Where is a fair place to meet halfway in Sydney?

Usually Central or Town Hall, because nearly every line passes through them. For a group weighted north, Chatswood is fairer; for a western group, Strathfield. togather works out which from everyone's actual starting point.

Why doesn't the middle of the map work in Sydney?

Because the harbour and the rail network both funnel traffic through a few points. Two people on opposite sides of the water can be close on a map and far apart in time, and parts of Sydney have no train line at all.

Are ferries included?

Yes. For anyone starting in Manly, Balmain or Mosman a ferry is often the fastest route in, which usually pulls the fair meeting point towards Circular Quay rather than a CBD station.

What about the northern beaches, where there's no train?

Those trips are timed on buses and roads instead, which is exactly why averaging map positions fails there. A bus-only starting point tends to move the fair point towards Wynyard.

Meet halfway in Sydney

For a group meeting in Sydney, the fairest points are usually Central, Town Hall, Redfern or Chatswood - the stations where the most train and Metro lines actually converge, so most suburbs reach them without more than one change. Which is fairest depends on where everyone starts: togather compares real door-to-door times for each person.

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Find your meeting point See the fairest spots

Where groups actually meet in Sydney

Interchanges that work as a fair midpoint for most groups. togather will not always land on one of these - it answers for your actual starting points - but they are the ones that come up again and again.

Central
Almost every Sydney Trains line, the Metro, light rail and intercity services
Every suburban line passes through, which makes it the one station nearly any group can reach directly. Not always the nicest place to wait, but it is the hardest to beat on fairness alone.
Town Hall
Multiple Sydney Trains lines through the City Circle
One stop from Central and considerably more useful once people arrive, since it opens straight onto the city centre. Fair for almost any group that Central would suit.
Redfern
Most Sydney Trains lines, plus nearby light rail
The junction just south of Central where the inner-west and southern lines split, which makes it fairer than the CBD for a group living around Newtown, Marrickville and the inner west.
Chatswood
Sydney Trains and Sydney Metro
Where the Metro meets the north shore line, so it is the fair answer for a group spread across the northern suburbs instead of pulling everyone over the bridge.
Wynyard
Sydney Trains, plus light rail and major bus interchanges
The northern side of the City Circle and the best-connected point for buses from the northern beaches, which is the part of Sydney with no rail at all.
Circular Quay
Sydney Trains, ferries and light rail
The only central hub built around the ferries, which makes it the fair point whenever someone is starting in Manly, Balmain or anywhere on the harbour.
Strathfield
Multiple Sydney Trains lines, including intercity services
A major western junction, and the fair answer for a group spread across Parramatta, Burwood and the inner west that would otherwise all travel east and back.

How to pick a fair meeting point in Sydney

Sydney has two features that break the halfway-point instinct at once. The harbour splits the city and only a few crossings carry traffic, and whole areas - the northern beaches most obviously - have no rail line at all. So a point midway on a map can easily be far from any station, on the wrong side of the water, or reachable only by a bus route nobody thought about.

The rail network’s own shape helps. Almost every suburban line runs through Central, which makes it the hardest station in the city to beat on fairness alone, and Town Hall is one stop further in with far more around it. For most groups, one of those two is the honest answer.

But the CBD is not automatically neutral

A group spread across the northern suburbs is better served by Chatswood, where the Metro meets the north shore line, and a western group by Strathfield - sending either into the city adds a round trip that served nobody. If somebody is starting in Manly or Balmain, the ferries usually pull the fair point to Circular Quay instead.

Averaging positions cannot express any of this, because a ferry rider, a Metro rider and someone on a bus from Dee Why are on three different networks. togather times each person on the one they actually use and returns the spots that keep the trip even across the whole group.

Add everyone’s starting point, set how each person travels, and send the result to the group chat.

Meeting halfway in Sydney - questions

Where is a fair place to meet halfway in Sydney?: Usually Central or Town Hall, because nearly every line passes through them. For a group weighted north, Chatswood is fairer; for a western group, Strathfield. togather works out which from everyone's actual starting point.
Why doesn't the middle of the map work in Sydney?: Because the harbour and the rail network both funnel traffic through a few points. Two people on opposite sides of the water can be close on a map and far apart in time, and parts of Sydney have no train line at all.
Are ferries included?: Yes. For anyone starting in Manly, Balmain or Mosman a ferry is often the fastest route in, which usually pulls the fair meeting point towards Circular Quay rather than a CBD station.
What about the northern beaches, where there's no train?: Those trips are timed on buses and roads instead, which is exactly why averaging map positions fails there. A bus-only starting point tends to move the fair point towards Wynyard.

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