Sydney Airport TBus terminal transfer service between International (T1) and Domestic terminals (T2) is now FREE (as of about 2 weeks ago). Previously cost $6 each way. Wow freebie by Sydney Airports Corporation, who'd have thought?!
Photo is of the Tbus stop at International (not particularly well sign posted). You'll see the new complimentary sign sits above the now covered up defunct ticket vending machine.
https://www.sydneyairport.com.au/info-sheet/getting-between-…
Not really. It's a terrible "hack". While it's free to walk 20+ minutes from Mascot station to Domestic Airport station, it's more time/effort effective to just transfer to the 400 bus for an additional 15 cents.
Explanation: The "hack" is that if you need to catch the train to the airport stations, you can catch the train to Mascot and walk the rest of the way to Domestic Airport thus saving the airport access fee of $14.80. However, if you transfer to the 400 bus at Mascot, the bus fare is $2.15 (for both Domestic/International Airport) but you'll get $2 back for transferring. Net extra cost $0.15.
The good thing is that the 400 bus route cross 4 train lines (several stations) so you don't even have to go all the way to Mascot to transfer, depending on where you're coming from and going to:
Tl;dr: Consider catching or transferring to the 400 bus to get to the airport as it has an effective balance of time/effort/cost.
Take train to Wolli creek and then grab an Uber
Train ticket to Wolli Creek + Uber will cost same as Station access fee.. Best option is to catch 400 bus
Oh man as a shareholder I think this is a terrible idea. I am glad theY have raised parking prices. That should more then cover this lost revenue.
You'll love the hack where I keep a stash of opal cards with balances just above minimum amount required to enable system to let you ride a train (currently around $2.60).
I use that card to get on the train network from anywhere in the metro area and ride to airport. The airport gate will try to deduct the train fee + gate fee (say total is $17), but cause you only have $2.60 balance, the card goes into -$14.40 debit but still let's you exit as usual. Then that opal card gets binned.
Don't know whether it is SAC, Airport line or Sydney trains who wears the gate fee loss, but it ain't me :p
OzFraud
Transfers between T1 and T2 would have been a good use of the scrapped monorail.
WTF is with airports charging people for their shitty design? Any good airport would have easy access from both domestic and international terminals….or any terminal for that matter. Frankly I'd find another way to get somewhere and bypass any airport that wanted to charge me to get to a connecting flight IN THE SAME AIRPORT!!
It's the equivalent of a supermarket charing you to move from the deli to the bakery section.
Not uncommon in airports around the world but very surprising for Sydney airport. Thanks OP!
I had to pay the for the transfer a few times recently and the machines were broken each time. Looks like they gave up! :D
In Melbourne it's free to go from the international to domestic terminal.
That's because at Melbourne Tullamarine, they used a sensible design where terminals 1-4 are all grouped together, with flat paved areas between them, and free trolleys. So the reason it's free is because it's an easy short flat walk, plus they're not actively trying to whack you like a money pinata at every possible opportunity.
Contrast with Sydney Kingsford Smith, where they seriously separated the buildings (it's a 11 minute 4.5 km car ride between the two!), and charged for the privilege of transiting between them. And to add insult to injury, the airport railway line has a huge per-ticket access surcharge (~$15, to which you then add the normal rail fare). So of course everyone goes in cars/taxis/ubers (as with 2 people travelling from the inner city it's the same cost and usually much faster and easier than the train), and so of course it's carmageddon approaching peak departure times, such as 6:30 AM.
The whole thing is daft beyond belief, and I live in Sydney! By selling the airport to Macquarie Bank we've collectively paid for it many times over in inflated fees and prices, the sale was yet another seriously short-sighted move by John Howard (who is the root cause or key contributor to so many of the problems we currently face, from excessively high home prices due to the halving the capital gains tax, to the awful way we treat desperate refugees, to excessive immigration without building any of the corresponding new infrastructure needed, to the ongoing semi-denial and federal inaction on climate change). sigh
The one cool thing Sydney has is being able to drive down the road and see a jumbo jet going down the runway above you. I wish we had that in Melbourne. Though I suppose it gets old quick.
Thank god. I remember the time I just got back from a trip O/S and all I had was American dollars in my wallet. Trying to get $6 at the airport was a total nightmare. At the end, a nice lady gave me $6 in coins, so I could get on the damn bus. I was going to give her $20 in American dollars but she didn’t take it.
Also now the service is a hell of a lot quicker and boarding quicker too. Because no checking tickets, no explaining to people how to buy tickets, etc etc etc. A very Common sense decision to drop the charge! Even if the train were free too, I find that the bus is easier.
About time…now in line with most major airports in the world.
Money saving hack.
https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2011/04/is-it-worth-walking-to…