988. It runs every three to five minutes between 7am and 10pm (later on Thursday to Saturday nights). A single trip of up to one complete circuit, takes twelve minutes. Tickets for other forms of public transport cannot be used on the monorail, except for the weekly ticket offering the use of both tram and monorail.(9285 5600).
There are plenty of taxis available in Sydney. Drivers come from all over the world and have some good stories about their many lives. If travelling on your own feel free to travel in the front. Sydney taxis are well managed and controlled. A taxi is smoke free zone, must be clean and tidy and well maintained. As a passenger in a Sydney taxi you have the right to decide the route, see the taxi meter, refuse multiple hiring, have the radio on or off, have the air conditioning on or off and see the Driver's photo identity card. You must pay the fare including any tolls and booking fees. This includes Sydney Harbour Bridge and Tunnel toll, you must not drink or smoke in the Sydney taxi, not swear and you must wear a seatbelt. The driver can refuse to take you if you appear drunk, using illegal drugs, smoking or unable to pay the fare.
Taxi fares are controlled and click for Sydney taxi fares.
You can just get on a bus, train or ferry and pay the appropriate fare, but there are ways of saving money by purchasing special tickets which are outlined in this section. The following special tickets are available.
TravelTen and FerryTen Tickets: These are tickets giving ten trips at the same fare on buses or ferries. TravelTen (for buses) offers discounts of about 25%. FerryTen (for ferries) offers discounts of 20% to 35%.
Seven Day Rail Passes: These passes are weekly tickets for a specified rail journey at about 7.5 times the single fare. There is no limit to the number of journeys which can be made within the period and boarding or alighting at intermediate stations is permitted.
Travel Passes: Travel passes cover train, bus and ferry services, or, alternatively, bus and ferry services only, within the chosen area for a period of seven days. If the pass is purchased after 3pm, the ticket may be used on that day, plus seven more days. Weekly prices are as follows. Red Travel Pass gives unlimited travel in City Rail services in the area bounded by Bondi Junction, Rockdale, Bardwell Park, Canterbury, Croydon, and Chatswood stations. Plus unlimited travel on Sydney Buses in the red area – zones 1, 3, 6 and 7 as well as unlimited travel on Sydney Ferries inner harbour services (the inner harbour includes all wharfs except Manly, beyond Meadowbank and premium services). Green Travel Pass increases the bus and city rail area and provides unlimited travel on all Sydney Ferries, excluding Manly JetCats and premium services. Yellow Travel Pass , Pink Travel Pass and Purple Travel Pass increase the area of both bus and train but does not include the Manly JetCats and premium services.
Blue Travel Pass (same as red area, but trains not included) Orange Travel Pass (same as green area, but trains not included) and the Pittwater Travel Pass (all buses and ferries; no trains) for details and transport information call 131 500.
BusTripper: This is a one-day ticket for use on all Sydney Buses, except special services.
DayTripper: This is a one-day ticket for use on all Sydney Buses, except special services, all ferries except the Manly Jetcat before 19:00, and suburban rail services in the area covered by the Purple Travel Pass.
CityHopper: This is a one-day ticket for trains and Sydney Buses within a small central city area, the limits of which are the stations of Redfern, North Sydney and King's Cross. There are two types of ticket: peak and off-peak. It is also possible to purchase the ticket from railway stations outside the area and include return travel to the city. Rates vary according to the length of the journey involved. You cannot break your journey outside the CityHopper area.
Sydney Explorer: This is a special bus service which travels round all the interesting sights of the city and King's Cross, crosses the harbour by the tunnel and returns via the Harbour Bridge. There is a commentary and the buses run every twenty minutes and are a conspicuous red colour. If you complete the whole circuit, it will take approximately one hour and forty-five minutes, but you do not need to go all the way round on one bus. You can get on and off as you please. You can also use any ordinary buses which are operating along the same route, except across the bridge and through the tunnel. Sydney Explorer buses operate from 8:40am until 5.30pm, but you can continue to use the ticket on ordinary buses until midnight.
Bondi Explorer: Building on the success of the Sydney Explorer, the Bondi Explorer offers much the same service for the Bondi area. The Bondi Explorer starts from Circular Quay and then goes round the coastline on a 30 kilometre circular route, a journey which takes two hours. Again there is commentary and again you can get on and off as you please. The Bondi Explorer buses are blue and operate approximately every thirty minutes from 9:15 until 16:30. You can also use ordinary buses operating along the same route, again up until midnight. A two-day Twin Ticket is also availableand allows the use of both Explorer services for two days (both services on both days). The two days do not need to be consecutive, but the second day must be within six days of the first.
Sydney Pass: This is a ticket which combines the services comprised in the red Travel Pass with other special services for visitors. Specifically trains, buses and ferries within the red Travel Pass area; Airport Express bus; unlimited travel during the validity, plus one return trip outside the validity of the Sydney Pass; Sydney Explorer services; Bondi Explorer services; Jetcat ferries as well as conventional ferries and Sydney harbour cruises. It can also be purchased for a period of three days or five days.. For these two periods the days do not need to be consecutive. They can be at any time within a one-week period. Bearing in mind that this ticket includes a free return trip from the airport, the return to be ompleted within two months, if you intend to use the Sydney Pass and are arriving by air, you should purchase at the airport and use the ticket to travel into town.
ZooPass: This ticket includes the return ferry across the harbour and admission to Taronga Zoo, with the Sky Safari ride.
AquariumPass: This ticket includes the return ferry ride to Darling Harbour (which can actually be reached quite easily on foot) and admission to Sydney Aquarium.
Transit shops have all the information, brochures and maps that you might need for Sydney transport. They are located at Circular Quay (near McDonald's); Wynard Station (Carrington Street); Queen Victoria Building (York Street Entrance). The Sydney Visitor Information centre at George Street, The Rocks and the Sydney Ferry Ticket Office at Wharf 4, Circular Quay will be able to help.
Water taxis buzz around the harbour and a quick way to travel. The water taxi rank is at Circular Quay or they will pick you up like a convential taxi by calling 9299 0199, 9955 3222 0r 9555 1155.
