Time, Timetables and Time Zones

In short: 24-hour time counts from 00:00 at midnight to 23:59, so add 12 to pm hours. To find how long something takes, count up to the next hour, then whole hours, then the minutes left. Australia has three main time zones, and the east is ahead of the west.

Before you start

• 60 minutes in an hour and 24 hours in a day (see Metric Units and Conversions).
• Reading an analogue clock.

12-hour and 24-hour time

• am is from midnight to just before noon. pm is from noon to just before midnight.
• 24-hour time uses four digits and no am or pm.

How long does it take?

Reading a timetable

Read down a column to follow one ferry. Read across a row to see every ferry at one stop.

Reading a charges chart

Charts often charge one price to start, then a price for each extra part.

Time zones in Australia

The sun rises in the east first, so clocks in the east are ahead.

Quick summary

• 24-hour time: add 12 to pm hours. 3:30 pm is 15:30, and midnight is 00:00.
• To find how long something takes, count up: to the hour, whole hours, then minutes.
• In a timetable, columns are trips and rows are stops.
• In standard time, Sydney is half an hour ahead of Adelaide and 2 hours ahead of Perth.
• In summer, daylight saving adds 1 hour in NSW, the ACT, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia, but not in Queensland, the NT or WA.

Quiz