B-Line is a

bus route A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for ...

operated by

Keolis Downer Northern Beaches Keolis Downer Northern Beaches is a bus operator in Sydney, Australia. A subsidiary of Keolis Downer, it operates services in Sydney Bus Region 8 on the Lower North Shore and Northern Beaches under contract to Transport for NSW. Its headquar ...

between the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the " cit ...

and the

Northern Beaches The Northern Beaches is a region within Northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, near the Pacific coast. This area extends south to the entrance of Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour), west to Middle Harbour and north to the en ...

in Sydney, Australia.

History

In November 2015,

Transport for New South Wales Transport for NSW, sometimes abbreviated to TfNSW, and pronounced as Transport for New South Wales, is an agency of the New South Wales Government established on 1 November 2011, and is the leading transport and roads agency in New South Wales, ...

(TfNSW) announced the construction of a 27 kilometre

bus rapid transit Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...

network between

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay Europe Ireland *Newport, County Mayo, a town on the ...

on the

and the Sydney central business district. It began operating on 26 November 2017 as route B1 between Mona Vale and Wynyard Park. A planned extension to Newport was later cancelled following opposition from local residents with concerns that improved public transport infrastructure would be used to justify new high density housing developments. The route is operated by double deck buses.New B-Line to transform Northern Beaches Bus travel
Transport for NSW 9 November 2015
'' Sydney Morning Herald'' 9 November 2015 Route B1 services stop at nine B-Line stops at Mona Vale,

Warriewood Warriewood is a suburb in northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Warriewood is located 26 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Northern Beaches Council. Warriewood i ...

Narrabeen Narrabeen is a beachside suburb in northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Narrabeen is 23 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Northern Beaches Council and ...

, Collaroy,

Dee Why Dee Why is a coastal suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, 18 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district. It is the administrative centre of the local government area of Northern Beach ...

, Brookvale,

Manly Vale Manly Vale is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 17 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Northern Beaches Council, in the Northern Beaches r ...

, Spit Junction and Neutral Bay. Commuter car parks have been built at Mona Vale, Warriewood, Narrabeen, Dee Why, Brookvale and Manly Vale. The B-Line is operated by

's Mona Vale depot as part of Region 8. Improvements to tidal flows in 2018 on Spit and Military Roads are expected to improve reliability. Buses on the B-Line will trial Mobileye, a new forward-facing collision avoidance technology system which has been developed by Intel. In the first year of operation to November 2018, 5.9 million passengers were carried. On 20 December 2020, the B-Line commenced operating 24-hours a day, extended between midnight and 5am to the

Queen Victoria Building The Queen Victoria Building (abbreviated as the QVB) is a heritage-listed late-nineteenth-century building designed by the architect George McRae located at 429–481 George Street in the Sydney central business district, in the Australian st ...

as route BN1. In October 2021 it was included in the takeover of region 8 by

Changes to Northern Beaches bus network

When the B-line opened, there were various changes to the bus network on the Northern Beaches. The more significant changes were: * Discontinuation of 23 routes such as E84, E86, E87, L84, L85, L87, L88, 130, 140, 153, 179, 187 and 190 * Introduction of 4 new routes in addition to route B1 * Reduction of service times and frequency to L90 * Extension of M30 from Spit Junction to

Taronga Zoo Taronga Zoo is a zoo located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, in the suburb of Mosman, on the shores of Sydney Harbour. The opening hours are between 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Taronga is an Aboriginal word meaning 'beautiful water view'. ...

, replacing daytime route 247 services * Renumbering non-discontinued L routes to E routes

Vehicles

To operate the B-Line, 38 Gemilang Coachworks bodied MAN A95s were purchased. They have audio/video systems on board that announce the next stops, along with connections and places of interest at the stop. Painted in a dedicated yellow and blue livery, these are the first double deck buses to be operated by a NSW government operator since the

Urban Transit Authority The Urban Transit Authority, a former statutory authority of the Government of New South Wales, was responsible for the operation and maintenance of buses and ferries in Sydney and Newcastle from July 1980 until January 1989. History The Urban ...

withdrew its last

Leyland Atlantean The Leyland Atlantean is a predominantly double-decker bus chassis manufactured by Leyland Motors between 1958 and 1986. Only 17 Atlantean chassis were bodied as single deck from new. It pioneered the design of rear-engined, front entrance ...

s in 1986.

Stops

All B-Line bus stops incorporate a real-time passenger information display that displays the departure time, destination, route number and number of passengers on board the next few buses to arrive at the stop (including non B-Line services).

Wynyard

Wynyard Park is the southern terminus of the line. The B-Line drops off passengers on

York Street York is a cathedral city with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many hist ...

and picks up passengers from Stand B on Carrington Street. This stop connects the B-Line to train services at Wynyard railway station.

Neutral Bay

The Neutral Bay citybound bus stop is located on Military Road between Rangers Road and Wycombe Road. Citybound B-Line buses depart from Stand A, along with all other citybound buses. Commuters can change here for bus services towards Chatswood,

Royal North Shore Hospital The Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located in St Leonards. It serves as a teaching hospital for Sydney Medical School at the University of Sydney and has over 600 beds. It is the p ...

, Sydenham, North Sydney and

Milsons Point Milsons Point is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The suburb is located 3 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of North Sydney Council. ...

The northbound bus stop is located between Young Street and Waters Road. Northbound B-Line buses depart from Stand E, along with all other Northern Beaches buses. Commuters can change here for buses towards Balmoral Beach,

and Mosman Junction.

Spit Junction (Mosman)

The Spit Junction citybound bus stop is located on a newly built pedestrian plaza on Clifford Street. This bus stop started operating concurrently with the B-Line, with the older bus stop located closer to the junction of Military Road and Spit Road being closed. To facilitate its construction, a disused

Greater Union Greater Union Organisation Pty Ltd, trading as Event Cinemas, Greater Union, GU Film House, Moonlight Cinema and Birch Carroll & Coyle (BCC Cinemas), is the largest movie exhibitor in Australia and New Zealand, with over 140 cinema complexes cu ...

cinema was purchased and demolished. The northbound bus stop remains in the same location on Spit Road although, like all other stops, fitted with new seating and real-time passenger information displays.

Manly Vale

The

bus stop is located on Condamine Street north of Kenneth Road. The bus stops at Manly Vale feature weather protection. The bus stop also features one of the six new commuter car parks which have been planned for B-Line bus stops. The Manly Vale B-Line commuter car park consists of a three-stories structure which has 150 spaces and incorporates around 9000 plants in a breathing green wall, helping to reduce air pollutants for nearby residents.

Warringah Mall

The Warringah Mall citybound bus stop is located on Pittwater Road, north of William Street. The northbound bus stop is located on Pittwater Road, adjacent to

Westfield Warringah Mall Westfield Warringah Mall (previously known as Warringah Mall or colloquially as The Mall) is a large indoor/outdoor shopping centre in the suburb of Brookvale in the Northern Beaches region of Sydney. Transport Westfield Warringah Mall h ...

shopping centre. Commuters can change here for bus services towards Chatswood,

Frenchs Forest Frenchs Forest (pron. frenches) is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Frenchs Forest is 13 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Northern Beaches Cou ...

, Manly as Northern Beaches surrounds. A commuter car park is available at this stop.

Dee Why

The

citybound bus stop is located on Pittwater Road, between Howard Avenue and Oaks Avenue. The northbound bus stop is located on Pittwater Road, south of St David Avenue. Commuters can change here for bus services to Chatswood,

Cromer Cromer ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish on the north coast of the English county of Norfolk. It is north of Norwich, north-northeast of London and east of Sheringham on the North Sea coastline. The local government authorities are N ...

Narraweena Narraweena is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Narraweena is 18 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Northern Beaches Council and is part of ...

Collaroy Plateau Collaroy Plateau is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Collaroy Plateau is 22 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Northern Beaches Council ...

and

Wheeler Heights Wheeler Heights is a suburb of Northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Wheeler Heights is located 22 kilometers north-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Northern Beaches Council an ...

. A commuter car park is available at this stop.

Collaroy

The Collaroy citybound bus stop is located on Pittwater Road, alongside the historic Arlington Amusement Hall. The northbound bus stop is located on Pittwater Road, between Fielding Avenue and Collaroy Street.

Narrabeen

The

citybound bus stop is located on Pittwater Road, between Waterloo Street and Albert Street. The northbound bus stop is located on Pittwater Road with access to Berry Reserve. A commuter car park is available at this stop.

Warriewood

The

citybound bus stop is located on Pittwater Road, adjacent to North Narrabeen Reserve. The northbound bus stop is located on Pittwater Road, north of Jacksons Road, with access to Boondah Reserve. A commuter car park is available at this stop.

Mona Vale

Mona Vale is the northern terminus of the line. The B-Line drops passengers off on Barranjoey Road, between Pittwater Road and Park Street and picks up passengers on Barranjoey Road, near Kitchener Park. Commuters can change here for bus services towards

Macquarie Centre Macquarie Centre is a shopping centre in the suburb of Macquarie Park on the North Shore of Sydney and is located opposite the main campus of Macquarie University. Transport The Metro North West Line offers frequent services to Macquarie U ...

, Gordon, Terrey Hills, McCarrs Creek & Palm Beach. A commuter car park is available at this stop.

References

External links

B-Line home page
{{Sydney public transport, state=collapsed Bus transport brands Bus transport in New South Wales 2017 establishments in Australia