Inside the plan to transport hundreds of thousands across Sydney for Matildas showdown
Sydney’s transport network will be put under the greatest stress-test since at least Vivid as hundreds of thousands of fans crisscross the city to watch the Matildas take on England in the 2023 FIFA World Cup semi-final on Wednesday night.
Close to 100,000 fans will be at the Sydney Olympic Park precinct alone as tens of thousands pack into Stadium Australia for the Matildas match, with the rest travelling to Qudos Bank Arena, in the same precinct, for a Luke Combs concert.
Australia fans entering Stadium Australia ahead of the Australia-Denmark game.Credit: Reuters
That’s in addition to the dozens of screening sites that have popped up across the city: fans will cheer on the Australians from Moore Park’s Sydney Football Stadium and Parramatta’s Western Sydney Stadium, at smaller sports grounds and plazas, and in hundreds of pubs in every corner of Sydney.
Three thousand fans joined the live site at Parramatta last Saturday, while at least 11,000 packed out every corner of Darling Harbour’s FIFA Fan Site and surrounds. And it’s only set to get bigger this time.
It all begs the question: will Sydney’s transport network cope?
“Yes,” says a slightly nervous Geoffrey Clifton, senior lecturer in public transport and logistics at the University of Sydney. “But nothing’s foolproof.”
Clifton thinks Sydney’s public transport proved itself when more than 3 million ventured into the city over days for the Vivid light show. But he goes back to the 2000 Olympics to understand how it happened.
The scene at Olympic Park station following the 2000 Olympics opening ceremony.Credit: Wayne Taylor
Sydney learnt some hard lessons about Titanic-style transport predictions when it hosted the 2000 Games. Before the event, organisers were confident about the network’s ability to move millions of people, but the federal government was soon forced to ask members of the Australian Defence Force to drive 400 buses (some of whom had to be paired with civilian “road guides” to avoid new drivers getting lost).
But by the end of the Games, we’d learnt our lesson: “The miraculous turnaround of transport services is one of the great successes of the Olympics,” the Herald declared in 2000.
And Clifton says planners have learnt more about passenger behaviour over the past two decades: “We’ve certainly got better at dealing with big events,” he said. “We learnt a lot about warning people ahead of time to expect the worst, and then people will change their behaviour – if they’re given enough notice to do it.”
And Sydney has been put on notice: Transport Minister Jo Haylen has been encouraging fans to plan ahead and use public transport.
“There will be a lot of people travelling on the network,” she said on Tuesday. “So please give yourself as much time as possible to travel and please be patient.”
Hundreds of extra bus and train services will be in place on Wednesday night, particularly around Sydney Olympic Park, identified by Transport for NSW as a potential pressure point given the sheer number of people flocking to and from the area at a similar time.
“More than 300 extra services, including express trains and Major Event Buses, will run to Sydney Olympic Park,” said Transport for NSW acting chief operations officer Craig Moran.
Trains and buses will run “frequently,” Transport for NSW says, around Olympic Park, and will be extended if there is extra time or penalties. Regular services from Olympic Park will go until 1am to meet post-match demand. People with tickets to the Matildas match have public transport included in their ticket fees.
Parking is already sold out at all available car parks in the precinct, meaning public transport or ride-share is the only option for ticket-holders.
The crowd at Australia-Denmark game at Olympic Park.Credit: Edwina Pickles
Uber and 13cabs have given drivers extended warnings about the expected surge in demand, with Uber providing incentives for drivers to work around the game sites.
Light rail services will also run until 1am to transport people to and from the Sydney Football Stadium at Moore Park.
The work from multiple agencies has likely been in the works for months, said Clifton – but plans have had to shift quickly as Australia progressed in the tournament.
“The first thing is to work out how many people are likely to be travelling,” he said. “You start with trends of what’s been happening on a Wednesday on the last couple of weeks, then you factor in the size of the crowds.”
Wednesday is often the busiest day on the transport network, Clifton said, which may make peak-hour travel across the city a challenge. And the network’s chances aren’t helped by the likelihood of showers.
“That might deter some people from travelling early, which means they’re getting in peak hour traffic where any breakdown or flooding or any issue like that on the network would lead to long delays.”
“By spreading people out you ... the trains are busy in both directions,” Clifton said. “You’re carrying twice as many people than if you’re travelling just from one spot.”
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