Australians drive on the left, which can be disconcerting for visitors used to driving on the right side of the road. Roads are generally good and major routes well signposted. Speed limits and distances are expressed in kilometres and vary substantially from 50 kph in residential and heavy traffic areas to 110 kph on freeways (please follow signage for speed limits). Drink driving is a serious offence and heavily policed. Drivers can be stopped anywhere at random and subjected to a breath analysis test. Offenders are arrested and fingerprinted, so it can be a bad end to a fine evening or a long lunch. The legal limit in Australia is a blood alcohol content of .05%.
Ferry Services
The government run State Transit operates regular Sydney Ferries services from Circular Quay to a large number of harbourside suburbs. While these are primarily designed for commuters, the ferries offer a great opportunity to enjoy the beauty of Sydney Harbour and visit many suburbs which take much longer to get to by road or rail. Most ferry services connect with State Transit's public bus services at their destination, though many are within easy walking distance of local attractions. All services operate from Circular Quay.
Bus Services
Sydney has an extensive government-run bus service. Services are frequent in the city area. The blue and white buses are clean and modern and show their route number and destination at the front, the route number at the rear. The main bus terminals are at Circular Quay, Wynyard Park, the rear of the Queen Victoria Building (York Street), and Central Railway Station (Eddy Avenue). At Circular Quay there is an information kiosk at the centre of the row of bus stops, on the opposite side of the street (Alfred Street) from the ferry wharves. A lot of services operate from this point. Each stop has a yellow sign mounted on a pole which lists the route numbers of buses which stop there and their destination.
Car Rental
Rental cars are freely available in Sydney from Budget, Avis, Hertz, Thrifty, Delta Europcar and several smaller operators. Vehicles are generally no more than eight months old, with automatic transmission and air-conditioning. Renters have to be 21 or older and hold a current driver's license. An international license is not necessary.
