New bus services by end-2025 to serve areas like Bukit Panjang, Punggol, Tengah

SINGAPORE – Six new bus services that will serve residents in areas such as Bukit Panjang, Punggol and Tengah will be rolled out over the next two months.

Another five new City Direct Services – buses that ply express routes between housing estates and the city – for the north-eastern region will be introduced by the end of 2025, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Oct 12. Two existing bus routes – 114 and 146 – will also be extended.

The efforts are part of the LTA’s $900 million

Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme

, which aims to broaden the bus network in newer housing estates islandwide over eight years.

Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow said the new services are meant to give residents who live farther away from the city more options, and take them to MRT stations more quickly.

From Oct 26, new bus service 104 will run between Punggol Coast and Woodleigh, connecting residents in Punggol Northshore, Sumang and Bidadari to MRT stations such as Punggol Coast, Buangkok and Serangoon.

On the same day, service 984 will begin operating between Bukit Panjang and Jurong East, connecting Teck Whye with Brickland in Tengah. It will take residents to Jurong East and Bukit Panjang MRT stations, as well as amenities such as polyclinics and schools.

Punggol residents will have a new service to Changi Airport from Nov 10. Service 44 will operate during the morning and evening peak periods on weekdays, excluding public holidays.

From Nov 17, new services 451, 452 and 453 will provide residents in Brickland district and other parts of Tengah with faster connections to MRT stations such as Bukit Gombak, Beauty World and Bukit Batok.

LTA said these services have limited stops to provide residents in estates farther away from transport nodes with a direct connection to MRT stations.

These express feeder services will be numbered from 451 onwards to better distinguish them from existing routes, LTA said. Three similar services – 298X, 979X and 21X – will be renumbered as services 454, 455 and 456, respectively, it added.

By the end of 2025, the LTA will extend service 114 – which currently plies a route within Buangkok – to the Yio Chu Kang bus interchange and MRT station.

Service 146, which runs from Woodleigh interchange to Bartley, will be extended to Kovan MRT station.

LTA did not elaborate on the five new City Direct Services for the north-eastern area, which will be included

under its Travel Smart Journeys programme

. Such services run only during peak hours on weekdays, and provide passengers with an alternative to the MRT.

The Travel Smart Journeys programme is aimed at encouraging passengers to avoid the busier segments of the MRT network during the morning peak. By doing so, they can earn rebates worth up to 80 per cent of the journey fare.

LTA said it is also identifying areas where more bus lanes can be added to speed up bus journeys. More details will be announced when they are ready, it added.

Since the Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme launched in July 2024, it has benefited nearly 200,000 passengers daily by bringing them more travel options and shorter journeys, LTA said.

Speaking to reporters at Choa Chu Kang bus interchange, Mr Siow said 14 bus services have been introduced under the programme, including peak-hour express and limited-stop bus services. These include bus services that ply the estates of Tampines, Whampoa and Toa Payoh.

He said that buses have been added to 52 existing services, which has helped to reduce waiting times and improve the connectivity of these routes.

For example, more trips have been added for service 861 during the morning and evening peak periods to cater to demand since July. The service connects residents in Yishun, Sembawang and Canberra to nearby amenities and transport nodes.

Service 140 was also amended in September to serve new Build-To-Order flats in Towner Road – in Kallang/Whampoa – giving residents easier access to amenities such as Boon Keng MRT station and Kallang Polyclinic.

Improving bus services helps reduce public transport journey times, which is one of his priorities, Mr Siow said.

“This is specific to HDB residents who live farther away from the city. Because when you take the train, actually the journey is quite fast. But if you have to take a feeder bus, it can take a bit of time.”

Mr Siow, who is the MP for Brickland ward in Chua Chu Kang GRC, said recruiting and retaining bus drivers is the hardest part of improving the bus network.

Less than one-third of bus drivers here are Singaporeans, he said, adding that more has to be done to recruit new drivers, including raising bus drivers’ salaries.

“But we have to do this carefully and judiciously, because we don’t want to raise the operating costs of the bus network too quickly,” he said.

Mr Siow said the authorities have also been working with bus operators to make the job more attractive to local workers, such as by having alternative work arrangements and more shift work.

Noting that the workforce is ageing, he said the authorities have to put in more effort to recruit younger bus drivers.

On the new bus services in the north-eastern region, Mr Siow was asked whether the additions were prompted by the North East Line disruption in August.

Replying, he said the North East Line is one of the more heavily used MRT lines, so it is helpful for passengers to have alternative bus routes.

“We are trying to create more options,” he added.

Asked about the annual fare review exercise, Mr Siow said the Public Transport Council will go through the process and announce the outcome.

“Our objective is to make sure that as many Singaporeans as possible get access to high-quality transport options, and we’ll continue working on that.”

Tengah resident Dinesh Sailan, 39, said he often faces long queues for service 992 at Bukit Batok bus interchange, and the new service 453 could help to improve peak-hour demand.

“It will help if the buses that are plying the routes are double-decker ones,” added the compliance officer.

LTA said it will monitor travel patterns and feedback from the community, and adjust bus services as needed to serve passengers across different parts of Singapore.