A guide to Sydney public transport

Best for: Day trips to Sydney suburbs and beyond the city limits

With most inner-city trains running until around midnight, the train network will get you around the CBD and link up with north, south, east and west lines to the surrounding suburbs. You’ll have quite a hike or a bus ride in store if you want to make it to the famous sands of Bondi, with Bondi Junction the most easterly stop (buses run from the station to the beach). But the trains are your ticket out of the city if the mood strikes. On the NSW TrainLink service you can take a day trip down the South Coast, or head to the Blue Mountains.

Time Out tip: Consider the Sydney train schedule as a guideline; commuters are no stranger to weather events, driver shortages, the dreaded strikes and equipment malfunctions delaying services.

Best for: Super-speedy journeys into the CBD from Sydney’s Inner West or North Shore.

The launch phase of Sydney’s first metro line opened in 2019, providing a super-fast train service between Tallawong (in Sydney’s north-west) and Chatswood (in Sydney’s lower north shore). In August 2024, a shiny new metro line opened between Chatswood and Sydenham, revolutionising transport into the CBD from Sydney’s north shore and the Inner West. When this most recent extension of this super-fast driverless train network opened to the public, Sydneysiders went a little bit wild. The futuristic new network (set to comprise 46 stations once it’s complete) can zoom you under the harbour from Barangaroo to North Sydney in just three minutes, and the journey time from Sydenham (in Sydney’s Inner West) to Chatswood takes just 22 minutes. The Sydney Metro network can be accessed by several train stations and dedicated metro stations across the city – you can learn about Sydney’s favourite new network (Australia’s biggest public transport project) here.

Time Out tip: Sydney's sparkling new stations are home to some stunning pieces of public art, we've rounded up our favourites here.

Best for: Exploring CBD attractions at a leisurely pace

When the Parramatta Light Rail (the L4 Westmead and Carlingford Line) opened in December 2024, it became the fourth light rail line in the city. And though this form of transport isn’t the fastest, it can get you to some handy-to-reach corners of the city (including Hay St Market and Randwick Racecourse), and is a pretty pleasant (read: air conditioned) way to move through the streets. The L1 Dulwich Hill Line (which passes through Pyrmont, Glebe, and Leichhardt) journeys to the edge of Darling Harbour and out to Sydney’s Inner West, and provides connections to train and metro services at Central Station. The L2 Randwick Line connects Circular Quay to Randwick in Sydney’s east, providing easy access to Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) and Randwick Racecourse. The L3 Kingsford Line takes a similar route to the L2, but diverts at Moore Park to Kingsford instead of Randwick, taking Sydneysiders to UNSW (University of New South Wales). The light rail stations all accept contactless payment, and once on the platform, you’ll hear the delightful bell announcing its arrival every ten minutes or so. 

Time Out tip: Don’t expect it to stick to a hard schedule – since they travel across pedestrian crossroads and traffic lights they don’t have the most reliable timetable.

Best for: Reaching the beach and staying out late

With more regular stops across the city and the NightRide services replacing most trains from midnight until 4.30am, buses are often your best bet when you’re heading home late. Not every bus has the luxury of air conditioning like the light rail, but they cover more ground, with more stops and often get you there faster. If you’re beach hopping, a bus will be your best friend for Bondi and Coogee trips, and the B-Line service from Wynyard will whizz you up to the Northern Beaches.

Time Out tip: Don’t forget to tap on and off (and say thank you to the driver).

Best for: Harbour island-hopping and taking in the sites

Sydney Harbour is a site in itself, and the city’s ferries give you the perfect viewing platform while getting you from A to B. They’ll ferry you (sorry, we couldn’t help it) as far north as Manly and all the way to Parramatta, but it’s all about the ride, not the destination. On the Manly Ferry voyage, you’ll get a leisurely tour of the Harbour, gliding past the Sydney Opera House, Taronga Zoo and harbourside beaches. Want a faster ride? The Manly Fast Ferry casts off from Circular Quay every 20 minutes, and takes just 20 minutes to reach Manly’s sparkling shores.

Time Out tip: These are our favourite ferry routes in the city.

Best for: Shorter distances in peak commute times

Like most major metropolitan hubs, you can expect commuter madness in the mornings and evenings Monday to Friday (though post-COVID, Fridays are a little quieter, with a lot of commuters opting to work from home on the last day of the week). Regardless of crowds, sometimes it’s nicer to walk instead. If you’re at Town Hall, you can wander to Circular Quay in 20 minutes, and the walk from Central to Martin Place takes around 20 minutes too. If you fancy a pedal or just want to get places faster, there are a number of dockless bike share operations around the city. You’ll need to be savvy with your smartphone and seek these out, as they’re commercially operated. A few of the bike sharing services in Sydney have tapped out of late, but you'll be sure to find a partially-electric Lime Bike still hanging around the streets – they cost just $1 to unlock and 30 cents a minute to zoom around on, and at 5.30pm on a Wednesday evening, they’re a lot more fun than the 333.

Time Out tip: Despite Sydney's hills, cycling truly is the most joyful way to get around, just make sure to be careful – especially when riding along these bike accident hotspots.

Best for: Everything in between

Compared with Australia’s smaller cities and towns, Sydney’s Uber game is strong. Ordering an Uber (or Didi) in the city is a similar process to any other: get the app, and you generally won’t have to wait much longer than five minutes for your ride to appear. Taxis can be hailed kerbside or found at several taxi ranks throughout the city centre.

Time Out tip: For a little peace of mind on a night out, there are secure taxi ranks that are patrolled by guards late on Friday and Saturday nights.