Quiet start for free Clarke Quay late-night shuttle bus services; tenants, patrons welcome move

SINGAPORE – University undergraduate Lester Thomas, 24, wanted to save on cab fare so he boarded a free shuttle bus bound for Jurong East after drinks with friends at Helen’s bar in Clarke Quay over the weekend.

He was among a handful of people at Clarke Quay waiting for

the nightlife destination’s new free shuttle buses to take them to the east and west of Singapore

in the wee hours of Saturday morning.

“The cab fare to my place in Choa Chu Kang is around $40, which is how much I spent for a cab home from Changi Airport last week,” said Mr Thomas, who was one of five people who boarded the Jurong East-bound CQ Night Shuttle on Dec 13.

The shuttle bus pulled up at a bus stop in River Valley Road about 10 minutes before its 4am departure. Another five passengers boarded the Tampines-bound coach, which arrived minutes later.

“I ended my night just after 3am, but I don’t mind waiting till 4am for the shuttle so I can (spend way less to) take a car home from Jurong instead,” he said.

Another commuter who wanted to be known only as Mr Ash, 29, was surprised that he managed to get a seat on the shuttle to Tampines MRT station, having expected to see a long queue after a night at Zouk.

“I wouldn’t manoeuvre my night just to catch the bus, but if the timing lines up, I will take it because it takes a big chunk out of my expenditure for the night,” said the off-duty bartender.

Students who cited cost savings, as well as curious onlookers like Mr Ash who had read in the media about the free end-of-night shuttle, made up the small number of passengers on the buses in their muted second week of operations.

Introduced on Dec 5 by property developer CapitaLand, which owns and operates the CQ @ Clarke Quay riverfront complex, the two types of free shuttle services on Friday and Saturday nights will run till June 2026.

A 23-seater, hourly town shuttle runs a loop from 11pm to 3am in the Orchard Road and City Hall areas. It is intended as a hop-on, hop-off service to help patrons get to and from key points, said a spokesperson for CQ @ Clarke Quay. Stops include Plaza Singapura, Raffles City and Ion Orchard, all of which are properties owned and operated by CapitaLand.

“As this service was put together quickly for the year-end festivities, we began with stops at properties within the CapitaLand ecosystem,” said the spokesperson, who added that the company will monitor demand and explore adding more stops if needed.

Throughout the night, ST observed that only three passengers took the 1am bus from the stop at Tan Tye Place, while the next scheduled bus arrived a few minutes before 2am and drove off shortly after without waiting.

The end-of-night shuttles to Tampines and Jurong are 45-seater coaches catering to patrons living further away. ST found the ride to Tampines Central 4 comfortable. It took less than 30 minutes, with the coach leaving a few minutes after 4am.

“These locations were chosen because they represent key regional hubs in Singapore,” said the CQ spokesperson.

Since August, venues in Clarke Quay and Boat Quay can apply for

extended liquor licences, allowing them to sell alcohol until 4am

on Thursdays and Fridays, as part of a year-long trial to revitalise the area.

CapitaLand also gave out discount vouchers for Grab rides to encourage late-night visits in a promotion that ran from Aug 29 to Nov 16. The initiative drew strong response, according to Mr Ervin Yeo, CapitaLand Investment’s group chief strategy officer and chief executive of commercial management. Almost 2,000 codes were redeemed.

The shuttle bus services are CapitaLand’s latest efforts to revive footfall in the area and boost nightlife, a move that anchor tenants like Zouk Singapore welcomed.

“Transportation is constantly cited as one of the key barriers to a vibrant nightlife scene, especially among Gen Z guests, who may be more sensitive to transport costs, so we see this as a very positive initiative,” said Mr David Long, senior director of Asia-Pacific operations at Zouk Group.

Mr Long, who acknowledged that it is too early to evaluate the impact of the shuttle service, added that the town shuttle has the potential to draw people who might not otherwise make their way to Clarke Quay. They include tourists staying in Central Singapore.

Newly revamped venue The Riverhouse, run by lifestyle and hospitality stalwart 1-Group, also hopes to draw patrons from people using the town shuttle.

“It will be able to bring in people from the downtown and Orchard areas to Clarke Quay, and hopefully it will help nightlife go on all the way until 3 or 4 in the morning,” said 1-Group associate director for marketing Audrey Ng.

Ms Digi Estanislao, 40, a manager at restaurant bar Tomo Tokyo, a tenant at CQ, said whether the shuttle crowds spend is a different matter. “They can come here more easily, but I am not sure whether this means that more people will want to spend money to dine in,” she said.

Some observers had similar views. Dr Yao Jingxian, deputy head of the marketing programme at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, said transport initiatives represent only a partial solution.

He pointed out that the price of a Clarke Quay hangout lies not only in the late night ride-hailing fare but also in the increasingly expensive food options, drinks and other experiences, which are in turn a result of high rental and operating costs, and labour shortages.

But he agreed that the downtown shuttle may draw more footfall to Clarke Quay. Consumers may hang out in other areas such as Orchard Road, head over to patronise Clarke Quay businesses and then take the 4am shuttle home.

“Students and young professionals may be particularly keen on such multi-stop hangouts on Friday or Saturday nights,” he added.

Patrons said both types of shuttle services give them more reason to visit Clarke Quay.

Mr Shaun Wong, 24, who works in banking, said he would consider using the town shuttle service to travel to Orchard Road and downtown for supper, and the home shuttle to head back to the east, where he lives.

“With better convenience of transport, I’m sure it will bring in more people... It just depends on whether people know about the shuttle bus,” he said.