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![]() Volgren bodied Volvo B8RLE in Transport for NSW livery in December 2021 | |
Statutory Authority overview | |
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Formed | 16 January 1989 |
Preceding Statutory Authority | |
Jurisdiction | Sydney |
Headquarters | Sydney |
Minister responsible | |
Statutory Authority executive |
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Parent Statutory Authority | Transport for NSW |
Key documents | |
Website | State Transit |
The State Transit Authority of New South Wales, also referred to as State Transit, was an agency of the Government of New South Wales operating bus services in Sydney. Superseding the Urban Transit Authority in 1989, it was also responsible for the provision of ferry services in Sydney until 2004 and bus and ferry services in Newcastle until 2017. It ceased trading after 2 April 2022 with its remaining operations to be contracted out by Transport for NSW to replacement operators. The New South Wales Government has not yet put forward a bill for the dissolution of the State Transit Authority of NSW.
In view of its political sensitivity, the agencies responsible for public transport in New South Wales are frequently restructured. Buses and ferries were the responsibility of the Department of Government Transport until 1972, when it was merged with the Department of Railways New South Wales to form the Public Transport Commission.
In July 1980, the Transport Authorities Act 1980 (NSW) separated the functions of the Public Transport Commission with the State Rail Authority taking responsibility for trains, and the Urban Transit Authority responsibility for buses and ferries. [1]
In January 1989, the Transport Administration Act 1988 (NSW) restructured the Urban Transit Authority as the State Transit Authority, taking over the private bus service functions of the Department of Motor Transport. [2] In October 1989, the Chullora Bus Workshops closed with a smaller facility established at Randwick for mechanical repairs with body repairs contracted to the private sector. The remaining four hydrofoils were replaced by three JetCats and the MetroTen ticketing system introduced a few years before was replaced with the Automated Fare Collection System. The Opal card ticketing system was rolled out from 2013.
In December 1999, North & Western Bus Lines was purchased followed in February 2000 by Parramatta-Ryde Bus Service. [3] [4]
In 2004, the STA's Sydney Ferries business was separated into a separate agency, Sydney Ferries Corporation. In January 2005 most of former Harris Park Transport routes were taken over from Hillsbus, which were then returned to Hillsbus in September 2005 with the exception of routes 623, 624, 628 and 629. On 13 October 2013, the Western Sydney Buses route T80 was taken over by private operator Transit Systems. [5]
Bus services in Sydney were operated under the Sydney Buses brand until 2016, when rebranded as State Transit.
Until 30 June 2017, State Transit also operated services in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie through Newcastle Buses & Ferries. These services are now operated by Newcastle Transport. [6]
In February 2018, Transit Systems won the tender to take over State Transit's Sydney Bus Region 6 from 1 July 2018, including Burwood, Kingsgrove, Leichhardt and Tempe depots and 600 buses. [7] In October 2019, it was announced that State Transit's remaining three bus regions are to be contracted out in early 2020. [8] Region 8 was taken over by Keolis Downer Northern Beaches in October 2021 with 410 buses operating out of Brookvale, Mona Vale and North Sydney depots. [9] Region 7 was taken over by Busways in January 2022. [10] Region 9 was taken over by Transdev John Holland in April 2022. [11] [12]
The State Transit Authority also comprised three former business units.
Sydney Ferries is the public transport authority for ferry services on Port Jackson in Sydney. It was established in 2004 as a government agency, separate of the State Transit Authority. [13]
Formed in 2003, Western Sydney Buses operated route T80, a bus rapid transit service in Western Sydney on the Liverpool–Parramatta T-way. Passengers made 2.77 million journeys with Western Sydney Buses in the 2011/12 financial year. [14] Western Sydney Buses operated out of a corner of Westbus' Bonnyrigg depot. [15]
In November 2012, Transit Systems won the tender for Sydney Bus Region 3 which included route T80 with the service and 22 buses transferring on 13 October 2013. [15] [16]
Newcastle Buses & Ferries was a bus and ferry service operator in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie. It operated 28 bus routes plus a ferry service across the Hunter River between Queens Wharf and Stockton. The network radiated from a bus terminal near Newcastle station. Major interchanges were located at the University of Newcastle, Wallsend, Glendale, Warners Bay, Belmont, Charlestown Square and Westfield Kotara.
Newcastle Buses & Ferries ceased trading on 30 June 2017, with Newcastle Transport taking over. [6]
State Transit operated services in Sydney Metropolitan contract regions 6 to 9.
For school bus services, State Transit used 5/6/7xx series route numbers suffixed with E for East, N for North and W for West, while 89x routes were used for University of New South Wales services. [17] Such university routes ceased as from Monday 21 December 2020, having been replaced by the CBD and South East Light Rail. [18]
State Transit inherited a fleet of 1,565 Leyland Leopards, Mercedes-Benz O305s, Mercedes-Benz O405s and MAN SL202s from the Urban Transit Authority. [19] New buses were primarily purchased from Mercedes-Benz, Scania and Volvo. The fleet peaked at 2,172 buses in June 2017 before privatisation commenced. [20]
In the early 1990s, State Transit adopted a white and blue livery with a red stripe. This livery with minor variations was retained until 2010, when the Transport for NSW white and blue livery was adopted. Buses dedicated to Metrobus services were painted in a red livery.
In 2017, State Transit purchased its first double-decker buses for use on B-Line services. These were painted in a yellow and blue livery. [21]
Prior to privatisation, State Transit operated 14 depots.
A fifteenth depot in Enfield closed in September 1989 being sold to the Maronite Church in 1993. [22] [23]
Westbus was an Australian bus and coach operator that operated bus services in Western Sydney from 1955 until October 2013. Founded by the Bosnjak family, it later became a subsidiary of National Express and later ComfortDelGro Cabcharge.
The Urban Transit Authority, a former statutory authority of the Government of New South Wales, was responsible for the operation and maintenance of buses and ferries in Sydney and Newcastle from July 1980 until January 1989.
Hillsbus was an Australian bus company that operated services in the Hills District of Sydney. Founded in 2004 when National Express merged its Glenorie Bus Company and Westbus subsidiaries, it was later part of ComfortDelGro Australia. In early 2023, the Hillsbus brand was replaced by ComfortDelGro's CDC NSW brand.
The Liverpool–Parramatta T-way is a continuous series of bus-only lanes and bus roadways between Parramatta and Liverpool in Western Sydney. Completed in February 2003, the 31 km (19.3 mi) T-way was the first bus rapid transit infrastructure to be built in Sydney.
Transdev Shorelink was an Australian bus company operating services in the northern suburbs of Sydney. It was a division of Transdev. In 2013, Transdev Shorelink was absorbed into Transdev NSW. Rebranding into Transdev NSW did not happen until 2014.
Buses account for close to six per cent of trips each day in the city of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, forming a key part of the city's public transport system. The network initially evolved from a privately operated system of feeder services to railway stations in the outer suburbs, and a publicly operated network of bus services introduced to replace trams in the inner suburbs. The bus network has undergone major reforms since the 2000s–2010s, with the New South Wales Government taking responsibility for route and fare-setting, opening contracts for most routes up to competitive tendering, and introducing more cross-suburban services.
Transdev NSW was a bus operator in the northern, southern and western suburbs of Sydney, Australia. It was a subsidiary of Transdev.
Busabout Sydney was a bus company that operated route bus services in South West Sydney, Australia. It operated on behalf of Transport for NSW.
Busways is an Australian bus company operating services in Sydney, and in the Central Coast, Mid North Coast regions of New South Wales and Adelaide. It is the largest privately owned bus operator in Australia.
Newcastle Buses & Ferries was a commuter bus and ferry service operating in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie from 1935 until 2017. Part of the State Transit Authority, it operated 26 bus routes and the Stockton ferry across the Hunter River.
Parramatta ferry wharf is located near the source of the Parramatta River, serving the Sydney satellite city of Parramatta.
The Sydney Metropolitan Bus Service Contracts are contracts issued by the Government of New South Wales to metropolitan bus operators in Sydney, Australia, to operate its public bus route network. Since 2005, the government has moved from individual contracts with operators to larger contract regions, leading to the consolidation of bus operators.
Metrobus is a high frequency, high capacity bus network in Sydney, Australia, first introduced in 2008. Metrobus services run every 10 minutes during peak periods, 15 minutes during off-peak weekday periods, and 20 minutes on weekends, linking key commercial suburbs and centres throughout the city, with the intention of making timetables obsolete. All buses were initially painted in a distinctive red livery but recently, the standard Transport for NSW livery of blue and white has been adopted. All Metrobus services are wheelchair accessible. All route numbers were prefixed with an "M" followed by a two-digit number.
Transit Systems NSW, previously known as Transit Systems Sydney, is a bus operator in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is a subsidiary of Transit Systems.
Transdev Australasia is an operator of bus, ferry, light rail and heavy rail services in Australia and New Zealand. It is a subsidiary of French-based, international Transdev. It was formed in 2013 by grouping the operations of Veolia Transport Australia and former Transdev together, as a result of the global rebranding from Veolia Transdev to Transdev.
The Outer Sydney Metropolitan Bus Service Contracts (OSMBSC) are contracts issued by the Government of New South Wales to bus operators in areas surrounding Sydney. These regions include the Hunter Region, Central Coast, Illawarra and the Blue Mountains. In 2016–17, 21.6 million passenger journeys were made on Outer Metropolitan bus services.
Sydney, Australia is served by a number of bus operators, with Transit systems the largest privately owned operator in New South Wales as of January 2024 when the company took-over Transdev Liverpool, Busabout and Interline. Other major operators include CDC and Busways. Most services are provided as part of the city's integrated public transport system, with routes, fares, service levels, fleet specifications and customer service standards determined by Transport for NSW. A small number of services operate outside of this network.
The Opal card rolled out across New South Wales public transport services from 7 December 2012 until December 2014. Additionally, from December 2017, OpalPay was introduced and can be used as payment on selected third party services. This article contains all the dates of official Opal card and OpalPay rollouts.
Ryde Bus Depot is a bus depot in the Sydney suburb of Ryde operated by Busways.
The 2010s saw many developments relating to transport in the Australian city of Sydney, New South Wales. The decade saw a substantial investment in infrastructure, including a new airport, motorway projects, light rail lines, Australia's first metro system, the new Waratah fleet and the demise of the non-air conditioned S sets from the rail network. Planning and branding of public transport services became substantially more centralised.