Sydney's Public Transport Services Have Been Cut by Up to 50 Percent for the Next Fortnight
For the rest of lockdown, trains and buses are running on Sunday timetables, and Sydney Metro and light rail are doing reduced services.
More than three weeks have passed since Greater Sydney went into lockdown, with residents of Greater Sydney, Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour only currently allowed to leave the house for select reasons. If one of those permitted trips away from home will see you hop on public transport, however, you'll find fewer services operating over the next two weeks.
Effective since yesterday, Monday, July 19, Transport for NSW has implemented a network-wide timetable change for services within the lockdown area, all of which have had big cuts. For the rest of the stay-at-home period, routes in these regions have been reduced by up to 50 percent — with some operating on Saturday timetables, others on Sunday and public holiday timings, and others just cutting down their frequency.
Sydney Trains, NSW TrainLink Intercity services and Sydney bus services are largely running on Sunday and public holiday timetables, while Sydney ferries are working to a modified Saturday timetable. For the latter, that means hourly services other than to and from Pyrmont, which'll run ever half hour.
Sydney Metro and light rail services are operating every 20 minutes, too.
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In an Instagram post, Transport for NSW advised that the cuts were put in place to support Greater Sydney's stricter lockdown measures — with the rules tightened back on Friday, July 9 and again on Saturday, July 17. Under the current restrictions, as well as the four reasons to leave home, only critical retail stores can remain open, and residents of the Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown and Liverpool Local Government Areas are no longer be able to leave their areas for work.
Announcing the changes, Transport for NSW Chief Operations Officer Howard Collins said that Sydneysiders shouldn't use public transport at "all if possible" — unless you're an essential worker or have no other option. "If you can use a private car and use other means, please do so," he said.
Folks still travelling on public transport during lockdown need to wear masks, social distance, sanitise their hands, and only sit or stand on the green dots.
For more information about Transport for NSW's timetable changes, head to its website.
