Newcastle Buses and Ferries

Newcastle Buses & Ferries

Buses at the Newcastle station layover
Parent	State Transit Authority
Commenced operation	22 September 1935
Ceased operation	30 June 2017
Headquarters	Hamilton
Service area	Lake Macquarie Newcastle
Service type	Bus & ferry operator
Routes	26 (June 2017)
Depots	2
Fleet	180 buses, 2 ferries (June 2017)
Website	www.newcastlebuses.info

Newcastle Buses & Ferries was a commuter bus and ferry service operating in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie from 1935 until 2017. Part of the State Transit Authority, it operated 26 bus routes and the across the Hunter River.

The first government operated bus route commenced on 22 September 1935 to Mayfield. On 10 June 1950, the final tram routes were withdrawn. On 2 February 1983, the was taken over from a private operator.

In November 2015, the Government announced its intention to incorporate Newcastle Buses & Ferries into a new Transport for Newcastle along with the Newcastle Light Rail with the operation of services to be contracted to a private operator.Keolis Downer and a Transit Systems/UGL Rail consortium announced their intentions to bid. In December 2016 the contract was awarded to Keolis Downer who trading as Newcastle Transport took over the services from 1 July 2017.

The bus network radiated from a bus terminal in Scott Street near NSW TrainLink's former Newcastle station. Buses parked in a designated layover area adjacent to the station however buses did not pick up or set down in this area. Major interchanges were located at University of Newcastle, Wallsend, Glendale, Warners Bay, Belmont, Charlestown Square, Westfield Kotara and Broadmeadow station.