Fares at the time of the video were: Wolli Creek to Central $2.65 (after a 20 minute walk from the airport to Wolli Creek Station) Airport to Central $18.39 transportnsw.info/trip#/trip
I have done most ways of getting to the airport (including walking and biking to/from Wolli Creek station). The cheapest way if you are arriving from overseas is to get a free transfer to the domestic terminal and walk to the city from the domestic terminal if the weather is nice and you are not jet-lagged (about 1 hr 15 mins) . Walking to Wolli Creek is OK if luggage is not too great, the weather is mild, and you are able to walk OK (I'm 70 and can still do it). However, it's easy to get lost if you have not done it before (although the walkway/bikeway shown in the clip makes it a little bit easier these days). Wolli Creek station is an unusual station. Two twin train lines run through it. The lower level tracks run east/west and use the tunnels under the airport between the city and south west suburbs, (no airport access fee if you just travel through the airport stations). The upper level tracks run north/south and connect the city to southern suburbs and beyond. It's a couple/few minutes walk between levels. You can use either line and probably will not have great wait on either. But I have seen people run to catch a train on one line, just miss it; and then run to catch one on the other line, and just miss it as well. Just pick one with several minutes to spare and it will be fine. An easier way of dodging the airport access fee is to catch a 420 bus from just outside either the international or domestic terminal arrivals level to Mascot (suburban) station and catch the train from there. It helps to know where you are going too. Sometimes people are booked into accommodation that bus actually goes to or past, but don't realise it. So they transfer to the train at Mascot into Central, then get another bus/train to where they were going in the first place !!! I never bother to do the 'access fee dodge' any more - there are so many easier ways of saving money - like not buying anything at the airport, limiting luggage, using off-airport parking, getting a bus to your home rail station instead of a cab, or using a suburban to airport mini-bus service. I can understand backpackers doing it, and even weird people like me who just liked to do something different, but if you are by yourself or a couple with luggage, and have just spent the last xx hours in economy, the train is often the cheapest and simplest option. But, each to their own.
Wow this is a great video to help those who want to to avoid the fee. Thanks for sharing. Perfect for budget travelers and for people who would prefer to save their money for memorable activities! Fun Hike!
I know right. No matter which way you go, it costs phenomenal to get out of Sydney Airport. There is NO cheap way in or out of Sydney's airport system, train, bus, shuttle, car, uber or taxi. Sydney roads are just expensive. They have the most expensive tolls than other city around and apparently trucks pay 3X more on the roads, that's why they share the congested urban roads alongside the cars.
I was in Sydney in 2001 and was already shocked by that fee by then, because it meant that they would lock you into the airport train station unless you pay to get out. That surprised me a lot, because I though I had already bought a train ticket. More shocking is that you even have to pay the fee to take the train to get from one Terminal to the other. I never saw an airport that charges for transfers between terminals. And there is not even an option to walk between the terminals unless you leave the airport and then walk around the airport. Imagine you have a connecting flight from the other terminal. I hope in that case your flight ticket will at least serve as a train ticket. In a few weeks I will go to Sydney again and I hate that those fees are still there. They really discourage people to use public transport. I even read that airport workers would have to pay those gate fees every day if they took the train.
@@williamcopelin4513 Yes, that is the worst part. Even the airport workers have to pay the fee each day. So they also stop one stop earlier and then take the bus or walk, because otherwise they would pay thousands of dollars per year. That is so much wasted lifetime. How can the airport charge its own workers a fee to use the airport station?
What are you talking about: (1) If you buy a ticket to or from the airport stations the access fee is included (you don't pay "to be let out"). (2) If you work at the airport (or travel there every day) your station access fee is capped at $29 per WEEK (most airport workers drive and get free parking as they often start early or finish late - and yes, I have worked there) (3) There is a free transfer bus between the two terminals every 15 mins, but if you did use the train the fare/access fee is a total of $ 6 or $7, not the full fee (4) Until 2030 the airport sets the access fee, but it goes to the state government. (5) Anyone who thinks the train access fee is exorbitant has obviously never parked there (6) Aviation is based on low airfares and making up for that through other airport charges - no airport charges would be reflected in greatly increased fares as the airports would charge airlines higher landing fees (7) The trains are close to capacity at peak times. If there was no special access fee, the demand for the train service at the airport stations would be so great it would be seriously overcrowded. That would deter the numerous commuters from using that line to get to other places (most would drive instead causing greater traffic issues and costing them more), and the people making money off parking, cab rides and mini-buses would lose out and complain.
@@tacitdionysus3220 Do you really think that airports would ever charge lower landing fees than the market allows? They have quite a monopoly. There aren't seven airport in Sydney competing for international travellers. Maybe you could buy a ticket and pay it full in front, but if you just buy a normal subway ticket, you have to pay extra fee at the exit gate. Otherwise they really will not let you leave the station. If the capacities of the station and the line are too low, they should be increased. You basically write that the price should be so high to prevent people from using the metro. That is the wrong way. They should be encouraged to take the metro. You should not have to park a car at the airport for weeks until you return home. $29 per week is still a lot. The airport basically charges its employees for accessing the airport. That is like forcing people who work at a concert to buy tickets for that concert. Some other cities also may have airport transport that costs $20 or so, but in Sydney you have to pay that fee just for that station, while it costs the normal fee to go to Mascot Station. The airport can just charge that fee because it owns the station. Three stops before Sydney I was in Bangkok. They also have a train from the airport to the city center and it cost less than two Australian Dollars. In Tokyo the price was around five Australian Dollars.
