Five new City Direct bus services to be launched from February 2016

A commuter boarding a City Direct bus. PHOTO: ST FILE

SINGAPORE - Five new City Direct bus services, which will ply from the heartland directly to the Central Business District (CBD), will be launched progressively from February in 2016.

The new routes will operate from Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Clementi/Dover, Punggol, and Yishun to the CBD during the morning peak hours, and return from the city in the evenings.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Monday that it has awarded contracts to two private bus operators, Tong Tar Transport Service and BT&TAN Transport, to run these services.

With the addition of these five new routes, there will be a total of 20 City Direct services operating around the island.

"With fewer stops and the use of expressways, journey time for City Direct Services will be comparable to that of taking a bus or LRT and transferring to the MRT into the city," the LTA said.

Tong Tar Transport Service won the contract to operate the Bedok, Clementi/Dover and Yishun West services for about $3.41 million, while BT&TAN Transport will run the Ang Mo Kio and Punggol services for about $2.46 million.

For the Ang Mo Kio and Yishun West services, there will be three one-way trips on weekday mornings towards the CBD and two trips from the city in the evenings.

The Bedok, Clementi/Dover and Punggol services will run two trips to the CBD in the mornings, and two trips back in the evenings.

The LTA said that more trips will be added if there is higher demand for these services.

adrianl@sph.com.sg

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