Service type Commuter bus
Ferry Depots Hamilton
Belmont | Routes 26 | |
 | ||
Parent State Transit Authority Service area Lake Macquarie
Newcastle Hubs Newcastle station
University of Newcastle
Wallsend
Belmont
Westfield Kotara
Broadmeadow station
Charlestown Square | ||
Newcastle Buses & Ferries is a commuter bus and ferry service operating in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie. It is part of the State Transit Authority, and operates 26 public bus routes, 149 school bus routes, and the Newcastle to Stockton ferry across the Hunter River.
Contents
History
The first government operated bus route commenced on 22 September 1935 to Mayfield. On 10 June 1950, the final tram routes were withdrawn. On 2 February 1983, the Newcastle to Stockton ferry service was taken over from a private operator.
In November 2015, the Government announced its intention to incorporate Newcastle Buses & Ferries into a new Transport for Newcastle along with the Newcastle Light Rail with the operation of services to be contracted to a private operator. Keolis Downer and a Transit Systems/UGL Rail consortium have announced their intentions to bid. In December 2016 the contract was awarded to Keolis Downer who will trade as Newcastle Transport with effect from 1 July 2017.
Routes
The bus network radiates from a bus terminal in Scott Street near NSW TrainLink's former Newcastle station. Buses park in a designated layover area adjacent to the station however buses do not pick up or set down in this area. Major interchanges are located at University of Newcastle, Wallsend, Glendale, Warners Bay, Belmont, Charlestown Square, Westfield Kotara and Broadmeadow station.
Since 1 July 2006 Newcastle Buses' services have formed Sydney Outer Metropolitan Bus Regions 5. The initial eight-year contract was renewed for a further three years from 1 July 2014.
Depots
Depots are at Hamilton, which opened as a tram depot in 1923, and Belmont, which opened in April 1953. Both locations stock timetables along with most major shopping centres. Lost property is able to be collected from Hamilton depot.
Fleet
As at November 2015, the bus fleet consisted of 179 MAN, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo buses. There are two ferries, the 1986 built Hunter and Shortland, named after Governor John Hunter and naval officer John Shortland.
Fares
Unlike other State Transit Authority run buses, Newcastle Buses & Ferries historically used a time-based ticketing system which was separate from the MyZone ticketing system. Single tickets could be purchased for 1 hour, 4 hours, or 23 hours, or a TimeTen ticket Multiride which equates to ten 1 hour tickets. Other than the 23-hour ticket, time-based tickets could not be used on the ferry. Newcastle Buses & Ferries also accepted, but did not sell, TravelPass, MyMulti, and Excursion tickets from the MyZone system, but not MyBus or TravelTen. As part of the Opal card rollout, 11 types of tickets including the 23 hours tickets were withdrawn on 20 November 2014. With Opal fares the time-based ticketing system is no longer used, introducing the distance based system used elsewhere. From 1 January 2016 the 1 hour ticket will be the only non Opal ticket available for use on Newcastle Buses. As of August 1st 2016, all paper tickets including the 1 hour ticket have been withdrawn.
Free Bus Zone
Trips within a designated area of the Newcastle CBD on State Transit-operated bus services are zero-fare under the Newcastle Alliance's Free City Buses programme. The zero-fare zone operates between 07:30 and 18:00, seven days a week. The programme receives funding from the Honeysuckle Development Corporation and Government of New South Wales. The zero-fare zone is bounded by the Hunter River to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the east, Church, Bull & King Streets to the south, and Stewart Avenue to the west. Trips between the zone and the TAFE in Wickham are also zero-fare.
Newcastle Buses also ran a free shuttle within this zone as route 555 with buses in a green livery. It was discontinued due to low patronage in August 2013.