When there was some recent discussion of driving staff shortages in Sydney,
I mentioned that I would go away and have a look at the size of various
fleets in Australian capital cities and their commuting regions. The
results are below.

*Trains*

Greater Sydney 300+
Greater Melbourne 300
Greater Brisbane 220
Perth 130
Adelaide 100

*Trams*

Melbourne 550
Greater Sydney 48
Adelaide 24
Gold Coast (Greater Brisbane) 18
Canberra 14

*Ferries*

Sydney 40
Brisbane 28
Perth 3

*Buses*

Greater Sydney 5,500
Greater Melbourne 2,700
Greater Brisbane 1,750+
Perth 1,692
Adelaide 1,034
Canberra 460
Hobart 167
Darwin 79

There are also some variable parameters. This shouldn't be regarded as an
indication of capacity. Train consists in various cities vary in size from
about 50 metres to 160 metres, the latter applying universally to the
Sydney fleet and the HCMT in Melbourne. Thus there are considerable
differences in carrying capacity per train. Ferries vary in size from small
ships to small cats.

The same variety applies across street public transport, though the
dominant vehicle in that context is the ubiquitous 12.5 metre rigid bus.
There is, however, a growing trend towards higher capacity street transit
vehicles as population grows and this can be seen in the additional figures
for high capacity vehicles (or consists) included within each total below.
Note the capacity overlap between trams and buses, as the high-capacity
artic or double deck bus does basically the same job as a 15 metre tram (or
as a 24 metre tram in the case of the new Brisbane double-artic bus). The
trend towards longer trams is a result of moving ahead of the greater
capability that has emerged for buses in recent decades, so trams now aim
for even greater capacity.

*Trams*

Melbourne 550 (125x30 metre, 204x24 metre, 223x15 metre)
Greater Sydney 48 (30x60 metre, 18x30 metre)
Adelaide 24 (24x30 metre)
Gold Coast (Greater Brisbane) 18 (18x45 metre)
Canberra 14 (14x30 metre)

*Buses*

Greater Sydney 5,500 (350 artics and double deck)
Greater Melbourne 2,700 (40 artics*)
Greater Brisbane 1,750+ (50 artics)
Perth 1,692 (137 artics)
Adelaide 1,034 (150 artics)
Canberra 460 (44 artics)
Hobart 167 (15 artics)
Darwin 79 (1 artic)

(* The 223x15 metre trams can be added to this figure for total vehicles of
this capacity)

Ironically, that old Australian tram fleet comparison of the 1930s is still
reflected there in buses - Greater Sydney has a larger bus fleet than those
of Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide combined, though it's no longer a valid
comparison in that Mebourne retains a major tram system, which means it
doesn't need anywhere near as many buses. We can, however, see that Sydney
requires lots and lots of bus drivers.

Tony P