Category: Featured Bus Routes

Today our request comes from Zane Charters. It is for Route 438. Route 438 operates between Abbotsford and City Martin Place via Five Dock, Leichhardt, Parramatta Road and Railway Square.

Like many other bus routes between Sydney CBD and its inner suburbs, the 438 is based on the old Abbotsford tram line, with buses begining after its demise in the anklet 1950s. The 438 previously operated along George Street through to City Circular Quay. From October 2015, the route was redirected Northbound along Elizabeth Street and Southbound along Castlereagh Street alongside being truncated at City Martin Place.

The 438 operates a between 5am and 1am Sunday through Thursday and all night on Friday and Saturday evenings. It operates every 10-20 minutes throughout the day every day of the week. At night, services operate every 30-60 minutes. It takes between 35-60 minutes to operate the service depending on traffic conditions.

The 438 is predominately operated by Leichhardt depot using buses with Mercedes Benz chassis and Custom Coaches bodywork. During peak hour, some services are operated using articulated buses with Volvo chassis and Volgren bodywork.

This week’s Sydney Buses Route of the Week is the 360 as requested by Owen M. It operates between North Clovelly and Bondi Junction via Bronte and Waverley.

Historically, the bus route between Clovelly and Bondi Junction had route number 329, this dates back to at least the early 1960s. As of the Better Buses East network review in 2002, the route has been number 360 and extended to North Clovelly.

The 360 operates between 7am – 7pm daily, with services extending to 9pm on Thursdays due to late night shopping at Bondi Junction. Services operate every 10-20 minutes during peak hour and every 30 minutes off peak.

The service is operated by both Randwick and Waverley depots. Buses operating on the route usually have Mercedes Benz chassis and Custom Coaches bodywork.

This week our request comes from Jeff P. It is for Route 380 that operates between City-Circular Quay and North Bondi via Oxford Street, Paddington, Bondi Junction and Bondi Beach. A number of services extend to Watsons Bay via Dover Heights.

The 380 previously used to be the main bus route betweeen the CBD and Bondi Beach until the introduction of Route 333 in 2006 which officially replaced Route L82 but due to its much higher frequency, saw the frequency of the 380 halved.

The 380 operates between Circular Quay and North Bondi 24 Hours, 7 days with a service every 10-20 minutes at all times. Services extend to Watsons Bay between 9am – 5pm daily on a 20 minute frequency.

The service is usually operated by Waverley depot using buses with Mercedes Benz chassis and Custom Coaches bodywork. Some services are operated by Randwick Depot using buses with Mercedes Benz or Scania chassis and Ansair or Custom Coaches bodywork.

This week we have a request from Charlotte O. It is for route 507. The 507 operates between Circular Quay and Macquarie Univeristy via Victoria Road, Putney, Meadowbnk and Ryde. A large number of shortworkings exist with many services terminating or starting from Town Hall and Ryde instead of the end termini.

The 507 is one of many route to have perviously operated down George Street in the CBD, and did so from its inception until the October 2015 CBD network chnage which rerouted it down Elizabeth Street instead.

The 507 operates 6am and 9pm on Weekdays, services between 8am – 3pm operate the full length of the route. Services prior to 8am and between 3pm and 6pm terminate at Town Hall instead of Circular Quay and services before 8am and after 6pm terminate at Ryde instead of Macquarie University. A half hourly service is provided at peak times with an hourly service at other times. On Saturdays, services operate between 8am and 6pm with all services travelling the full length of the route on a hourly frequency. On Sundays, services operates between 8am and 6pm between Circular Quay and Ryde only on a hourly frequency.

The 507 is operated by Ryde Depot using buses with Mercedes Benz, Scania or Volvo Chassis and Custom Coaches bodywork.

This week, our route of the week is the 391 as requested by Lachlan Culverhouse. The 391 operates from Railway Square to Matraville via Surry Hills, Moore Park, UNSW and Eastgardens. Selected services continue on to either La Perouse or Port Botany.

Prior to the 2009 Eastern Region network changes, Route 391 used to operate to and from City Circular Quay using Elizabeth Street. From April 2009, it instead operated to and from City Australia Square. After the October 2015 CBD network reshuffle, the 391 was truncated and redirected to Railway Square.

Route 391 runs a half hourly service between 7am and 7pm daily, with travel times varying between 35-55 minutes depending on traffic and route diversions.

Route 391 is operated by Port Botany depot using buses with Mercedes Benz chassis and Custom Coaches bodywork or buses with Scania chassis and Bustech bodywork. During peak times, some services are operated by Randwick depot using buses with Volvo or Scania chassis and Custom Coaches bodywork.

Today our request comes from Eloise K for route 313. Route 313 operates between Coogee and Bondi Junction via Carrington Road and Charing Cross.

The 313 operates a daytime service only, with buses operating every 30 minutes between 7am-5pm to Bondi Junction from Coogee and every 30 minutes between 9am-7pm to Coogee from Bondi Junction Monday to Saturday. On Sundays, the services operates hourly between 9am-5pm in both directions.

Route 313 is operated by Port Botany, Randwick and Waverley depot using a wide variety of buses with Mercedes Benz, Scania or Volvo chassis and Bustech or Custom Coaches bodywork.

This weeks request comes from Eloise K. It is for Route 348 which operates between Bondi Junction and Wolli Creek via Randwick Junction, UNSW, Rosebery, Alexandria, St Peters and Tempe. 

Prior to 2009, the 348 operated from Bondi Junction to Alexandria as a weekday only industrial shuttle via Alison Road, Dacey Avenue and Lachlan Street, earlier number 48. From the April 2009 network review, the 348 was redirected to Wolli Creek and started operating via UNSW. From 2014 onwards additional weekday and new weekend services have been progressively added. In March 2017, due to light rail construction, the 348 was redirected to operate through Randwick Junction.

The 348 currently operates between 6am and 10pm on weekdays, 7:30am and 10pm on Saturdays and 9am and 8:30pm on Sundays. The services runs every 15-20 minutes during peak hour and every 30 minutes off peak and on weekends. The timetabled journey time varies greatly from 70 minutes during peak hour down to 35 minutes late at night. Despite this wild variations, peak hour services contually run very late and off peak services very early due to variable traffic conditions.

The service is operated by Randwick and Tempe depots using buses with Volvo or Scania chassis and Ansair, Bustech or Custom Coaches bodywork. A large number of these services are operated with older non-accessible buses.

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.

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