Month: July 2017

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Sydney Buses Route of the Week 17

Today’s request comes from Nick H and Zac Scott. It is for route 339. Route 339 currently operates between City Australia Square and Clovelly via Central, Moore Park, Centenial Park and North Randwick.
The 339 first began operation when the Clovelly to City tram line was closed in the 1960s. Until the introduction of Better Buses East in 2002, the 339 ran along George Street in both directions in the CBD and terminated at Millers Point. Better Buses East rerouted the 339 to run Northbound along Elizabeth Street and Southbound along Castlereagh Street through the CBD. In October 2012, the 339 was truncated to Australia Square due to poor patronage around Millers Point. In October 2015, the 339 was rerouted to run in both directions along Elizabeth Street and also had all peak hour services in both directions removed, repelaced with 338, X39 or X40 services.
Today the 339 runs every 20-30 minutes off peak and on weekends as well as every 45 minutes at night. The 339 operating hours are 5am – 7am, 9am – 4pm and 7pm – Midnight on weekdays and 6am – Midnight on Weekends. It takes 30-40 minutes to run the route end to end.
The 339 is predominantly operated by Randwick Depot using buses with either Ansair or Custom Coaches bodywork and Scania or Volvo Chassis. A limited number of services are operated by Waverley and Port Botany Depots using buses with Custom Coaches bodywork and Mercedes Benz Chassis.

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Guest Questions July

Welcome to our guest questions for July! Please continue to submit questions via our website and also through Instagram and Facebook.

When will you post again? – Anonymous

Soon! I’m going to be back with all the regular segments this August! All of the posts that were missed will be put up very very soon. I’m so sorry the posts have been missed. If you want to see what is coming up go visit our Instagram where all the posts are up to date.

Are printed F3/F4 timetables with Barangaroo avalible? – J. Nho

Yes, they are avalible and you can get them from the staff at Barangaroo Wharf or by putting in a mail request here.

Are printed timetables for Interline/Hillsbus/Other Operators avalible? – bst_secret_vlogs

Yes, they are avalible and you can request them through the individual operators website or through this link.

The Nine Ways intersection is now a nightmare since they installed lights, are they going to fix it? – C. Gee

Unfortaunly not. They will however change the phasing and layout over time. 

Is there a bus from Clovelly to Bondi Junction? – Anonoymous 

Yes and it’s this weeks route of the week. The 360 operates between North Clovelly and Bondi Junction. It operates through much of Clovelly.

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Ferry Friday 17

This week we are looking at Fantasea Crusing. They have been operating in Sydney since 2010 and operate a variety of services.

  • Yellow Water Taxis – Operates all across Inner Sydney Harbour
  • Shopper Hopper – Opertates between Circular Quay and the Harbourside and Birkenhead Point shopping outlet centres.
  • Harbour Highlight Tourist cruises from Circular Quay to destinations such as Watsons Bay and Taronga Zoo.

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Sydney Buses Route of the Week 16

Today’s request is from Zach A. has made route of the week, it is route 288. Route 288 operates between Epping and City Erskine Street via Macquarie Univeristy, Macquarie Park, North Ryde and Lane Cove. Some services Commerce or terminate at Macquarie Univeristy instead of travelling the whole route through to Epping.

Prior to October 2015, the 288 operated to City QVB. On October 4 2015, the 288 was rerouted to City King Street Wharf. It was later again rerouted to City Erskine Street due to congestion at King Street Wharf.

Route 288 operates every 15-20 minutes Monday through Saturday and has a half hourly service on Sundays. It operates between 6am and Midnight daily. services take between 45 and 65 minutes to operate end to end.

The route is operated by Willoughby Depot using buses with Scania Chassis and Ansair or Bustech bodywork. Ossacsionally sevices are operated by Ryde depot using buses with Mercedes Benz chassis and Custom Coaches bodywork.

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Ferry Friday 16

This week we are looking at Captain Cook Cruises who are one of largest private ferry operators on Sydney Harbour.

“Captain Cook Cruises began in Sydney in 1970 and for over four decades has proven to be the market leader and premier Sydney Harbour cruise line. Our fleet of restaurant, sightseeing, ferry and sailing vessels offer an exciting range of public cruises and private charters for 2 to 2000 guests.”

They operate four hop on hop off routes with 11 stops across the four routes with services on most routes beginning at 7am and concluding at 7pm daily. These services can be bought with a multi Day discount or in conjunction with attraction entry for futher discounts.

  • Darling Harbour
  • Circular Quay
  • Fort Denison
  • Taronga Zoo
  • Watsons Bay
  • Manly
  • Shark Island 
  • Garden Island
  • Luna Park
  • International Convention Centre (ICC Sydney)
  • Barangaroo

They also operate a commuter rocket ferry service between Sydney CBD and the Lane Cove River during Weekday Peak Hours.

Return rocket ferry between one of the following

  • Circular Quay
  • North Sydney Jeffrey Street Wharf
  • Darling Harbour

And one of the following Lane Cove River Wharves

  • Riverview College
  • Longueville Wharf
  • Northwood Wharf
  • Greenwich Bay Street Wharf
  • Greenwich Point Wharf
  • Birchgrove Long Nose Point

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Sydney Buses Route of the Week 15

Today our requests comes from Ben Ouvrier. It is for route 155. Route 155 runs from Bayview Village Garden to Manly via Mona Vale, Narrabean, Dee Why and Warringah Mall.
The route runs its entire length between 7am and 7pm daily on an hourly frequency. Much more frequent are short running between Manly and Dee Why which run 24 hours a day, 7 a days a week including a service every 15-30 minutes throught the day.
The route is operated by both Brookvale and Mona Vale depots which use buses with Custom Coaches bodywork and Volvo chassis which include both 12.5m and more recently, articulated buses. The use of articulated buses is warranted due to the high demand for buses from Manly to Warringah Mall and Dee Why

Photo Credit : @Sydney_Buses_CB60

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Private Buses Route of the Month 4

This month we have recieved a request for our featured privately operated by route from Lachlan Culverhouse. It is for Route 596 operated by Transdev NSW. The 596 is a loop service operating from Hornsby Station to Hornsby Heights and return.

The service runs between 5am and 10pm Monday to Friday with a half hourly frequency increasing to every 15 minutes at peak times. On Saturdays the service runs between 7am and 7pm on an approximate frequency of every 45 minutes. On Sundays the service runs between 8am and 6pm on a hourly frequency.

This service is located in Region 12 and is operated out of Transdev NSW’s Mount Kuring-Gai depot. This service is regularly operated by wheelchair accessible buses but some services are on older high floored buses. The buses operating the route include those with Mercedes Benz, Scania and Volvo chassis and Custom Coaches or Volgren bodywork.

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Ferry Friday 15

This week we are staring a series on the various Private operators that operate ferries in Sydney Harbour (Other than government owned, but privately run Harbour City Ferries). We are starting with Manly Fast Ferries.

Features of this line include 

  • 17 minute ferry trip from Manly to Circular Quay and Circular Quay to Manly
  • Hourly services between Manly & Circular Quay through the day, Monday to Friday.
  • Extra services operate on weekends and during summer months.
  • Services operate between Manly & Darling Harbour to Circular Quay, seven days per week
  • Bring your bicycle on board
  • Fully licenced with a bar onboard
  • Modern, clean & comfortable vessels with plenty of indoor & outdoor seating
  • Experienced & friendly staff with local sea knowledge
  • Discounted pricing for multi ticket purchase
  • Discounted ‘time of day’ pricing
  • Purchase tickets onboard or at our ticket booths located at Manly Wharf or at Circular Quay on the concourse close to Jetty 3

Hop on Hop off 24 hours passes are avalible to ride the service as many times as you like, this is particularly marketed at tourists with views of the Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Luna Park, Fort Denison, Walsh Bay and Sydney Heads billed as the highlights.

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Manly Ferry and Credit Cards

From Thursday 6 July, as part of a trial of contactless payments, people have beeN able to pay for their fare between Manly and Circular Quay on the F1 Manly Ferry service by tapping on using their Mastercard® card or mobile device linked to their Mastercard account. Contactless payments offer a convenient alternative to an Adult Opal single trip ticket without needing to buy a ticket from an Opal ticket machine.

How to use contactless

If your Mastercard card displays the contactless payment symbol or you have a mobile device linked to a Mastercard account, then you can use it to tap on the gates to pay for your fare. You can tap on at Opal card readers with a Mastercard credit card, debit card or enabled mobile device at the start of your trip.You will be charged the same as an Adult Opal single trip ticket.Opal benefits such as daily or weekly fare caps will not apply to contactless payments. You can only use your card or device to tap on for one fare per trip. You can reverse your tap on by tapping off again within 30 minutes of travel, just as you would with an Opal card. You will still be able to pay for your trip with an Opal card or Opal single trip tickets. If you are entitled to concession fares, you should travel with a Child/Youth, Concession or Gold Senior/Pensioner Opal card to avoid paying a higher fare. Make sure you separate your cards. If you tap your purse or wallet containing more than one contactless payment card (including an Opal card) on an Opal reader you could be affected by card clash. Please ensure the card or device used is separate from any other contactless-enabled card, including Opal cards. If an Opal card reader detects more than one card, it could take payment from a card you did not intend to pay with, or it may fail to register your card.

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SkiTube Railway

This week I’m actually skiing in Perisher! To celebrate, this week on Train Talk Tuesday, we will be looking at Perisher’s SkiTube!

SkiTube Alpine Railway is a standard gauge single track electric rack railway. It is located within the Kosciuszko National Park and has stations at Bullocks Flat, Perisher Valley and Blue Cow along its 8.5 kilometre length. It services the Perisher Ski Resort and only operates during ski season. It is 5.9 kilometres from Bullocks Flat to Perisher Valley, 2.6 kilometres above ground 3.3 kilometres underground on a 12.5% gradient. It is a futher 3.4 kilometres to Blue Cow. A passing loop is provided at the tunnel entry and at Perisher Valley Station.

The SkiTube was bulit during the large scale development of the Thredbo and Pershier Valleys for ski fields. Various options were explored for how to efficiently get guests up the mountain without roads. Other considered modes included a funicular railway and a gondola. It was decided at a rack railway was the best option, with a single track being comnsidered sufficent as Kosicuzizko Road is passable in Winter.

Construction commenced in October 1984, with tunnelling commencing in 1985. The line opened between Bullocks Flat and Perisher Valley on July 26 1987, with the line between Perisher Vallet and Blue Cow opened on March 31 1988.

The journey to Perisher Valley from Bullocks Flat takes about 11 minutes, and about 6 minutes from Blue Cow. Trains run between Bullocks Flat and Perisher Valley between 5am and 1am daily and between Perisher Valley and Blue Cow between 7am and 6pm. On Thursday through Saturday trans run all night. Services operate every 20 minutes between 7am-11am and 3pm-6pm, every 30 minutes between 6am-7am and 11am-3pm. An hourly service is provided on only request after 6pm. On Friday through Sunday, Luggage is prohibited on trains between 8am-10am and 3:30pm-5pm.

Services on the SkiTube are very popular, and passengers are advised to arrive well before the train departure time. Doors are closed to the Platforms at Bullocks Flat 1 minute before train departure. In some instances, passenger displacement has occured, particularly between Perisher Valley and Blue Cow on weekends and during school holidays and between Perisher Valley and Bullocks Flat on the last train before luggage is prohibited and the first train after the prohibition is lifted as well as on weekends when there is good snow.

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Two SkiTube trains at the passing loop in the snow (Photo: Perisher)
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A SkiTube train at Bullocks Flat Station
View of Blue Cow SkiTube station, with Mt Blue Cow in the background

 

The interior of an empty SkiTube train

 

The interior of a SkiTube train suffering from Overcrowding (Hi Hugo!)