NightRide

NightRide, also Nightride, is a network of bus routes in operation between midnight and 4.30am in Sydney, Australia. The thirteen routes are run by bus operators as listed below and allow for a nightly shutdown of the Sydney Trains commuter rail network. The NightRide network was established in mid-1989 as low-patronage late-night train services were progressively withdrawn.[1][2] Services follow major roads, and some stops are some distance from the railway stations they replace. In addition, some routes serve stations on multiple railway lines. In the City, most services depart from George Street, above Town Hall station.

This article is about the late-night train replacement bus services in Sydney. For the late-night bus services in Melbourne previously known as NightRider, see Night Network (Melbourne).

NightRide

Overview
Owner	Transport for NSW
Locale	Sydney, Australia
Transit type	Bus
Number of lines	14
Number of stations	120
Operation
Began operation	18 June 1989 (1989-06-18)
Operator(s)	Hillsbus Punchbowl Bus Company Transdev State Transit Authority

Normal bus fares apply to NightRide journeys.[3]

The suspension of train services overnight allows for maintenance to occur on tracks. Passengers reportedly feel safer on buses than mostly-empty trains late at night. However, in 2014, it was reported that patronage on most NightRide routes was falling. The Tourism and Transport Forum has called for 24-hour train operations to resume.[2]

History

The first NightRide routes, to Riverwood, Campbelltown and Sutherland, commenced in June 1989. Services to Penrith, Hornsby and Cronulla began two months later.[4] New services were introduced to Bondi Junction in 2009; and Carlingford and Richmond in 2011.

A city loop route, called N1, was established in 2000 and cancelled two years later.[5]

New contracts for all routes commenced 1 March 2018 with a number of routes going to different operators. The routes then became normal commuter routes under the administration of Transport for NSW instead of Sydney Trains. Changes included N100 Railway Square to Bondi Junction which commenced in 2009 ceasing, replaced by route N91 in conjunction with frequency changes to some routes.[6]

Network

As from 1 March 2018 the network consists of[3]

Route	Origin/destination	Replaces	Operator	Introduced
N10	Town Hall to Sutherland	T4 Illawarra Line	State Transit Authority	1989
N11	Town Hall to Cronulla	T4 Illawarra Line	State Transit Authority	1989
N20	Town Hall to Riverwood	T8 Airport Line	Punchbowl Bus Company	1989
N30	Town Hall to Macarthur	T8 Airport, T3 Bankstown lines	Transdev NSW	1989
N40	Town Hall to East Hills	T8 Airport, T3 Bankstown lines	Transdev NSW	1989
N50	Town Hall to Liverpool	T2 Inner West, T3 Bankstown line	Hillsbus	1989
N60	Town Hall to Fairfield	T8 South Line	Hillsbus	1989
N61	Town Hall to Carlingford	T6 Carlingford Line	Hillsbus	2011
N70	Town Hall to Penrith	T1 Western Line	Hillsbus	1989
N71	Town Hall to Richmond	T1 Western Line	Hillsbus	2011
N80	Town Hall to Hornsby (via Strathfield)	T9 Northern Line	Hillsbus	1989
N81	Town Hall to Parramatta (via Olympic Park)	T1 Western Line	Hillsbus	2018
N90	Town Hall to Hornsby (via Chatswood)	T1 North Shore Line	State Transit Authority	1989
N91	Bondi Junction to Macquarie Park	T4 Eastern Suburbs Line, T1 North Shore Line	State Transit Authority	2018

References

1. "Nightride services" Fleetline August 1989 page 120
2. Late night travellers vote with their feet to dump NightRide Sydney Morning Herald 10 March 2014
3. Late Night services Transport for NSW Info
4. "Nightride Bus Service Starts" Railway Digest August 1989 page 271
5. "Changes to NightRide Buses: 1 November 2002", Action for Public Transport (NSW), retrieved 28 March 2006
6. NightRide bus changes Transport for NSW Info 26 February 2018