With Sydney’s new airport up and running, a key question has lingered amidst the excitement: how does one get there?
asserted
one → run → excitement
Armed with fake luggage and a keen eye for bus routes, the Herald’s western Sydney reporters set a challenge to see who could make it to the airport the quickest via public transport for a real flight.
uncertain
who → arm → flight
Our goal was to arrive the recommended two hours before a Jetstar flight to the Gold Coast.
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goal → arrive → Coast
In theory, it’s easy: get the metro.
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it → ’ → metro
But the Western Sydney International Airport metro line is not due to be completed until December 2027 at earliest, so there are currently limited public transport options, in addition to driving.
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line → complete → driving
We picked the three largest western Sydney hubs – Parramatta, Penrith and Campbelltown – as the starting points for our journeys.
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We → pick → journeys
My plan to get this flight has just changed for a third time.
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plan → get → time
I’d initially wanted to take WSI’s much-advertised $25, 50-minute “super shuttle” bus service that runs direct between Parramatta and the airport.
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that → want → Parramatta
But it’s only running twice a day – and the first service leaves after my flight is meant to take off.
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flight → run → ?
Next best option was getting a FlixBus, the infamously cheap European green bus company now operating in Australia.
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option → get → Australia
Its website boasted about a $3 ticket for a bus leaving at just the right time.
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website → boast → time
But now it has disappeared from the website.
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it → disappear → website
It’s going to take me longer, but I’m getting the train to St Marys to join the dedicated free shuttle bus.
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train → go → bus
The train is empty, and I’ve made a discovery: I thought the FlixBus service had disappeared because it was full, but it turns out the company just cancelled the service for today.
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company → make → today
St Mary’s train station is incredibly noisy because it’s almost surrounded by a construction site for the new metro station – the one that was meant to be ready by the time the airport opened to connect the rest of Sydney to WSI.
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airport → surround → WSI
It’s not.
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It → ’ → ?
After heaving my luggage through the main street of St Marys, I arrive at the new WSI shuttle bus stop, which is admittedly not much of a bus stop.
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which → heave → stop
Three men are constructing a shelter (which is amusing, considering this airport opening was not exactly a surprise) that has left about two dozen passengers waiting for the bus in the sun.
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that → construct → sun
The bus arrives as I pull up and join the queue.
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I → arrive → queue
It’s free, but you need to tap an Opal card to record passenger numbers.
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you → ’ → numbers
It turns out that despite this bus being full, I’m the only one with a suitcase.
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I → turn → suitcase
A group of elderly women tell me they’ve heard the airport is beautiful and want to explore it for fun.
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airport → tell → fun
Another couple tells me they read in the Herald that there weren’t many food options at the airport, so they considered bringing their own lunch for a visit.
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they → tell → visit
We’ve just turned off Mamre Road onto Luddenham Road, and it’s a reminder of how developed this area is yet to be: the bus is hurtling along this narrow two-lane track that is crumbling at the sides.
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that → turn → sides
We’re here, at just over the hour mark.
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We → ’re → mark
It’s convenient and faster than travelling to Sydney Airport in Mascot, which often takes me over an hour.
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which → ’ → hour
So, while many from Sydney’s east may dread travelling to Badgerys Creek, I’m very excited to do so.
uncertain
I → dread → Creek
Today, however, I’m catching a bus to the new airport and my expectations for a smooth and quick trip are low.
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expectations → catch → trip
Google Maps tells me it will take me one hour and 11 minutes to arrive.
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it → tell → hour
While I’m waiting for my 11.05am bus (I’m very early), another airport bus pulls up at 10.40am.
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bus → wait → 10.40am
One person gets on.
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person → get → ?
Five minutes before my bus comes two other people who look lost join me.
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who → come → me
There’s a bit of a language barrier, but they mime a plane landing, and I’m able to figure out they’re also travelling to the airport.
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they → ’ → airport
They seem excited to see the planes, and it’s a good reminder of how many people have been looking forward to visiting the airport.
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people → seem → airport
My bus arrives almost right on time and three other people get on.
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people → arrive → time
I put my suitcase on the luggage rack and pick one of the many seats available.
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I → put → seats
No one else has luggage.
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one → have → luggage
Exactly six minutes later we make our first stop.
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we → make → stop
If this is how often the bus will be stopping it’s going to be a long journey.
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it → stop → ?
I wish I had a coffee.
asserted
I → wish → coffee
…and 41 more, not listed.
The Aporia
