Police were also called in to turn back crowds trying to access the Harbour Bridge.
A Transport for NSW spokeswoman said hundreds of thousands of commuters travelled on thousands of extra services in and out of the Sydney CBD for New Year’s Eve celebrations with no major issues reported.
“Access to platforms was limited briefly at Wynyard and Central stations to manage crowds heading home after the midnight fireworks,but these safety strategies were anticipated and short-term,” she said.
“There was also a minor incident at Town Hall Station requiring emergency services.
“With Circular Quay being one of the most popular vantage points,some ferry passengers waited briefly to exit their services so they could move safely and freely around the promenade.”
NSW Labor’s spokesman for Roads,John Graham,said that on Saturday night “there were some specific incidents and we call on the government to make sure those incidents are reviewed and any specific safety lessons are learnt”.
Regional Transport and Roads Minister Sam Farraway said the “vibe was good” in Sydney as significant numbers of people watched the new year’s fireworks.“We had some significant crowd numbers. We had some significant people using public transport across the city and I think by all accounts,and from the police accounts,everyone behaved themselves,” he said. “Sydney ... brought in new year’s with an absolute bang.”
Police arrested 83 people on New Year’s Eve and laid 25 charges for assault,offensive behaviour and drug-related offences.
NSW Ambulance said it received more than 2200 Triple Zero calls for help between 4pm on Saturday and 5am on Sunday – one call every 20 seconds. This was 670 fewer than the number received last ye
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Acting Assistant Commissioner Paul Tonge said the busiest period was between 12am and 4am when 1007 calls were made,a large portion of which were accidents related to intoxication.
“More than one million people gathered around Sydney harbour for the fireworks last night – the highest crowd numbers in several years due to the pandemic – so it was a very busy night for us,yet somewhat relieving to see an overall drop in call-outs,” he said.
“Today will be another very busy day for us and we are forecasting in excess of 5000 calls on New Year’s Day.
“We’ve had several incidents this summer where people have decided to drink and swim. It hasn’t ended well.”
With Matt O’Sullivan