The Veins of Sydney
How To Travel Across Sydney Via Opal
C. D. Michel
AS THE YEAR 12’S HAVE FINISHED THEIR SCHOOLING CAREER, only around only 10% of Shore school boys can now drive without supervision, leaving the rest of us to understand the intricate nature of Sydney’s public transport network on our own. So to clear up the convoluted transport system, I have written this article especially for those in younger years so they can finally have their first Chatty meet up, or get out and about across Sydney.
The Sydney Metro is a top tier mode of public transport especially for its accessibility and speed. The metro’s top speed is around 100 km/h which trumps every other option for transport. Furthermore, the modern nature of the Metro gives it a chic atmosphere. For example, immediately as you step off the Metro in Epping, you’re welcomed to a futuristic landscape as you wander up the 45m escalator. The Metro is definitely worth familiarising yourself with, as Transport NSW is planning on expanding the line across the Bridge. However, the metro does have a few cons which damage its high standard. The seating arrangement is poor, especially in comparison to the Sydney Train Network. The long row of seats on each side of the metro make it difficult to talk to a large group of your friends when travelling out to Tallawong. Additionally, the aisle is a few centimetres too wide making conversations with your friends on the other side of the aisle feel unnatural. However, most importantly the Metro is not connected to the Shore-Boy-Motherland in North Sydney, meaning that one must catch a train out to Chatswood before ever stepping foot in the Metro making it much harder to access. Furthermore, there are only 13 metro stations in comparison to the infinite amount of stations for both buses and trains.
The Sydney Trains Network is similar to the metro; however, it is much more accessible. The network involves over 170 stations taking you from Berowra in Sydney’s North to Cronulla in the South. Despite not being as fast as the Metro, the train network is still a fast mode of transport, allowing Shore boys to leave North Sydney, and arrive in Burwood within 35 minutes. Furthermore, the trains arrive consistently at each station every five-ish minutes. However, the train network’s true superiority comes from its design; The design of the trains in Sydney revolutionise the network, making it some of the best modes of transportation in the world. The interchangeable seats in conjunction with the double-decker design of the train makes a trip on the train much more amicable and sociable, contrasting the solitary confinement felt in the metro.
While not being the most useful means of transport, being able to catch a ferry somewhere is quite something. Going to school everyday or finding your way around Sydney by catching a ferry, feels a lot less “stuck in the matrix” than an average train. Furthermore, the names given to the ferry’s such as “Charlotte Ferry” and “Fishburn Ferry” add a little bit more spice into your day, than riding a bus named 7053. However, the system is very unstable and weather dependent. Despite the indoor seating, if riding a ferry, it is a cardinal rule that you must sit outside, thereby making catching a ferry possibly a wet or freezing mode of transport. Furthermore, if it wasn’t for other means of transport such as the light-rail, and the bus network, many of the ferries would be useless as the ports are often hard to get to without catching another type of transport. Moreover, the ferries are not as consistent in Sydney since on a good day they’d only be running once every 30 minutes.
The Sydney light-rail, in my opinion, is utterly useless. Yes, people use it, except it’s only for lazy people. The light-rail travels so slow and half the stops are pedantic; the Bridge Street station is only 200m from Wynyard and Circular Quay, making it easier and quicker to walk the distance than to use the light-rail. Additionally, many of the stops can be accessed via train instead of using the light-rail furthering its inability to improve Sydney. Again, the light-rail is only in a small section of Sydney, so it is also hard to access, especially coming from the typical Shore boy.
The Sydney Bus Network spreads over all of Sydney, where the metro, train-line, ferry and light-rail cannot. Despite seeming quite difficult to understand and figure out, getting a bus app makes travelling via buses so much easier. I highly recommend Next there, which shows all bus routes, specific timing for bus arrival at each stop and an inbuilt bus tracker. The Bus network’s high rating in this article is carried by the B-Line, unlike most other buses in Sydney, the B-Line is extremely quick, useful, and at any B-line stop there will be a bus within five minutes. This contrasts the awfully long trips of most other buses which involve a 10-20 minute wait time at the stop, followed by the bus taking every detour possible, making most journeys upwards of an hour.
Ultimately, to rank the individual means of transport in Sydney from worst to best (5-1);
5. Light-Rail
4. Ferry
3. Metro
2. Bus
1. Train
