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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 The NightRide network was established in mid-1989 as low-patronage late-night train services were progressively withdrawn.

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. 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. 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.

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.

From 23 August 2020, two additional routes, N31 and N92 were introduced, and all N71 services standardised to operate to Richmond.

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:

Note: Routes N61 and N81 operate early morning on Friday, Saturday and Sunday only.

References

1. Nightride services Fleetline August 1989 page 120
2. ^ Late night travellers vote with their feet to dump NightRide Archived 8 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine Sydney Morning Herald 10 March 2014
3. ^ Thorpe, Will (5 September 2024). "Is It Time For Sydney To Bring Back Night Trains?". City Hub. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
4. "Transport NSW Adult Opal Fares".
5. Nightride Bus Service Starts Railway Digest August 1989 page 271
6. Changes to NightRide Buses: 1 November 2002 Archived 21 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine Action for Public Transport (NSW), retrieved 28 March 2006
7. NightRide bus changes Transport for NSW Info 26 February 2018
8. Bus service changes in August Transport for NSW 9 August 2020
9. Transport for NSW, Customer Experience Division. "Late night services". transportnsw.info. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
10. "Timetables Complete GTFS - TfNSW Open Data Hub and Developer Portal". opendata.transport.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
11. "Timetable N20 Riverwood to City Town Hall via Airport" (PDF). transportnsw.info. Retrieved 15 October 2023.

v t e Public transport in Sydney
Transport for NSW Ticketing Opal card
Metro	Lines M1 Metro North West & Bankstown Sydney Metro Northwest Sydney Metro City & Southwest Sydney Metro West Sydney Metro Western Sydney Airport Operator Metro Trains Sydney Infrastructure List of Sydney Metro stations
Train	Lines T1 North Shore & Western T2 Leppington & Inner West T3 Liverpool & Inner West T4 Eastern Suburbs & Illawarra T5 Cumberland T6 Lidcombe & Bankstown T7 Olympic Park T8 Airport & South T9 Northern Operator Sydney Trains Infrastructure Airport Link Company List of Sydney railway lines List of Sydney Trains railway stations Sydney rail rolling stock Transport Asset Holding Entity
Bus	Services B1 Metrobus 144 190X 333 NightRide Sydney Metropolitan Bus Service Contracts Sydney Olympic Park bus routes Operators Busways CDC NSW Keolis Downer Northern Beaches Transdev John Holland Transit Systems U-Go Mobility Infrastructure Liverpool–Parramatta T-way North-West T-way
Ferry	Sydney Ferries Services F1 Manly F2 Taronga Zoo F3 Parramatta River F4 Pyrmont Bay F5 Neutral Bay F6 Mosman F7 Double Bay F8 Cockatoo Island F9 Watsons Bay F10 Blackwattle Bay Operator Transdev Sydney Ferries Infrastructure List of Sydney Ferries wharves Other services Captain Cook Cruises Church Point Ferry Cronulla and National Park Ferry Cruises Manly Fast Ferry
Light Rail	Lines L1 Dulwich Hill L2 Randwick & L3 Kingsford L4 Westmead & Carlingford Infrastructure List of Sydney light rail stops
Other	Bridj Monorail Trams Trolleybuses
Italics denotes services yet to commence

• Bus routes in Sydney
• Bus transport in Sydney
• 1989 establishments in Australia
• Night bus service