Bus routes in Newcastle, New South Wales

Buses terminating at Newcastle railway station.

Newcastle bus routes connect suburbs in and around Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, about 100 kilometres north of Sydney.

Newcastle is the second-largest city in the state of New South Wales, serving as a regional centre for residents of the Central Coast, Hunter Valley and Great Lakes regions. Government bus services within Newcastle are operated by Newcastle Buses & Ferries, a subsidiary of the State Transit Authority of New South Wales. Newcastle Buses & Ferries also operates a ferry service across Port Hunter between Newcastle's CBD and Stockton. Hunter Valley Buses also operate a large number of routes in the area. These two main operators have an east-west split, with the blue and white Newcastle buses mostly covering the inner city and coastal region east of the lake as far south as Swansea, while the yellow Hunter Valley buses cover the region west of the lake, Newcastle Airport, and outlying suburbs and towns, extending into the valley. Port Stephens Coaches cover the Airport and coast north of Newcastle.

The network is controlled by the New South Wales Government's transport authority, Transport for NSW, and is part of the authority's Opal ticketing system. Newcastle consists of five outer metropolitan bus regions for the purposes of contracting arrangements (regions 1 to 5).[1][2]

Rover Coaches, Port Stephens Coaches, Busways North Coast, Forster Coaches, and Sid Fogg's Coaches also run intercity routes connecting Newcastle to the rest of New South Wales.[3]

Infrastructure

To reduce journey times, bus-only lanes are in operation on:

Newcastle Buses and Ferries

The 100, 118, 224, 230, 310, 313, 322, 350 and 363 also run Night Owl Service (Early Saturday and Sunday mornings)

Hunter Valley Buses

Port Stephens Coaches

Rover Coaches

Ticketing and fares

The bus network uses the smartcard-based Opal ticketing system. Opal is also valid on train services in the area but separate fares apply. Opal's bus fares are the same as those for Sydney's light rail. The Stockton Ferry (unlike Sydney Ferries) also uses the same 0-3 km fares as bus services.[5] Bus drivers and ferry staff also sell non-smartcard Opal single trip tickets. The single trip tickets are more expensive than the standard Opal fare. They are only valid for travel on the service on which they are purchased.[6] The following table lists Opal fares for reusable smartcards and single trip tickets:

Bus or light rail 0–3 km 3–8 km 8 km+
Adult cards $2.10 $3.50 $4.50
Other cards $1.05 $1.75 $2.25
Adult single trip $2.60 $4.20 $5.40
Child/Youth single trip $1.30 $2.10 $2.70

Card fares as of 4 January 2015. Single trip fares as of 5 September 2016.[7][8]

References

  1. Outer Metropolitan Sydney Bus Contract Regions 1, 2, 3 and 4, NSW Government Transport and Infrastructure, Retrieved 4 November 2014
  2. Outer metropolitan bus system contract regions, Transport for NSW, Retrieved 4 November 2014
  3. Newcastle and Hunter Valley Timetables Australian Timetable Association, Retrieved 4 November 2014
  4. Upcoming transport changes in Newcastle Transport Info NSW 8 December 2014.
  5. "Opal in Newcastle". opal.com.au. Transport for NSW. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  6. "Opal single trip tickets". opal.com.au. Transport for NSW. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  7. "New fares from 4 January 2015". transportnsw.info. Transport for NSW. 5 December 2014. Archived from the original on 25 December 2014.
  8. "Fares and benefits". opal.com.au. Transport for NSW. Retrieved 13 September 2016.

External links

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