With the exception of the Western Sydney Airport line, these new lines have largely reinforced the radial shape of Sydney’s network: fast lines running in and out of the CBD in Sydney’s east. What’s missing is the in-between connections – those linking lines and centres across central, western, northern and southern Sydney. Our public transport accessibility levels reflect this pattern, and so does something more troubling: our patterns of socio-economic inequality. Areas with poor access to frequent public transport are disproportionately the same areas experiencing entrenched disadvantage, particularly across Sydney’s west and south-west.

To fix this, Sydney needs to move from a hub-and-spoke model to a web of routes – a network that connects communities to each other, not just to the centre.

Rapid bus networks are how we build that web. They are fast to deliver, comparatively cheap to build, and proven: Sydney’s existing rapid routes – from the B-Line in the Northern Beaches to the T-Way connecting Parramatta north and south – already show what’s possible when buses get their own lane and their own priority at the lights.

The Committee for Sydney proposes a network of 18 rapid bus routes crisscrossing Sydney. Together, these routes would connect growing communities with metros, jobs, education opportunities and one another, transforming the transport network from a hub-and-spoke system to a web of rapid transport options.

Sydney’s Rapid Bus network would include:

Explore the proposed network on the interactive map below. Beyond these lines, see our full recommendations for making buses work for Sydney in Plan B: Better Buses for Sydney.