Buses account for close to six per cent of trips each day in the city of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, forming a key part of the city's public transport system. The network initially evolved from a privately operated system of feeder services to railway stations in the outer suburbs, and a publicly operated network of bus services introduced to replace trams in the inner suburbs. The bus network has undergone major reform in recent years, with the New South Wales Government taking responsibility for route and fare-setting, opening contracts for most routes up to competitive tendering, and introducing more cross-regional services. The New South Wales Government's transport authority, Transport for NSW, administers the various bus networks in Sydney. Commuter bus services including Metrobus and On Demand routes. NightRide, a network of train replacement services that operates each night between midnight and 5am. Sydney Olympic Park bus routes, a network of nine routes used to convey passengers to major events at the precinct School buses. The networks, except the Olympic Park and On Demand routes, are part of Transport for NSW's Opal ticketing system. Commuter and school services are assigned to one of 14 contract regions. In the 2019-20 financial year, 229.5 million passenger journeys were made on services in Sydney's bus contract regions. History At the beginning of the 20th century, Sydney's public transport network was composed of a suburban railway and inner-city trams, both operated by the New South Wales Government Railways. These were complemented by various privately operated ferry services on Sydney Harbour and the Parramatta River, and a few horse-drawn services. The Railways experimented with a steam-powered bus service from Potts Point to Darlinghurst in 1905, but the vehicles quickly proved unsatisfactory and the service was shut down within a year. The city's second bus route ran from Newport, in the north of the Northern Beaches district, to Manly, commencing in 1906. This was operated by the privately owned Manly-Pittwater Motor Omnibus Company. The company did not prosper, however, and the business was wound up in 1908. The return of servicemen from World War I in the late 1910s provided fresh impetus to the motor omnibus industry. Here, suddenly, were thousands of men with experience working with heavy vehicles – all looking for work. In 1915, only 15 motorised buses were known to operate in Sydney. By 1929, the city's bus fleet numbered more than 600.