"Every bus commuter will experience change as a result of the new network," Mr Constance said at a press conference. "There will be winners and losers, there will be those who love this and those who loathe this, but this is about making a better Sydney," he said. The new network will require an estimated 3800 people in the morning peak to transfer to another bus or train to get to their destination. But Mr Constance said that was about 10 per cent of all bus commuters to the inner city, while about 23,500 commuters already interchanged in the morning peak. The changes are prompted by the need to clear about 200 buses in the morning from George Street, soon to be a construction zone. But they will affect bus users who enter central Sydney from all directions. Of the 3800 commuters expected to be required to interchange, officials said about 650 come from the north of the city, 1350 come from the east and south-eastern suburbs, 1000 from Parramatta Road and Newtown buses, and 850 from Victoria Road, Pyrmont and Balmain. And six bus routes from the eastern and northern suburbs will no longer run to the city, instead terminating at Edgecliff, Redfern, Milsons Point and North Sydney stations.

Material released by the government to promote the network encourages commuters to change from buses to trains if that is convenient, though under the fare rules for the Opal card commuters who do so would be charged twice for that one trip. Mr Constance said he had asked the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal to review integrated fares for Sydney. "I think it is time that we recognise that this is the way to go with the advent of Opal so we now have that ability to do that work," he said.



But neither the review nor the government's response will not be finished by the start of the new network in October, and Mr Constance did not give a completion date for the review. It is possible that some bus routes through the city could become more reliable under the overhauled system. There will be fewer buses running down York Street and Druitt Street, with more routes redirected to other streets. But congestion is likely to increase on Elizabeth Street, where buses from the inner west will have to merge with those from the east.

The coordinator general of CBD transport, Marg Prendergast, said doing nothing was not an option. "The Conga line of buses travelling at 9km/h in the inner core of our city cannot be sustained," said Ms Prendergast. "We cannot accommodate extra passengers with the current operations. This bus plan is the first step to a more efficient and reliable, less variable network for buses," she said. Timetables for the new bus routes will be released in September. Mr Constance and Transport for NSW had planned to release the new network later this month, but brought the announcement forward after Fairfax Media reported on segments of the proposal inadvertently placed online on Thursday.