NightRide is a network of bus routes in operation between midnight and 4.30am in Sydney, Australia. The sixteen routes allow for a nightly shutdown of the Sydney Trains suburban rail network and Sydney Metro. The NightRide network was established in mid-1989 as low-patronage late-night train services were progressively withdrawn.Nightride services Fleetline August 1989 page 120Late night travellers vote with their feet to dump NightRide Sydney Morning Herald 10 March 2014
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 Park Street, above Town Hall station. Normal bus fares apply to NightRide journeys.
History The first NightRide routes, to Riverwood, Campbelltown and Sutherland, commenced in June 1989. Services to Penrith, Hornsby and Cronulla began two months later.Nightride Bus Service Starts Railway Digest August 1989 page 271 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.Changes to NightRide Buses: 1 November 2002 Action for Public Transport (NSW), retrieved 28 March 2006
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. At the same time, the Tourism and Transport Forum called for 24-hour train operations to resume.
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.NightRide bus changes Transport for NSW Info 26 February 2018
From 23 August 2020, two additional routes, N31 and N92 were introduced, and all N71 services standardised to operate to Richmond.Bus service changes in August Transport for NSW 9 August 2020
Network Sydney's light rail system is not served by NightRide, with the exception of the Carlingford line section of the Parramatta Light Rail, served by the old NightRide route. As of 2023, the NightRide network operations are as listed below:
Route Origin/destination Replaces Operator First Introduced N10 Town Hall to Sutherland U-Go Mobility 1989 N11 Town Hall to Cronulla U-Go Mobility 1989 N20 Town Hall to Riverwood via Sydney Airport U-Go Mobility 1989 N30 Town Hall to Macarthur Transit Systems NSW 1989 N31 Liverpool to Leppington CDC NSW 2020 N40 Town Hall to East Hills Transit Systems NSW 1989 N50 Town Hall to Liverpool CDC NSW 1989 N60 Town Hall to Fairfield CDC NSW 1989 N61 Town Hall to Carlingford (Former T6 Carlingford Line) CDC NSW 2011 N70 Town Hall to Penrith CDC NSW 1989 N71 Town Hall to Richmond CDC NSW 2011 N80 Town Hall to Hornsby via Strathfield Busways 1989 N81 Town Hall to Parramatta via Olympic Park Busways 2018 N90 Town Hall to Hornsby via Chatswood Busways 1989 N91 Town Hall to Macquarie Park Busways 2018 N92 Town Hall to Tallawong CDC NSW 2020 Note: Routes N61 and N81 operate early morning on Friday, Saturday and Sunday only.
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