SYDNEY is a city in perpetual motion. Its population of 4.2 million (Singapore's is 4.5 million as of June last year) makes about 15.5 million trips per weekday, mostly by car. That's almost double what people in Singapore make today.

Much of this has to do with the size of the city as well as the geographical spread of the population, necessitating more transfers.

Sydney has an area of some 12,000 sq km, compared with Singapore's 704 sq km. Parking is costly - from A$20 (S$25) a day - and sparse, so people who work in the central business district often drive, park their car, walk, board a train, bus or ferry (or a combination) to get into town.

Mr Jim Glasson, director-general of New South Wales (NSW) Ministry of Transport, says Sydney has developed along its radial rail lines, which were built in the late 1800s and early 1900s. But with the proliferation of the motor car in the 1950s, people moved away from the rail lines.

With more people driving, fewer people used the trains and buses. Less money was poured into public transport and standards went down. But the impact of the deterioration was felt keenly only in recent years.

A May 30, 2005 report in The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper described Sydney's public transport as "chaotic, unreliable and sometimes unsafe".

In a policy paper released last December, the Rail, Tram & Bus Union - a national union for public transport workers - said Sydney's "transport crisis is like an iceberg: what we see is only the tip of the problem".

Even as the criticisms flowed, government initiatives are rolling out to remedy the situation.

Mr Glasson calls it "the most significant reform we've had on integrated public transport".

The broad aim is similar to what has been spelt out in Singapore and other major cities in the world: To raise public transport usage.

In Sydney, car trips make up 78 per cent of morning trips. While that is high compared with places like Singapore (37 per cent) or Zurich (25 per cent), it is lower than in other Australian cities such as Melbourne and Brisbane (both around 87 per cent).

In the city centre however, public transport accounts for 72 per cent of trips, notes Mr Glasson.

With the population expected to grow to 5 million by around 2030, and increasing road congestion, Sydney's state government aims to increase public transport ridership all round.

The target is to have 25 to 27 per cent of work trips made on public transport in 10 years, up from 22 percent now. In the city centre, the target is 75 per cent.

To this end, the state is setting aside A$20 billion to reform and improve urban transport over the next decade. Ferry, bus, tram and train services will be improved and expanded.

A sizeable portion of the budget, about A$8 billion, will go towards expanding the heavy rail network. It is one of the single biggest rail investments in decades, and will add about 30km to the current network of 250km or so.

Heavy rail in Australia is defined by high-load double-decked trains, while something like Singapore's MRT is called a metro.

But its roll-out has been somewhat of a moving target. Originally due for completion in 2010, it was pushed to 2017. Then, it was recently announced that it would be brought forward to either 2014 or 2015.
Meanwhile, another A$1.5 billion will go towards improving the reliability and capacity of the suburban rail network. That is scheduled for completion in 2010.

The latter is expected to benefit commuters most. According to the government-owned Rail Corp of NSW, only 61.5 per cent of suburban train services were on time in 2004 and 2005, down from 92.6 per cent in 2001 and 2002.

In fact, because of reliability issues, the government held back train fare increases in 2004 and 2005, says Mr Glasson.

Along with efforts to improve rail travel, the government has embarked on a 'bus reform' plan.
Mr Glasson says: "There's a very strong policy view within the government that buses are a significant part of public transport. If you go back 10, 15 years, that wasn't the view - Sydney had been dominated by the rail system, and buses were mostly feeders to the rail network.

"Now, they're seen as of equal value to the rail system."

One of the first projects of the NSW Ministry of Transport when it was formed in July 2003 was the bus reform programme.

The plan, started in 2004, involved slashing subsidies for services which carried children to and from school.

Subsidies had made private bus operators inefficient and had led to abuse. Since the subsidies were based on number of children carried, operators declared more children than they actually ferried. And because they relied on the subsidies, they did little to improve service for adult-paying fares.

The reforms led to a massive consolidation of the industry. The 87 operating regions in the state were reduced to 15. This in turn led to a series of mergers and acquisitions, as well as departures.

It was an unpopular political decision - similar to what Singapore took three decades ago when three private bus companies were merged to become Singapore Bus Services in 1973 - but the ministry was certain it was necessary because the remaining players would be more likely to be profitable.

Also, it is easier to arrive at fresh mandates with a smaller group.

By 2012, the number of operating regions will be further reduced to eight. And there is talk that there will eventually be only four regions.

Besides the sweeping consolidation, the government has been rolling out a series of bus priority plans.

The most visible must be the bus transitways or T-ways, which are new bus-only roads. On these roads, buses cruise at speeds of up to 100kmh, uninterrupted by other road users.

T-ways are seen as a viable alternative to rail lines, which are costlier and take a longer time to build.

There are currently two T-ways in Sydney. One from Liverpool to Parramatta spans 31km and is operated by state-owned buses; and the Northwest Transitway, which is operated by ComfortDelGro Cabcharge, a subsidiary of Singapore-based ComfortDelGro Corp.

The Northwest T-way has two sections. A 17km stretch linking Rouse Hill to Parramatta opened in March this year; and a 7km section connecting Blacktown to Castle Hill is due to open in December.

There are plans to build another 35km of T-ways.

Besides dedicated transitways, more buses have started plying the highways since 2005. ComfortDelGro Cabcharge buses ply the M2, a 30km route connecting the north-west district to the city centre, via the Harbour Bridge.

It is proving to be a popular service, as a week's worth of bus tickets cost A$56 - compared with over A$80 for highway tolls alone if you drive.

Mr Glasson, who takes the M2 service to work, says "it's good value".

"A single bus lane on the Harbour Bridge carries 13,000 people into the city in the morning peak hour. All the roads leading to the city cumulatively carry 10,000 people," he notes. "That's a pretty powerful statement in terms of public transport."

To make bus travel more attractive, the government is spending A$235 million on a 'bus priority' programme, which includes designating new bus lanes, increasing road capacity and setting up a satellite-based priority traffic signalling system for buses.

Mr Glasson says the programme has commenced and is due to be completed by 2012.

"During the period, we're doing a complete review of the bus operations," he adds.

Already, the reform has started to bear fruit.

ComfortDelGro Cabcharge, which started running buses in Sydney in late 2005, has seen its average daily ridership grow from 64,150 to 72,900.

That's a 13.6 per cent growth in just two years.

To cater to the rise in bus ridership, Sydney will spend A$250 million to buy 505 new clean diesel and natural gas- powered buses over the next five years.

This is the biggest ever investment in new buses in New South Wales history.

ComfortDelGro Cabcharge chief executive Owen Eckford, for one, is heartened by the government's newfound commitment.

"Ten years ago, for every $5 they spent on roads, they spent $1 on public transport. Now, it's the other way around," he sums up.