Sydney Airport Link Fees – Insane! Abusrd!
As you may have guessed from the title, this post is going to be a rant/complaint about the absurd fees we need to pay to use the Sydney Airport Link.
Firstly, a couple of quick facts:
- Sydney Airport is the busiest Airport in Australia
- It costs $15.00 to travel by train between Central Station and the Domestic Airport (6.7km)
- It costs
$15.40$15.00 to travel by train between Central Station and the International Airport (8.2km) - The above mentioned train is the only direct method of transport between Sydney Airport and Sydney CBD (excluding taxis, private coaches)
- This train service is not a dedicated Airport Train and therefore there is no dedicated area/space for luggage
- The only real 'pure' public transport that passes through the Airport is the 400 bus that travels between Burwood and Bondi Junction
Fact #1 is probably not surprising at all - Sydney is Australia's largest city so Sydney Airport being the busiest Airport in Australia is in my opinion expected.
On the other hand Facts #2-#6 may raise a few eyebrows. $15+ to travel from the airport to Sydney CBD on a train that does not accommodate for your luggage? Looking for another form of public transport to the city - none exists. Need somewhere to put your luggage when travelling? Don't think about public transport at all - get a taxi or private coach.
Maybe it's just me, but that doesn't sound very inviting at all. Definitely not a very good first impression of Sydney for first time visitors. Though, having lived in Sydney for a few years now, I've come to accept how troublesome and absurd it is to travel to Sydney Airport.
Let's have a look at the cost first. To travel roughly the same distance by train on the Sydney rail network it will cost you $3.60 (Central to Wollstonecraft, 8.34km). Yes, you read correctly $3.60 - a difference of roughly $11.40 or $11.80. The reason is there are four stations along the Airport and East Hills Line (solid green line in above image) - Green Square, Mascot, Domestic Airport, International Airport - that are not owned by the government, instead they are owned by the private company Airport Link Pty Ltd.
So the railway line itself is owned by Sydney's RailCorp, while the stations/gates are owned by a private company, therefore as a commuter you have to pay a $11.80 gate fee to pass through the gates of the Domestic or International stations. If you think the gate fee is rather steep given a $3.60 journey, I whole heartedly agree with you.
This begs the question - why? Why does a private company "randomly" own four stations on a public railway system? Why is the gate fee so ridiculous? Answer: NSW Government. I don't know the full details, but this is my understanding (main source: Wikipedia).
- In 1995, in preparation for 2000 Sydney Olympics, NSW government decided it needed to improve travelling to/from the airport.
- Due to the costs of building the Olympic venues, Sydney government went into a public private partnership. NSW Government will pay, build and operate the line, while the private company (Airport Link) will pay, build and operate the stations.
- As part of this agreement NSW Government gave Airport Link a guarantee on passenger numbers and train reliability.
This all sounds good until you realise that the NSW Government was overly optimistic and over estimated passenger numbers and train reliability. The inability for the NSW Government to correctly estimate these key factors in the agreement led to:
- Sydney government cancelling the existing City to Airport Express bus services (300, 350) that had dedicated luggage space in hope that this would increase the number of passengers using the train.
- The need to pay a station fee - which is determined by Airport Link (I assume they have made it so expensive to try and make up for the lack in numbers).
There is quite a bit more detail to the entire promise of passenger numbers etc, but basically NSW Government stuffed up. In order to try and fix this stuff up, they crippled transport to and from Sydney Airport.
Whilst writing this blog post, I came across this article from ABC News: Sydney Airport slams "absurd" transport links. The news article echoes a similar message to this post, but I would like to point out the end of the article which shocked me when I read it.
"People get horrified when they go to the local railway station and say how much to the airport and they say '$13.'"
But the chief executive of Airport Link, Tim Anderson, has rejected claims that it is too expensive.
"We think that our airport connection fee is comparable with all airport connection fees around Australia which are generally in the range of 14 to 16 dollars," he said.
To Tim Anderson, chief executive of Airport Link:
- Do you not realise that just because "someone else does it" doesn't mean it is the right thing to do?
- Also, other airport connections around Australia are dedicated airport links. They have dedicated luggage areas. They are not normal suburban trains that just stop by the airport. Passengers of these dedicated airport links do not have to fight for a seat with normal commuters.
- Maybe consider lowering the gate fee? It might mean less people will be scared away (or pissed off) and actually use the Airport Link.
- Do you not think that forcing commuters to pay $11.80 to walk through the station and let the gate open for you is absurd?
To NSW Government:
- Please fix up this major stuff up - but don't stuff it up even more!
- Do include some form of 'pure' public transport between Sydney Airport and Sydney CBD. A railway that requires passing through a private station and paying an insane gate fee does not count as public transport. Also, don't forget to include dedicated luggage area!
- The 400 bus service that services the Airport is a great start - but we need more bus services to different parts of Sydney (or at the very minimum to the CBD).
- Fix up the 131500.info website - searching for journeys between Central station and Sydney Airport (Domestic or International) with "Trips with least service charges" selected, returns the Airport Link option. This is not the cheapest option - taking the longer route of 400 bus + another bus/train is approximately half price. Unless the cost to use Airport Link option is reduced to be less than taking the bus, this is providing false and misleading information.
To close off this rant - despite Australia being a first world country, Sydney being Australia's largest city and Sydney Airport being Australia's busiest airport, the current state of public transport to and from Sydney Airport is as follows:
- There is currently no public transport that takes you directly from Sydney Airport to Sydney CBD.
- The only 'pure' public transport available is the 400 bus service that runs between Burwood and Bondi Junction.
- To travel directly by train to Central Station you need to pay a total of $15.00 (Domestic or International) for a single trip. This consists of a $11.80 gate fee. This train is a normal suburban train, thus it will not have dedicated luggage area, and many seats maybe already occupied by other suburban commuters.
February 28th, 2010 - 14:09
you can replace airport with broadband in this article, and the article still makes sense!
March 12th, 2010 - 00:35
You might be interested in this article.
http://www.smh.com.au/travel/cut-rail-fares-for-flyers-report-20100311-q1lm.html
March 14th, 2010 - 21:23
Great article I say
Cut the fares!
March 21st, 2010 - 17:12
How much does a TAXI cost to the CIty???
March 25th, 2010 - 20:41
hi there,
I’m not entirely sure, but I believe it will cost roughly around AU$35 from the airport to the city…
pyko
March 29th, 2010 - 10:20
Good article! Can I also add that the taxi queues at Sydney (both international and domestic) are a disgrace. I am ashamed that this is what our visitors have to experience! I arrived at 8.15 last night at the domestic airport from Melbourne. There were about 300 people in the taxi queue and in 20 minutes I only saw 2 taxis arrive to pick up passengers. I calculated that it would take from 1.5 -2 hours to get to the front of the queue. We are talking about 8pm on a Sunday night – surely they know this is a usual peak time and should plan for it! If they can’t get taxis to come – organise shuttle buses. We gave up and ended up begging for a lift from a friend who lives close by. I hate to imagine what time the poor people in the taxi queue got home. What can be done to fix this?
April 14th, 2010 - 23:08
Hi Susie,
Thanks for reading
Didn’t realise the taxis were such a big issue either until you posted! Some of my friends came a few weeks ago and they had to wait 30min+ for a taxi! Public transport was not even an option since they had heavy luggage.
I think to fix this Sydney government first needs to realise they made a mistake and then actually do something about it – rather than just talk and pass the blame on to someone else.
In my opinion, to start off, they really need to get rid of the gate charge for the train. Add more buses to the airport, having just one single 400 bus is just lame. With better public transport, hopefully it’ll reduce people waiting for the taxi (I mean if it costs more taking public transport who will take it?).
Personally I’ve never taken a taxi from the airport, but from the sounds of it they need better supply/demand scheduling as well.
pyko
May 7th, 2010 - 13:33
I have heard from friends about the cost to travel on the link.
They went by taxi cheaper.
The situation wont change while it is run by private enterprise.
Also having worked with new CEO all i can say is the situation
will get worse his interest is only money he will have no
consideration for the travelling public
August 30th, 2011 - 14:56
ALW, you work for AirportLink? I doubt that you do. It is extremely expensive, given the service that you get overall. While customer service at the terminal stations is adequate, the value for money ends there in that you are still getting CityRail value with your ticket. Usually if you are travelling in groups, staff will recommend a cab, but otherwise you will not get off for less and that is a fact.
Central to the International Terminal Station is $15.00 by the way; not $15.40 since the recent CityRail price re-structuring. It is for City stations beyond Central that travellers pay a fare of $15.80. Recent discussions with the former state government (Labor) saw the private fees at Mascot and Green Square dropped, which is a start seeing as Mascot is a busy business area. I think people should stop thinking about the terminal train stations as train stations. The fares force one to differentiate between them and ‘normal stations’. It would be better to think of them (essentially) as private express-shuttles. The train is quicker than a cab and still slightly cheaper (depending on group size).
AirportLink contributed a large sum of money towards the construction of the four now-private stations, so there is no point complaining, seeing as if they had not paid anything there would be no train stations at either terminal, etc. The whining is senseless I think… If you don’t like the service, don’t use it. Personally, I would not use the train to get to the airport if I had any other choice. A train to Mascot is $3.20 when travelling from the City of nearby suburbs… From Mascot you can catch the 400 bus into the airport for an additional $2.00, or you can even take a train from Mascot to the airport separately, which costs $7.00 (two separate tickets ends up being cheaper than buying just one straight to the airport).
If you do your research and put in a little effort, travelling is not difficult. Tourists rarely research airport pricing, which is an issue. I always check transport prices when I travel around. I agree that the AirportLink ticket prices are a deterrent, and that were the prices cheaper then patronage would probably more than double. However, as was aforementioned, the company invested in the construction of those stations, so they have the right to charge however much they want. Simple as that.
I would like to say that overall I still liked this article. I couldn’t agree more that the idea of having NO direct public transport routes to the city is absurd and shameful. To think that bus routes have been directed away from the airport in an attempt to increase patronage at the private stations is disgraceful. 131500′s information is indeed poor at best when it comes to information regarding the AirportLink company, but many complaints have been made. It seems the government isn’t all that keen on providing accurate information though. Most CityRail staff, including those at my local station, don’t even know the different tickets which grant entry to the airport stations. That in itself is poor because it is indicative of poor transport knowledge. The government needs to spread the word about these private stations, so that customers stop paying so much, when they would not have, had they known any better (a cheaper route for instance).
August 30th, 2011 - 15:28
Hi John,
Thanks for your input
Agree that we should at least be happy that we at least have the option of travelling to the airport by train. Though like you, I avoid using this service if I can – due to the inconvenience and price. My usual trip to the airport is train to Rockdale and then 400 bus to airport. Your alternate routes of train to Mascot sounds interesting – will probably give them a go next time
I know it sort of goes against the concept of paying back AirportLink, but I think given the lack of good (and reasonably priced) public transport to/from the City/Airport, the government/131500 should clearly list the alternatives that people can take (eg. the broken journeys as discussed above). I think transparency is needed to reduce confusion involved with travelling to and from the airport – and hopefully make Sydney slightly more tourist friendly too!
pyko
ps. updated the price to the International Airport – thanks