Five new City Direct bus services from September

Express services will take commuters from their neighbourhoods to the city as quickly as trains do

SBS Transit buses at the Toa Payoh bus interchange. PHOTO: ST FILE

Five new express bus services, to carry commuters directly from their neighbourhoods to the city, will start from September.

These City Direct services will run from Marsiling, Woodlands, Pasir Ris, Tampines East, Simei, Yew Tee and Yishun to the Central Business District (CBD) during the morning rush hours, and from the CBD back to these areas during the evening peak hours.

They will transport commuters as quickly as trains do, using expressways - though one may have to fork out a bit more.

Currently, there are 10 City Direct routes that have been rolled out over the past two years. These services charge between $2.09 and $2.45 - which is at a premium over regular bus and train rides. They are priced similar to express bus services run by SMRT and SBS Transit.

The Land Transport Authority is planning five more City Direct services, which will operate from Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Clementi/Dover, Punggol and Yishun to the CBD, for which it will call a tender this month. These services will start progressively from the fourth quarter of this year.

For the upcoming services that start from September, private operator Bus Hub Service will run the two services from Marsiling/Woodlands and Yishun. There will be three trips on weekday mornings towards the CBD and two return trips in the evenings.

Aedge Holdings, another private bus operator, will run the other three new services, from Pasir Ris, Tampines East/Simei and Yew Tee. They will offer two trips on weekday mornings towards the CBD and two return trips in the evenings.

Bus Hub Service was awarded the contract for $3.14 million, while Aedge Holdings won its contract at $5.41 million. The services will run along the following roads:

•Marsiling/Woodlands service: Marsiling Drive, Marsiling Lane, Marsiling Rise and Woodlands Avenue 5.

•Yishun service: Yishun Avenue 6, Street 31, Yishun Ring Road, Avenue 11, Yishun Central and Yishun Avenue 2.

•Pasir Ris service: Pasir Ris Drive 3, Pasir Ris Drive 6, Pasir Ris Street 11, Pasir Ris Drive 1 and Loyang Avenue.

•Tampines East/Simei service: Tampines Street 41, Avenue 9, Street 45, Street 34, Street 32, as well as Simei Road and Simei Street 3.

•Yew Tee service: Choa Chu Kang North 7, Choa Chu Kang Crescent, Street 62, Street 52, Choa Chu Kang North 5 and Choa Chu Kang Drive.

The City Direct services already in operation serve commuters in Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Bukit Batok, Hillview, Eunos, Hougang, Jurong East, Jurong West, Sembawang, Sengkang and West Coast.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 22, 2015, with the headline Five new City Direct bus services from September. Subscribe