Four new bus services will be launched later this month as part of the nation's five-year plan to ease the peak-hour squeeze and boost connectivity.

They will serve areas such as Sembawang, Bukit Panjang and Changi.

Three of the services - 47, 117 and 118 - will start on Dec 20. The fourth - loop service 979 - will begin operations on Dec 27, the day the MRT Downtown Line 2 opens.

A new bus terminal at Changi Business Park will also begin operations on Dec 20, said the Land Transport Authority and transport companies SMRT and SBS Transit yesterday.

Service 47 will run between Changi Business Park and Marine Parade, stopping at locations such as Parkway Parade, Victoria School and Changi City Point.

Service 117, which will operate from Punggol and Sembawang bus interchanges, will pass areas including Piccadilly, Jalan Kayu and Canberra Link.

Service 118 will ply between Punggol Bus Interchange and Changi Business Park. It will go to Changi General Hospital, Temasek Polytechnic and Simei Avenue, among other stops.

Loop service 979 at the Bukit Panjang Temporary Bus Park will traverse Upper Bukit Timah Road, Petir Road and Jelebu Road.

Commuters can use it to switch to the Downtown Line, connecting Bukit Panjang LRT to Beauty World, Little India and Bugis.

In addition, service 983, which currently operates from Choa Chu Kang Bus Interchange and loops at Choa Chu Kang Avenue 5, will be extended to Bukit Panjang.

The extended route includes new housing areas in Keat Hong and covers more of Choa Chu Kang.

Under the Bus Service Enhancement Programme, 54 new and amended bus services and routes have been rolled out since 2012.