Sydney Northern Beaches Public Transport

[Geelslang]

I am new to Sydney and have been looking at Frenchs Forrest, Dee Why or Forestville. Can anyone tell me what public transport options there are into Sydney CBD (meaning busses, as there are no trains).

[Malans]

Hi

We are in Frenchs Forest and there are loads of busses either into the city or to the Chatswood station which is a big interchange. Lots of people commute by bus to the city. Have you checked out the public transport site - 131500.com.au?

[Geelslang]

Thanks Malans. I had heard that there are privately run busses in the area. Was not sure if they would be covered by the transport app. Can one use the Opal card on all the busses from Frenchs Forrest?

[monsta]

It depends on the bus company. But the big bus company up there, Forest coach lines has the opal readers in most of their busses.

Google maps or 131500.com.au will give you directions.

But, listen to this carefully. I worked up there for 2 years.. It's another world up there. It's kind of like living in franshoek near Capetown or Hillcrest near Durban. The busses will get you to work in over an hour but they don't really operate much outside of work hours. So people don't often leave the beaches on the weekend.

So, the northern beaches are a different sort of crowd. I worked with a guy who moved there from a small town. He said it was quite the happening place. Everyone who lived in Ryde (closer to the CBD) thought he was smoking his socks. For example, there are two big shops in Ryde alone.. The only big shops on the northern beaches is Waringah mall.

But on the upside, you can join the retirees at the St Ives shops, go horse riding in terry hills and I hear the C3 church in Oxford falls is really good. The Supa Centa has a nice play area for your kids and a nice fake Asian take away upstairs. Waringah mall isn't actually too bad. Oh and you can join the retirees at the Glenn street theatre!

Something I forgot to mention... Look at a map of the area.. There are only three main roads up to the northern beaches. One goes through Macquarie park (traffic nightmare) another through chatswood (also bad for traffic) and one goes all the way via mosman.

But many people love the Northern beaches! I guess you either love it or you don't..

Cheers

Edited August 10, 2015 by monsta

[rozellem]

Geelslang, I live in the area you ask about and can honestly disagree with almost everything Monsta says. A lot of the housing was established in 1960 and young couples moved in. Now, these original couples are at the end of their days and young couples with kids are moving in again. In our street (8 houses), there is 11 kids under 8yrs. Look at the transport app mentioned. FForest, Belrose, Forestville is great places for kids. Forestville is situated closest to the city, so would be quickest into town. We dont have any problems getting busses at all hours ( that I am awake). Dee Why would be your longest commute and too far in my opinion. We can jump in the car and be on Dee Why beach in 10/15mins though, if we feel like a swim. Although there is "only" one mall, there are many shopping centres of different sizes for different preferences and occasions. Ask away if you want any school details or other.

[Rangerbob]

Hi Geelslang

Welcome to Sydney by the way. The Most Beautiful, Most Expensive, Most Incredible and Most Awesome city in the world !!!

You will love it once you get past the conversion thing - takes about a year....maybe more.

The areas you mention are all beautiful and Dee Why will put you closer to the beach. The closer you are to the beach/city within a one hour transport radius of city central the less bang you will get for your dollar accommodation wise.

Sydney has one of the most efficient public transport systems in the world and is world class in this regard. The other day we got to the station and said "Oh no, we have to wait a whole 10 mins for the next train - Then we burst out laughing - the ridiculousness of that comment hit us in the face at the same time - what a silly thing to complain about

ENjoy

Jonno.

[Geelslang]

Thanks for the coments. As with most things in life, there are lots of opinions with not necessarily a right or a wrong answer. My location will depend on the job I get. Still busy sorting that out. A few things in the pipeline, one near Macquarie Park and the other in the CBD. So they could result in different approaches in terms of where we will settle. Then also have to trow in the requirement for scool for my two kids and also to consider transport for my wife, who will most likely find work in the CBD.

I will shout for more info if I need it once I have more clariy as per my explanation above. Thanks guys.

[monsta]

@Rozzellem. I guess its good we both are happy in the suburbs we live in

I just want to comment on the public transport. Yes it is more efficient than Johannesburg. But there needs to be way more of it.

The problems are:

1) The CBD is nowhere near the centre of Sydney. The centre is Paramatta for anyone with Google maps.

2) Sydney's population is growing rapidly. It will double within 50 years. So just as they upgrade public transport, its insufficient in a few years.

3) There are lots of black holes. These are areas where public transport is almost non existent.

4) There are too many independent layers of government. For example, a local council will allow a few hundred homes to be built in an area. But the state government will take years to build any kind of decent through road. Traffic nightmare!

5) There has been a lack of foresight by the state government over the years. Instead of building roads when it's cheap to buy up the land, they wait till its too expensive and spend billions builsing tunnels. This is improving tho.. There was lots of talk about a 20 year plan at the last state election

In Durban, most if my colleagues could get to work in under 30 mins. In sydney most take over an hour to get to work.. The locals will tell you, the transport situation is only going to get worse over the next few years .

Edited August 11, 2015 by monsta

[Geelslang]

I was also wondering regarding the following. Do people sometimes drive to the outskirts of the city and then park in a side street and then use public transport. For example driving from Frenchs Forrest and parking in Seaforth on a side street in the suburb and then taking the express bus into the CBD.

Another example is Manly. How do all the people get to the ferry? Surely some of them must drive closer to the Quay before getting the ferry, or do they all get there by walking, bus or bicycle?

[qwerty]

Finding the right place that ticks all the boxes is difficult. We chose to live close to the train line and can easily walk to the station from our house. My daughter's school is also just a 6 minute drive away. With both of us working full-time, this makes it easier to get her to school and to her extra-curricular activities. Yes, it is slightly more expensive than further away from the train line, but my time is more valuable to me (it is the one thing I cannot get back or make up later).

Edited August 11, 2015 by qwerty