Public Transportation

Public transport in Sydney is great. It has a really great public transportation system that can take you anywhere in Sydney or the surrounding areas usually within an hour.

The trains are double deckers so a lot of people can fit, even in rush hour. They have chairs that can switch directions depending on which direction you are facing

On the bottom level of a train

as well as wheelchair accessibility (For the most part, Sydney isn’t a very wheelchair friendly city in my opinion). I live fairly close to Central,  the main train station in Sydney so this is my main source of transportation. They are usually clean and the newer trains are graffiti free. I love the trains, Sydney is one of the best cities when it comes to transportation that I have ever been in. There are apps that people can get to tell you departure times, which line, and when to get off.

One of the underground trains heading towards Central 

The other main source of transport is buses. A lot of the schools use the buses as school buses so many people avoid them in the city but if you are going later in the day the buses can be really handy to get around. They can also take you places that there are no train stops like Bondi beach and some places in northern Sydney.

The main way to get to Darling Harbour is the light rail which I usually don't take because I like to walk but the light rail is just a single decker train that runs above ground. The light rail is usually really crowded but it is a good way to get to Darling Harbour if you don't like walking. It also goes right by Paddy’s market and Chinatown.  

The last piece of public transport is the ferry which is mostly between northern Sydney and the city center. This is how you get to Manly and a lot of the other beaches. However, these should be avoided on Sunday as Manly is a tourist trap that draws the tourists like honey on Sunday (Sundays are the cheap day in Sydney as all transportation for the whole day will only cost you $2.50). The ride is usually nice and sometimes you can even see dolphins playing in the waves behind the ferry. My favorite ferry ride is a little beach called mission bay which is a local’s beach (most tourists bypass it in favor of Manly) but I think it is one of the prettiest beaches in Sydney.

And of course another great way to see the city is byt walking. It is a hard walk if you are like me and like to stroll and see the whole city, but a lot of places are actually in walking distance of train stations or bus stops, so it is another great way to see Sydney.

Walking is the standard method of transportation for a lot of people 

All of the public transportation is run on an Opal card. This is a free card that you can get at any convenience store and you just put however much money you want on it. It should be the first thing you get in Sydney, as it will become your life while you are here.

I love the public transportation here in Sydney and wished that there was more public transportation like that in the States. Even in some of the bigger cities, the transportation isn’t as good as it is here in Sydney.