After a period of uncertainty regarding Sydney’s public transport services during and after the pandemic, patronage is now back on the rise, growing by almost 20 percent in the 2023/24 period compared to same time last year.
More than 629 million bus, rail and ferry trips were made in NSW in the 2023/24 year, inching closer towards the network-high 735 million trips made in 2018/19.
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Of those, the new Metro line has seen around 215,000 passenger trips daily, with more than 12 million trips in its first 10 weeks open.
“People are voting with their feet and are coming back to public transport, with ridership on light rail and ferries now surpassing pre-COVID levels on weekends,” transport minister Jo Haylen says.
“Our investment in rail maintenance and our new timetable means our network is more reliable and can recover more quickly when things go wrong.
“Patronage figures for the new City Metro show that Metromania isn’t slowing down.”
Transport secretary Josh Murray says that while train patronage is growing, passengers are now also prepared to switch modes during their trip.
“Which has never traditionally been a great hobby of Sydneysiders when travelling, but we’re seeing increasing numbers of people switch between bus and metro or between tram and heavy rail,” Murray says.
The increase in demand has left residents and government officials questioning whether a 24/7 public transport service could benefit Sydney and surrounds.
Rail, Tram and Bus Union NSW secretary Toby Warnes says he is completely on board with the idea.
“It’s one of those rare concepts that benefits everyone – the community, workers and businesses,” Warnes says.
“If we want to make Sydney a truly global, connected city we need 24/7 public transport for everyone.”
However, parliamentary transport secretary Marjorie O’Neill says demand isn’t where it would need to be for the idea to be plausible.
“If demand grows, of course we would look at it,” she says.
Right now, the metro runs 22 out of 24 hours with bus services and other transport options running less.
There are plans to extend transport operations for major events, but nothing is set in stone.
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