High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Buses are a major part of public transport in the city of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Services are operated by both a large government operator, the State Transit Authority of New South Wales (STA), and numerous smaller private operators. The STA generally operates services in Sydney`s east, north, inner west and inner southern suburbs, a legacy of the former tram network, most of which was replaced by the current bus network in the late 1950s. The western suburbs and most of the southern suburbs are served by smaller private operators in contract areas. There were previously 87 small contract areas where private bus companies operated, however the recent Unsworth Bus Reform has seen this consolidate into 10 areas, which will be further consolidated into just 8 areas in 2012. This will also include 43 `strategic` bus corridors, offering enhanced and more frequent services. The first of these have come into operation (Hurstville to Miranda, and Liverpool to Bankstown).