Ever since I moved to Sydney for the semester, I feel like I’ve been learning the city through its public transportation system. I measure my days in train stops, ferry rides, and whether or not I successfully tap on with my Opal card without holding up the line. Coming from the U.S., where public transportation can feel limited or inconvenient depending on where you are, Sydney’s system feels like the heartbeat of the city. It’s how people get to work, to class, to the beach, and honestly, everywhere in between.
As someone who tends to think about systems and equity (I can’t turn that part of my brain off), I’ve started to notice how transportation quietly shapes daily life. Who has easy access? Who has long commutes? How does the layout of the city influence opportunity? Sydney’s public transportation is more than just trains and buses, and it’s an infrastructure that connects people to possibilities. In the following paragraphs, I’ll explore how the system works and what it reveals about life in Sydney.
In Sydney, people get around primarily through an interconnected network run by Transport for NSW. The backbone of the system is Sydney Trains, which stretches from the CBD (Central Business District–still trying to learn the slang) out to suburbs that feel almost rural.
