Service adjustments for buses on the Northern Beaches

Bus timetables are changing on the Northern Beaches and North Shore from Sunday March 31, to give passengers more frequent access to the city. 

An additional 146 B-Line services will be added throughout the week to meet an increase in customer demand, reduce overcrowding on buses and improve reliability of the service. 

Extra buses will also run during weekday peaks on other popular routes including the 150X, 165X, 170X and 174X, as well as the 270, 271 and 274 on weekday mornings. 

These changes and added services come off the back of community feedback and are based on current patronage data.

Key service adjustments include:

• Increasing services on B-Line due to an increase in passengers and on-board crowding.
• Discontinuing route 137 (this route, operating only once each weekday in each direction, has just two unique stops and is otherwise duplicated by other routes).
• Doubling of daytime frequency on route 161 to better cater to locals and visitors to Manly.
• Additional services from Frenchs Forest to the Sydney CBD in the morning peak to alleviate overcrowding.
• Replacing route 195/6 (an after hours combined route 195 and 196) with separate route 195 or 196 trips.
• Replacing route 270X with additional trips on route 270 (route 270 also operates as an express for much of the route, and journey times are comparable).
• Discontinuing route 282 and replacing these trips with route 281 or 283 trips.
• Minor changes to simplify and improve reliability on school services.
• Changes to running times to reflect actual journey times, including both faster trips and extra time where it is required.
• To accommodate existing patronage on weekday mornings, a route 280 service will operate from Chatswood Station (Stand C) to Frenchs Forest/Northern Beaches Hospital, extending to Bantry Bay via the old 137 route. This will replace the current 137 AM route.  No replacement of the current 137 PM required.

Transport for NSW Coordinator-General Howard Collins said the changes and updated journey times will better reflect what public transport users in both those communities need.

“The morning and afternoon rush has been challenging, with overcrowding and not enough services,” he said.

“This new timetable is all about making transport more reliable and accessible during those peak periods.

“We’ve also looked at the routes that aren’t widely used and are making temporary reductions to those, which will significantly reduce unplanned cancellations because of driver shortages.”

Passengers are advised to check Transportnsw.info and the planning apps to check the new timetable for their services in the area. 

You can view a map of the new region 8 routes, and also a region 14 route map.