The launch of the Sydney North West Metro has probably been one of the most newsworthy events to occur in Sydney this year.

The new driver-less trains have made travelling from north western suburbs like Schofields, The Ponds, and Rouse Hill to more central locations such as Macquarie Park and Chatswood a piece of cake.

However, the lack of bus connections between residential areas and the new metro stations left the residents around these suburbs feeling unimpressed.

To address this issue, Transport for NSW has decided to introduce two dedicated On-Demand options – Cooee Busways and Hillsbus MetroConnect to service specified divisions along the metro line.

 

What is an On-Demand service anyway?

The On-Demand service is comprised of a fleet of mini-buses which are the part of a government trial to make public transport services more accessible and flexible.

As such, the idea is to enable users to book a vehicle to pick them up from a nearby convenient location and take them to local transport hubs, shopping centres, business parks, or hospital – think Uber, but with a bus.

The hope for this service is that it can serve as an alternative to conventional buses and to improve connectivity to the existing public transport network.

 

Services by location

Transport for NSW has introduced two services to operate in specified regions – Norwest and The Ponds.

Norwest

Norwest On-Demand by MetroConnect covers suburbs around Norwest Station, Bella Vista Station or Hills Showground Station. MetroConnect operates Monday to Friday between 6am to 10am, and 4pm to 9pm.

Download the MetroConnect app for Android and iOS here.

The Ponds

The Ponds On-Demand service by Cooee covers Schofields, The Ponds, and Kellyville Ridge. Cooee Busways operates every weekday from 5am to 9pm including weekday public holidays. The service is unavailable on weekends.

Download the Cooee app for Android and iOS here.

Fares

Fares for the On-Demand service are comparable an Adult Opal single trip bus ticket. Payments for the booking can be made directly through the app. Users who qualify for concessions can redeem a discount on the service by using voucher codes.

Prices for the service are as follows: