Five bus routes to the new airport and the planned at Bringelly are due to start before the first planes take off in late 2026.
Five new bus routes will connect Western Sydney Airport to nearby areas.Janie Barrett
Estimated travel times show a bus trip on a new route from Campbelltown to Western Sydney Airport via Bradfield will take 66 minutes. In comparison,a train trip on the existing rail network from Campbelltown to Sydney Airport at Mascot now takes 45 minutes.
Under Transport for NSW’s plans,buses will run every 30 minutes from 5am to 10pm on the five new routes before the curfew-free airport opens in late 2026.
A journey from Liverpool to the airport at Badgerys Creek via Leppington and Bradfield will be 55 minutes. Alternatively,a trip from Liverpool to Bradfield via the airport terminal will be 67 minutes,while it will take 60 minutes from Penrith or Mount Druitt to Bradfield via the airport.
The previous state and federal Coalition governments promised to the new airport when it opened. However,they the funding needed two years ago to avoid the airport opening without them.
Business Western Sydney executive director David Borger said substantial extra investment was needed for new infrastructure,such as dedicated T-ways and priority traffic signalling for rapid buses.
“It’s essential that we strive to make this a public transport-centric airport,rather than one dominated by car traffic,” he said.
Borger said a critical next step would also be extending the new line to Leppington and Glenfield,as well as planning for a future extension to Macarthur.
Coalition transport spokeswoman Natalie Ward said western Sydney residents were promised a rapid bus network by the Labor government in September last year,yet it had turned out it would be a “one-hour commute network”.
“Rapid bus services only work with priority lanes and infrastructure to support it. To deliver rapid buses,it needs the investment to back it up,which I am not seeing from the NSW government,” she said.
A spokesperson for Transport Minister Jo Haylen accused the Liberals of junking their bus plan for Western Sydney Airport when in government,and missing a deadline to get the infrastructure ready before 2026.
“Now Labor are bringing new bus services to western Sydney that will connect people to jobs at the new airport and the aerotropolis,” the spokesperson said.
He said the new bus services would become more frequent as the airport and surrounding region grew,and bus infrastructure was built.
The Minns government set aside $302.7 million in the state budget last September for regular services and rapid bus links to the new airport. However,it is a fraction of Transport for NSW’s previous internal estimates totalling $1.6 billion for the rapid bus project.
The Albanese government also committed $100 million this week for bus depots and charging infrastructure for rapid bus services to the new airport.
As part of plans for the five new routes,new bus interchanges will be built at the airport and Bradfield,making it easier for passengers to switch between buses and metro rail services.
Transport for NSW said in a statement that the new services to the airport and Bradfield were a “first step towards” a rapid bus network.
“We are planning more services for the airport precinct to support growth and travel demand in the years to come. These future services will include on-street bus priority measures,resulting in faster journeys,” it said.
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