Transporting Sydney, one early bus at a time
Each month we feature a bus route from around Sydney or NSW and investigate the past and present of its operation.
Route M40 is a Metrobus route between Bondi Junction and Chatswood via Taylor Square, Sydney CBD and Willougbhy. It commenced operation on 18 July 2010.
The M40 runs every 10 minutes during peak periods, 15 minutes during off-peak weekday periods, and 20 minutes on weekends. It operates between 6am and 8pm daily.
The M40 usually operates using articulated “bendy” buses from North Sydney, Waverley and Willoughby depot. These buses are sometimes substituted by 12.5m buses.
Route M30 is a Metrobus route which operates between Taronga Zoo and Sydenham via Mosman, Sydney CBD, Sydney University and Newtown.
The service originally ran from Spit Junction to Enmore, beginning operation on 28 March 2010. On 25 April 2010, the service was extended to Sydenham as Enmore was consider to be a poor terminus location. From 4 October 2015, the service was changed to operate along Elizabeth Street in the City due to light rail construction on George Street. On 26 November 2017, the M30 was extended to Taronga Zoo.
The M30 runs every 10 minutes during peak periods, 15 minutes during off-peak weekday periods, and 20 minutes on weekends. It operates between 6am and 8pm daily.
The M30 usually operates using articulated “bendy” buses from North Sydney or Tempe depot. These buses are sometimes substituted by 12.5m buses.
The M20 is a Metrobus route that operates between Gore Hill and Botany via North Sydney, Sydney CBD, Rosebery and Mascot.
The route was initially intended to run from Lane Cove Interchange to Sydney Airport, however disagreements with both Lane Cove Council and Sydney Airport forced the termini to be located in Gore Hill and Mascot instead.
Services commenced on 26 October 2009 between Gore Hill and Mascot as the second Metrobus route. From 27 February 2011 the service was extended to Botany Shops.
The M20 has been the most successful Metrobus service, with the route experiencing passenger displacement during peak hours, particularly on the inner southern portion of the route through densely populated Surry Hills, Waterloo and Zetland. This led to short runnings of the service during peak hour and after existing operating hours between City Wynyard and Zetland beginning on 4 October 2015.
Services operate along the entire length of the route between 6am and 8pm daily. Frequencies vary from 10 minutes during peak, 15 minutes off peak and 20 minutes on weekends. Between City Wynyard and Zetland the service operates between 4am and Midnight, with a frequency of 5 minutes in peak hour, 15 minutes off peak, 20 minutes on weekends and late at night.
The service is predominantly operated using articulated “bendy” buses from Port Botany and Tempe depot. Some late night services use standard 12.5m buses from Tempe.
Metrobus is an Australian high frequency, high capacity bus network in Sydney that links key employment and growth centres. There are 13 routes with all route numbers are prefixed with an “M” followed by 2 numbers. There are three Metrobus operators, STA with routes M10-M54, Hillsbus with routes M60-M61 and Transdev with routes M90-M92.
13 Routes, 13 Posts, This March we will be featuring all the Metrobus routes, starting today by revisiting the M10 which we previously looked at.
The M10 runs from Maroubra to Leichhardt via UNSW, Taylor Square, Central Station and Parramatta Road
Route M10 was the original route in the Metrobus network, launched on 12 October 2008. It was part of an attempt to provide a bus rapid transit network in Sydney providing an increase in services on busy corridors and also to reduce the number of buses terminating in the CBD where lay-over space is limited.
It initally ran from Kingsford to Leichhardt Marketplace via Town Hall howver the route has had numerous modifications. In 2009 the the route was changed to Maroubra Junction to Leichhardt Town Hall due to availability of suitable bus stops and layover space, in 2011 it was extended to Leichhardt Pioneer Park. In 2015, the part of the route via Town Hall was removed from the route due to the construction on the CSELR.
The service runs every 10 minutes during peak hour, every 15 minutes off peak and every 20 minutes at night and on weekends. The hours of operation are from 6am-8pm daily.
The service is operated by a fleet of Volgren or Custom Coaches bodied Volvo B12BLEA articulated buses from Leichhardt and Port Botany depots.
This month for our featured bus route we step away from the STA and back into the realm of private operators.
Route 887 between Campbelltown and Wollongong via Macarthur, Appin, University of Wollongong and North Wollongong is operated by Busabout. During School Holidays, selected morning services towards Wollongong and afternoon services towards Campbelltown divert via Wollongong Beach.
Initially a commuter run with just a few peak hour services in each direction, the 887 has become very popular with not only workers but Uni Students and day trippers. For years this surge in patronage was ignored despite constant pressure from Local MPs, UOW and the Local Media. There were just five weekday services and two weekend services all of which suffered from chronic overcrowding, until the service was finally upgraded in November 2017.
Today the service runs hourly between 6am and 8pm on weekdays, with a half hourly service during peak hours. It runs every two hours between 9am and 5pm on weekend. There are sporadic extra trips that only operate between Campbelltown and Appin, particularly during peak hour and on weekend. The service no longer suffers from overcrowding but still remains extremely popular,
Happy New Year! This year we will be having a featured bus route each month, so get requesting and see if your choice makes the top 12!
Our featured route this month is the 373 which operates between Coogee and City Circular Quay via Randwick Junction, Moore Park, Taylor Square and Elizabeth Street.
The 373 is one of the routes designated as a high priority Suburban route in the Sydney Bus Future report. This means that it runs 24/7 at a high frequency with stops every 800 or so metres along the route. The corridor it services is being further upgraded with the introduction of light rail between. Randwick and City Circular Quay, which may see the route take more of a back seat role in the future
Much like many other Eastern Suburbs bus routes, the 373 largely duplicates an old tram line. It began operation in its current state in 1960 as a replacement for the Coogee tram line which had just closed down.
The service currently operates 24 hours with high frequency. It runs very 5 minutes in the peak, every 10 minutes off peak and on weekends and every half an hour overnight.
It is operated out of STA’s Randwick Depot, with some services also operating out of Port Botany and Waverly depots during peak hours. It is serviced by a mix of regular 12.5m buses and high capacity 18m articulated buses.
This month’s Featured Bus Route is the new B1 B-Line. The B1 B-Line is a new turn up and go Bus Rapid Transit route operating on the Lower North Shore and Northern Beaches between Wynyard and Mona Vale. It was introduced last weekend on Sunday 26 November 2017, primarily as a replacement for the L90 service.
The B1 B-Line is operated by a fleet of brand new MAN ND323F buses with Gemilang Eco Double-Deck bodywork from Mona Vale depot. The service runs between 5am and Midnight daily, with services every 5 minutes during peak, 10 minutes off peak and on weekends and 15 minutes in the evenings.
The B1 B-Line is a limited stops service. It only stops at Wynyard, Neutral Bay, Spit Junction, Manly Vale, Warringah Mall, Dee Why, Collaroy, Narrabeen, Warriewood and Mona Vale. A planned extension to Newport is currently under construction.
This service is unique in that is uses foreign built buses, offers free wifi, next stop screens and announcements as well as USB ports at every seat. At all stops along the route real time schedule and capacity screens have also been installed.
As requested, this month we are doing one of the Northern Beaches routes that will disappear after the round of timetable changes later this month. The L88 operates between City Wynyard and Avalon via Spit Junction, Warringah Mall, Dee Why and Mona Vale in that direction only. Inbound services are instead listed as short workings of the L90.
The L88 runs every 30 minutes daily between 6am and 10pm, with higher frequency during evening peak hour. It operates using articulated 18m busses from Mona Vale and Brookvale depots.
This month our featured bus route is the 303. Route 303 operates between Sans Souci and City Circular Quay via Brighton-Le-Sans, Mascot, UNSW and Surry Hills.
There have been suggestions in the past that this route is ineffective as a route to the CBD, with many people living along the far southern part of the route preferring railway feeder services to the nearby Illawarra Rail Line and the Northern Part of the route being duplicated by numerous bus routes. Various proposals have suggested that the route be modified to operate between Miranda and Bondi Junction or to re-route the service via West Botany Street and Sydney Airport. None of these proposals have come to fruition due to community backlash.
The service operates between 6am and 8pm, with short runnings to and from Mascot continuing to 10pm. The service runs every 20 minutes in peak hour, 30 minutes off peak and hourly on weekends. It is operated by Port Botany and Tempe depots.
This week our route of the week is the X74, as requested by Eloise K.
Route X74 operates slightly different routes depending on the direction. On the inbound it operates from Coogee North to City Museum, with pick up to Randwick Junction, the express via Moore Park and the ED, setting down from City Chifley Tower. Outbound it operates from City Australia Square to Coogee North, picking up to City Museum, the express via Taylor Square and Moore Park, setting down from Randwick Junction.
The route runs every 5-10 minutes inbound in the AM peak between 7am and 8:30am and every 10-15 minutes outbound during the PM peak between 5pm and 6:30pm.
The route is operated by Randwick depot, with assistance from Port Botany and Waverley depots.
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