Public Transport in Sydney - Bus

Bus

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.

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.