Thousands of Extra Bus and Train Services Have Been Added to Sydney's Public Transport Network

As NSW's COVID-19 restrictions start to ease and more Sydneysiders are heading back to work, commuters are once again piling onto the city's public transport network. But, with buses only able to fit 12 commuters and train carriages 35, under the country's physical distancing rules, you may've found it a little more difficult to get to work.

To help, the NSW Government has temporarily added an extra 3300 services across the network from Monday, June 1. An extra 3100 weekly buses will provide 37000 more socially distant spots, while 250 weekly train services will add up to 59000 additional spaces — totally almost 100,000 more seats for bums across the city.

While the new services will ease some transport tension, the NSW Government is continuing to encourage commuters to avoid travelling during peak hours. Last week, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said, "We recommend people who aren't already on the system in the peak, especially on buses and trains, to travel in the off-peak, so after 10am or before 2pm."

NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance reiterated this sentiment, saying "please don't travel in the peak — walk, ride your bike or drive instead".

With the new capacities, Constance said the city's public transport is only able to carry 550,000-600,000 commuters compared to its usual 2.2 million, which is about 25 percent.

The new decals encouraging socially distancing on a Sydney bus. Photo by Natalie Ratcliffe.

To help ease some of the congestion, the Government has also launched a pop-up car park in Moore Park, where commuters can catch a shuttle light rail service to the city, and six pop-up bike lanes heading into the city.

The real-time public transport apps — including TripView, TripGo, Google Maps and the Opal App — now also show the safe capacity for each service and 400,000 green dot decals have also be rolled out across the public transport system this week, showing commuters where safe, socially distant spots to sit are.

To plan your journey and for more information about Sydney transport options, head to the Transport for NSW website.

To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in NSW, head to the NSW Health website.