Leichhardt Bus Depot

In June 1915, the Leichhardt Tram Depot opened its doors. It was a grand structure at the corner of William Street and Derbyshire Road, Leichhardt. Initially designed for trams, it held twelve tracks and boasted decorative features. These included a front parapet, brick-panelled side walls, and a south-facing saw-tooth roof. Ironically, it never actually housed operational trams. Instead, it served as a storage facility. Leichhardt Bus Depot’s story took a turn in 1937 when it was converted into a bus depot. It even became the central maintenance hub until Chullora Bus Workshops opened in 1958. Today, the Leichhardt Bus Depot continues to evolve. The old tramshed remains a part of the expanded depot. It shares space with the Sydney Bus Museum, which relocated from Tempe Bus Depot. This site holds more than just buses. The Roads & Maritime Services barrier transfer machine, responsible for moving the Victoria Road central barrier, is also housed here. In 2018, Transit Systems took over operations from State Transit. As of January 2025, Leichhardt Bus Depot manages a fleet of 198 buses, a testament to its enduring role in Sydney’s transport network. The former Cable Stores Building and Traffic Office were almost lost to a cancelled police station development. Luckily they survived and stand as reminders of the depot’s layered history.