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Cody Love, of Ultimo, found the introduction of Sydney's bus route changes on Sunday confusing. But he is among commuters prepared to be patient with the disruptions and inconvenience for a longer-term improvement to traffic congestion.
While waiting for a bus at the Wynyard bus stop in York Street on Sunday afternoon, he said he had caught the ferry to Circular Quay and returned to the place where the bus had taken him the day before.
"I've been lost for about half an hour trying to find the buses that go back to Central," he said.
The map he received "tells you where all the bus stops are, but doesn't tell you which bus stop to go to in order to get to Central".
He was eventually directed to Wynyard station.
"Potentially, I have found my way home now," he said.
Heather, a retiree who did not wish to have her surname published, said the transport changes meant older people such as herself would "have to walk more".
Melbourne man James Rourke-Dunkley said he found Sydney's new bus system difficult to negotiate.
"It's just been really confusing," he said.
"All the labelling is not very clear. There are no signs to point you in the right direction."
Titus Shen and Allisa Chen, who are visiting from China on temporary work visas, said they hoped the transport routes would soon be updated on Google maps, on which they relied.
Transport and Infrastructure Minister Andrew Constance said about 10 per cent of commuters would have to disembark from Wynyard for the first time.
He urged commuters and cyclists to be patient during the extended period of disruption.
More than 600,000 commuters were expected to travel into Sydney on Tuesday morning and people needed to be prepared for the changes and inconvenience.
"They are going to have to learn to adjust to the new city. George Street is not available to buses any more."
Mr Constance said hoardings would go up and preliminary work would start on the light-rail system on Sunday night.
"We are starting to address some of the teething, but we won't fully know those teething issues till Tuesday morning," he said.
"Sydney is not working currently. We have a city in which congestion has the city by the throat. That's why we are building the mega projects we are across town."
The government has changed bus routes through the city to make way for a new light-rail track and Sydney Metro.
Mr Constance advised motorists to avoid Elizabeth Street, with the number of buses travelling along it set to increase from 179 to 201.
On Monday, two lanes of George Street will be closed near Myer and Dymocks to allow utility works. The entire block will be closed from October 23, with emergency vehicles only allowed access.
Marg Prendergast, co-ordinator general, CBD Transport, said the first day of the new bus plan on Sunday was "going really really well".
"It's obviously a quiet day and we are just fixing anything we see to make sure that everything is ready for Tuesday," she said.
"Today is really a pre-season game getting ready for Tuesday. Tuesday is our grand final, when we know all the commuters come to play."
