Category: Featured Bus Routes

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.

Today our request comes from Jamie C and Margot C. It is for Route 377 which runs between Maroubra Beach and City Circular Quay via South Coogee, Randwick, Moore Park and Taylor Square. A small number of saturday morning trips begin at Randwick Depot instead of dead running to Maroubra Beach.

It operates between 5am and 1am daily. It has a frequency of 10-15 minutes in Peak hour, 30 minutes off peak and on weekends. It takes between 35 and 55 minutes to run from end to end depending in time of day and traffic conditions.

It is usually operated by Randwick Depot using buses with Volvo and Scania chassis and Custom Coaches bodywork. During peak hour this is supplemented by Port Botany depot.

This week our route of week request is from Josh Q and Madi W. It is the 470. It runs from Lilyfield to City Martin Place via Annandale, Forest Lodge, Broadway and Railway Square. 

The 470 began operation in the 1950s during the closure of Sydney’s tram network, duplicating much of the old Lilyfield tram route. Before October 2015, the service operated to City Ciruclar Quay along George Street through the city, however due to Light rail construction, the route was redirected to operate northbound via Elizabeth Street and Southbound via Castlereagh Street and was also truncated to City Martin Place.

The 470 operates daily between 5am and Midnight. The service runs every 5-8 minutes during peak hour, 15 minutes off peak Monday- Saturday, 20 minutes on Sunday and every half hour after 8pm. It takes between 30-45 minutes to opertate the route from end to end.

The route is operated by Leichhardt Depot using a variety of standard 12.5m buses with Mercedes Benz chassis and Custom Coaches bodywork and Articulated buses with Volvo chassis and Volgren bodywork.

This week request comes from Zach A and Oscar H. It is for route 292. It operates between Marsfield and City Erskine Strett via Macquarie Univeristy, Macquarie Park, North Ryde and Lane Cove. 

Before 2015, the 292 used to run to City QVB. In October 2015, the route was re-directed to operate to and from King Street Wharf. In June 2016, the route was once again re-directed to City Erskine Street to help better service the new nearby Barangaroo development and reduce congestion at King Street Wharf.

It operates daily between 6am and Midnight with a half-hourly service on weekdays and hourly service on weekends. The route has a large variation in travel time depending on time of day, with services taking between 42 and 68 minutes to complete the route.

Route 292 services are operated by Willoughby Depot using buses with a Ansair, Bustech or Custom Coaches bodywork and Scania Chassis. 

This week our route of the week is Route 374 operated by State Transit. It runs between Coogee Beach and City Circular Quay via Bream Street, Randwick Junction, Moore Park and Central Railway. Thanks to Eloise Kavanagh who requested this route.

Unlike most bus routes between the CBD and the Eastern suburbs, Route 374 actually predates the closure of the Sydney Tramways and is not based on any of the old Eastern Suburbs tramway routes.

Route 374 has a long history, beginning prior to the first government gazette on bus services in 1925. From an unknown date, at latest prior to 1925, Route 61 was operated between Coogee and Central Railway via Darlinghurst by the Coogee Omnibus Co. The route was altered to become a feeder service between Coogee and Randwick Junction due to its competition with the tramways from 31 October 1931. From 8 December 1931, Route 61 was replaced by the new route 74. This new route operated between Coogee and Daceyville by Mrs EL Tollhurst. It was later extended to Maroubra Junction from 21 May 1937.

On 4 January 1938, Route 74 was taken over by the Department of Road Transport and Tramways (DRTT). The DRTT reorganise the route so that Route 74 serviced the corridor between Coogee and City York Street, whilst the Randwick to Maroubra Junction section of the route was amalgamated with the existing route 159 Rose Bay to Randwick Service to become the Route 159 Rose Bay to Maroubra Junction service. Route 74 was allowed to operate alongside the tramways as it was not technically competing with it, as the route was being run by the tramway department. At this time Coogee terminus changed from Coogee Beach to Coogee Mount Street, located at the current site of Barden Park.

The route was renumbered the current 374 from 12 May 1940. Between May and September of 1942, the route was extended to Birchgrove on Sundays. However from 27 September 1942, all Sunday service on the route was cut. At an unknown date in the late 1940s, Sunday service was reintroduced, but from 22 June 1952 was cut to run was a tramway feeder service between Coogee Mount Street and Randwick Junction. Later on 9 November 1952, all off peak and weekend services were cut to run as tramway feeder services. From 23 October 1960, the Coogee terminus was moved to Coogee Beach and a day later on 24 October 1960 the City terminus was moved to City Spring Street. From this time all services operated the the full length of the route due to the closure of the Coogee Tramway.

From 25 June 1979 the 374 terminus was moved to City Circular Quay where it remains to this day. Better Buses East was introduced in 2002 and saw Route 374 rerouted away from Darlinghurst to operate via Central Railway. The current incarnation of Route 374 has been in operation since 4 October 2015, when minor changes were made to the route in the CBD in response to major network changes necessitated by construction of the CBD and South East Light rail project. It has been rumoured that due to the largely overlapping nature of Route 374 and the light rail project that the 374 may once again see major changes. This could potentially see be relegated to a tramway feeder service in the future, although plans sighted by Transport NSW Blog have also suggested a rerouting to Edgecliff Interchange via Darlinghurst.

The first inbound 374 service from Coogee Beach departs at 6am on weekdays and 6:30am on weekends. The first outbound 374 service from City Circular Quay departs at 7:15am daily. The final inbound 374 service from Coogee Beach departs at 11:30pm Monday through Saturday and at 10:45pm on Sundays. The final outbound 374 service from City Circular Quay departs at 12:10am daily. On average Route 374 takes 39 minutes to operate, with traffic condition variations seeing this fluctuated between 34 and 54 minutes depending on time of day. Route 374 has a peak frequency of every 10 minutes, off peak and weekend frequency of every half hour and a late night frequency of every 45 minutes.

State Transit operates Route 374 out of its Randwick Depot, with assistance from Port Botany and Waverley Depots. It is serviced using regular 12.5m buses, with most services operated by modern, low floor accessible, air-conditioned buses.

This weeks request is from Tom E. Our route of the week is the 301. The route 301 runs from City Circular Quay to Eastgardens via Surry Hills, Zetland, Eastlakes and Mascot. A large number of services operate as short-running only terminate at Mascot or Zetland

The service runs 24 hours daily between Circular Quay and Zetland, between 6am-1am daily to Mascot and 9am-6pm daily to Eastgardens. The service runs every 30 minutes through the day and on-weekends, with an hourly service overnight. During peak times, buses run every 10 minutes to Mascot and every 5 minutes to Zetland.

The 301 operates out of Randwick and Port Botany depots using a large variety of buses with Iveco, Mercedes-Benz, Scania or Volvo chassis with Ansair, Bustech, Custom Coaches or Volgren bodywork.

This week, another requested route has made our route of the week. thanks to Eloise K. for requesting route 353.

The 353 runs from Bondi Junction to Eastgardens via Waverley, Coogee, Maroubra Beach and Maroubra Junction. The 353 leaves from Stand E in Bondi Junction and the lower level at Eastgardens.

The services runs between 7am and 8pm and has a frequency of every 20 minutes in peak times and 30 minutes off peak and on weekends, with extra services running increasing the frequency to every 10 minutes between Coogee and Bondi junction in the AM peak and Bondi Junction and Coogee in the PM peak. The service takes between 30-40 minutes to run end to end.

It is operated by a large variety of buses from Port Botany, Randwick and Waverley depots that have Custom Coaches and Bustech bodywork and Mercedes Benz, Volvo and Scania chassis.

We have recieved many request for your favourite bus routes to be route of the week. From this week onwards we willbe moving through the requested routes. This week our route of the week is the 506 as requested by Finn C. and Charlotte O. 

The 506 operates from The Domain to East Ryde via the Sydney CBD, Rozelle, Drummoyne and Hunters Hill. Selected weekday daytime services extend from East Ryde to Macquarie Univeristy via North Ryde and Macquarie Park.

Previously the route operated to Circular Quay not The Domain but it was re-routed in October 2015 due to light rail construction. 

The service runs every 30 minutes to Macquarie Univeristy between 7am-5pm Monday to Saturday with the journey taking between 55-75 minutes. It runs every between 6am-Midnight daily to East Ryde, with services every 10 minutes during peak, 30 minutes off peak and on-weekends and hourly at night.

The 506 operates out of Ryde Depot using a variety of buses with Mercedes-Benz or Volvo Chassis and Custom Coaches and Volgren bodywork.