No need to queue for the 342: Riding Sydney’s shortest and quietest bus route

Sydney’s shortest bus service runs for just three minutes start to finish and covers just 700m. It runs just twice a day in each direction and at times is completely empty.

It sounds like the dream bus journey — just one cancellation all year and there’s always plenty of seats up for grabs.

The catch? It’s Sydney’s shortest bus service, running just three minutes start to finish and covering just 700m in length.

The 342 bus from Kingsford to Daceyville was designed in the late ’90s to accommodate the elderly residents of the aged care home on Gwea Ave to get to the shops and other transport links in Kingsford.

The bus runs just twice a day in each direction, and at times is completely empty.

When The Saturday Telegraph boarded the bus this week, with just one other passenger, the bus driver, who wished to remain anonymous, said he rarely saw anyone on the afternoon services.

Our reporter was the only passenger on the 342. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers

Joining us on the ride was one elderly Daceyville local, who had plenty to say on the valued, if rarely patronised, service.

She declined to give her name for fear of pushback in her community, but told us anonymously that she was often the only passenger and at times only rode the bus to “keep it alive”.

Map of 342 route from Kingsford to Daceyville spanning just 700m.

“I don’t know why the buses keep running, but I try to catch them frequently,” she said.

“Next to nobody uses it — well, except me, I’m not nobody.”

The Daceyville local said she remembers the route being busier 10 years ago, but in recent years it had become especially quiet.

In another bus journey where we were the sole passengers, the bus driver even stopped us to make sure we had the right route — plenty of people have boarded by mistake.

The 342 has one stop and is a journey of around three minutes. Picture: John Appleyard

Transport Minister Jo Haylen said even though the route was only for a handful of elderly residents, the government planned to keep funding the 342 and other similar short routes.

“Public transport is a public service, and this little route is a prime example of what serving the community can look like,” she said.

“When buses aren’t being used for peak, helping older residents in Randwick get to the shops may seem like a small job, but it’s a big deal for residents.”

The service runs twice a day in each direction outside of peak hours, and is often driven by bus drivers working split shifts — meaning they work in the morning, take time off during the day, and then start their second half of their shift by driving the 2.20pm 342.

A spokesperson for Transport for NSW said there are no plans to cancel the service.

“Trips on route 342 are timetabled to fit into existing rosters and are typically outside of peak periods where buses are already available,” the spokesperson said.

While only one 342 bus service has been cancelled this year, for most Sydney bus commuters that is far from the average experience.

The government’s Bus Industry Taskforce has been examining ways to improve Sydney’s ailing bus network, finding bus driver shortages are a key force behind cancellations and delays.

The Daily Telegraph last week revealed on average 134 trips per day are being cancelled in Sydney northern suburbs, bus region 8.

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Originally published as No need to queue for the 342: Riding Sydney’s shortest and quietest bus route