Sydney Buses Route 400 ticket Q?

[ckck]

Greetings fellow AFFers.

My sister and her family are travelling DJ MEL-SYD next week and as they have accommodation booked in Bondi Junction (close to the train station). I thought to point them to travel from SYD Dom to Bondi Junction via the 400 bus. As they are a family of five methinks that it would be better value than the train.

Can one still buy tickets on the bus or do they have to buy tickets before boarding? If so is there somewhere at the airport where one can buy bus tickets? (I am aware that in Sydney city you need to have your ticket purchased before boarding the bus.) Or can you buy your tickets online and have them sent out, they still have about two weeks before they travel so enough time for an online purchase if it is required.

They will be travelling around Sydney city by public transport and then back to the airport some three days later.

Also, is the bus stop still close to the Virgin side of Syd domestic terminal or have they moved it?

TIA,

ck

 

[medhead]

I'm not exactly sure. There is a prepaid ticket requirement in the city area, but I thought that might not apply to outer suburbs. Have you checked out the Sydney buses website?

It is a very long bus trip maybe an hour. I've taken it from randwick to the airport and it took forever. It might be better to get the bus one stop to Mascot station and train from there. Otherwise, find out the bus fare and compare to the cost of a taxi.

 

[DeKa]

You can buy single prepaid tickets where ever you can buy my bus 1, 2 and 3 tickets eg 7-11, newsagents

 

[m535607]

Hi Ckck

To my knowledge you can buy the ticket on the bus at the aiport stop - I have not been on this bus at the airport for a few months now. The bus stop is outside the domestic Qantas terminal and not at the Virgin terminal. There is an underground tunnel walkway between the DJ and the QF terminal - the same walkway to catch the train. I suggest you google sydneybuses or www.131500.com.au. Make sure you board the bus that says Bondi Junction and not Burwood which is the opposite direction. It will take a while to get to Bondi Junction on the 400 bus and you can get off at Mascot station and then catch the train but you will then need to change trains at Central to get to Bondi Junction.

 

[Andyc]

The 400 from the airport to Bondi Junction is a 45min journey and, from memory, the stop is closer to Qantas T3.
Its definitely worth checking the timetable in advance as the wait is also around half an hour as not all 400 bus services actually go to the airport (worth remembering for the return journey).
You'll pay a couple of dollars per person and it will definitely be cheaper than a taxi which I'd say would be around $40ish.

It just becomes a question of weighing up transit time against price.

I'm told that the train is a very quick way to travel to SYD but would have to imagine that (including the line change) it would still be a 30-45mins journey.

Edit: Also, it isn't a pre-pay bus service and I'm pretty sure it isn't a pre-pay bus stop.

 

[Blinky]

I got a cab from Watson's Bay to domestic a few Sundays ago, and it was $60. It's a significantly shorter trip to Bondi Junction, so I would guess at around $40 if traffic is not too bad. For a family of five, I think this would be a convenient and not too costly option.

 

[SFSC]

Greetings fellow AFFers.

My sister and her family are travelling DJ MEL-SYD next week and as they have accommodation booked in Bondi Junction (close to the train station). I thought to point them to travel from SYD Dom to Bondi Junction via the 400 bus. As they are a family of five methinks that it would be better value than the train.

Can one still buy tickets on the bus or do they have to buy tickets before boarding? If so is there somewhere at the airport where one can buy bus tickets? (I am aware that in Sydney city you need to have your ticket purchased before boarding the bus.) Or can you buy your tickets online and have them sent out, they still have about two weeks before they travel so enough time for an online purchase if it is required.

They will be travelling around Sydney city by public transport and then back to the airport some three days later.

Also, is the bus stop still close to the Virgin side of Syd domestic terminal or have they moved it?

TIA,

ck

What day of the week will they be travelling? If it's a Sunday have a look at 131500 Transport Infoline - Family Funday Sunday . Quickest way would be to walk and travelator over to T3 then catch the bus - as m535607 says direction Bondi Junction (they can get tickets on board including Family Funday if it's a Sunday - the bus driver may sigh but ignore it) to just near the Holiday Inn, walk 150 m to Mascot Station, catch a train to Central then to platform 24 for the train to Bondi Junction.

There doesn't seem to be any CityRail trackwork over the next two weeks on the line to Bondi Junction.

 

[Grooba]

If it's approx a $40 taxi ride from domestic to Bondi, that comes down to $8ish pp for a family of 5 to get to your destination door to door. No waiting, no lugging bags on and off transport.

 

[yo yo ma]

The 400 from the airport to Bondi Junction is a 45min journey and, from memory, the stop is closer to Qantas T3.

The bus stop is definitely out the front of Qantas T3.

 

[ckck]

Hey AFFers,

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I appreciate all the replies.

Mentioned above was a reference to Sunday travel. They are travelling early on a Monday morning. IIRC, they arrive at approx 0800hours. I failed to mention this in the original post, sorry.

I shall forward all the information onto them.

Thank you for the links to Sydney buses and the approx cost of a taxi fare. I didn't realise it would be so affordable to travel by cab.

Once again the collective knowledge of those on the forum shines through.

 

[yo yo ma]

If it's approx a $40 taxi ride from domestic to Bondi, that comes down to $8ish pp for a family of 5 to get to your destination door to door. No waiting, no lugging bags on and off transport.

Cabs will only take 4 passengers... I travel with my wife and 3 kids and we get the in Sydney 400 (if not being picked up)

 

[ckck]

Thanks for reminding me.

Alternatively maybe they can organise a maxi taxi or some such.

 

[ashleyn]

Maxi from the airport won't be much more.

 

[iambents]

The guys in at the taxi queue are often helpful in getting a bigger vehicle if you let them know you need one (but maybe not at 8am on Monday).
If they are going to be using public transport a lot - they might want to buy a MyMulti1 ticket for the 'week'. If they are going to make anymore than about 15 public transport trips during the stay this will work out cheaper ($43.50/adult; $21.50/concession). It will get them on buses, trains and ferries (within in a defined city surrounds area that will cover most places people will want to visit in Sydney). If you Google 'MyZone' the first result will give you more info on the coverage area etc.
They can buy tickets at the Hub Convenience Store in the baggage claim area of T2 or at the Domestic Train Station (and then head back up to catch the bus if so desired).
Personally that is what I would do for a short stay in Sydney.

 

[A330]

Arriving 8am Monday you will see a huge taxi queue so I wouldn't recommend it. The 400 bus will probably be rather slow with the peak hour traffic, and there is only a tiny luggage storage space on most buses (no storage space on the old buses).
Best option may be as other suggest and catch the bus to Mascot station and catch the train to Central/Bondi Junction. More storage available on the train, but again in peak hour you will end up standing most of the way.

 

[medhead]

I regularly get the train from airport to Kings cross, that's usually a 20 to 30 minute trip. Bondi Junction is the next stop after, so even with the change at central train is probably the quickest option, especially with traffic on Monday morning. I think the last taxi I got to darlinghurst was about $42 or $47, I have no idea how that would relate to Bondi junction.

It might also be worth checking out the cityrail tickets as some tickets that include the airport as the start or end point include a the airport gate pass. I'll double check exact details in a little while and post some links.

 

[ckck]

AFFer's are the greatest. I catch up with my sister and her family tomorrow night so I shall pass all this info on and they can make their own decision.

 

[PrincessK]

Just FYI for the train from the airport, most (all?) MyMulti tickets do not include the airport line and this has to be purchased separately. I caught the train from the domestic terminal to Central station about 2 weeks ago and the ticket was $15.40 (adult one way) which is only 3 stations.

 

[GladstoneTim]

Maxi from the airport won't be much more.

For more than 4 passengers, the driver can charge up to 150% of the maximum fares and charges (excluding tolls).

 

[medhead]

Ok I've had a quick look into the ticketing situation. The airport access fee is included for weekly train tickets.

If your MyTrain ticket shows International Airport or Domestic Airport as the origin or destination, the access fee is included in the cost of the ticket.​

They would really need to consider their possible transport needs. If they are going to use the train a lot a Domestic to Bondi Junction weekly ($51.40) would allow travel on the city circle and out to Bondi Junction for the week. But I can see a mymulti is probably going to be much better. Fare Calculator - CityRail

Another option would be a taxi to Mascot or central station and then to train from there, as there are no station access fees involved. But the 5 seat thing is going to be a hassle.

Just FYI for the train from the airport, most (all?) MyMulti tickets do not include the airport line and this has to be purchased separately. I caught the train from the domestic terminal to Central station about 2 weeks ago and the ticket was $15.40 (adult one way) which is only 3 stations.

If you already have a my multi ticket that lets you travel between Wolli Creek and the city, the best option if catching the train from the domestic airport is to get a transfer ticket to the international airport, this costs $5 and allows you onto the platform. Once on the platform you the mymulti is a valid ticket allowing you to take a train elsewhere.