Bus transport in Singapore
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Public buses form a significant part of
public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
in
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
, with over 3.6 million rides taken per day on average as of December 2021. There are 352 scheduled bus services, operated by SBS Transit,
SMRT Buses SMRT Buses is a bus operator in Singapore. A subsidiary of SMRT Corporation, it traded as Trans Island Bus Services until 10 May 2004. History Trans-Island Bus Services (1983–2004) In April 1981, Communications & Labour Minister Ong Teng Cheo ...
,
Tower Transit Singapore Tower Transit Singapore is a contracted bus operator operating in Singapore. It commenced operations on 29 May 2016 and it is a subsidiary of Transit Systems. History In October 2014, the Land Transport Authority called for tenders to operate 26 ...
and
Go-Ahead Singapore Go-Ahead Singapore is a contracted bus operator operating in Singapore. It commenced operations on 4 September 2016 and it is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group. History On 15 April 2015, the Land Transport Authority called for tenders to ope ...
. The newest bus operator, Go-Ahead Singapore started operation on 4 September 2016. There are also around 5,800 buses currently in operation as of 2020.


History


Early history

Buses were first introduced into Singapore when the
Singapore Traction Company The Singapore Traction Company (STC) was a tram, trolleybus and motor bus operator in Singapore from 1925 to 1971. Established as a result of the Traction Ordinance in 1925, it was initially owned by the Shanghai Electric Company. The company took ...
(STC) was established under the Singapore Traction Company Ordinance of 1925 to replace the ill-fated
electric tramway A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
with a trolleybus system. The first
trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...
es began operations on 14 August 1926 between
Joo Chiat Joo Chiat Road is an arterial road and a residential conservation area in the eastern part of Singapore, and is located between Geylang Serai and Marine Parade Road. It is mainly bounded by conserved shophouses that are colourfully painted on b ...
Road and
Tanjong Pagar Tanjong Pagar ( alternatively spelled ''Tanjung Pagar'') is a historic district located within the Central Business District in Singapore, straddling the Outram Planning Area and the Downtown Core under the Urban Redevelopment Authority's urb ...
whereas trams were phased out by 1927, with 66 trolleybuses plying on six routes with a mileage of 15” by 30 September that year. The STC later phased in motorbuses in 1929 when seven Dennis G-type buses began plying between
Geylang Geylang is a planning area and township located on the eastern fringe of the Central Region of Singapore, bordering Hougang and Toa Payoh in the north, Marine Parade in the south, Bedok in the east, and Kallang in the west. Geylang is perha ...
and Finlayson Green before being transferred to serve Seletar. However, the STC faced heavy competition from “mosquito-buses”, a form of informal
paratransit Paratransit is the term used in North America, also known by other names such as community transport ( UK) for transportation services that supplement fixed-route mass transit by providing individualized rides without fixed routes or timetables. ...
operated using privately owned modified
Ford Model T The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relati ...
vehicles. Reckless driving of such “mosquito-buses” led to the government imposing heavy regulation on them, including having to stop at fixed stops (1923) and speed limits (1927). By 1935, “mosquito-buses” were replaced with more formalised bus services with the former “mosquito-bus” owners establishing what came to be known as the Chinese bus companies; these Chinese-operated buses connected the rural parts of Singapore to the town as opposed to the inner town services of the STC. During the Japanese Occupation during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, all bus operations were briefly unified under the , fuel shortages then led to some buses being charcoal-powered.


1950s-1960s: Post-war recovery and troubles

After the end of the war, the British Military Administration (BMA) was established to oversee the rebuilding of British institutions in its Malayan and Singapore colonies. Under the BMA, the STC slowly returned to normal operations with much of the dilapidated bus fleet replaced with newer motorbuses of the
Albion Albion is an alternative name for Great Britain. The oldest attestation of the toponym comes from the Greek language. It is sometimes used poetically and generally to refer to the island, but is less common than 'Britain' today. The name for Scot ...
make whereas the Chinese bus companies sought after numerous British makes such as
Vulcan Vulcan may refer to: Mythology * Vulcan (mythology), the god of fire, volcanoes, metalworking, and the forge in Roman mythology Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * Vulcan (''Star Trek''), name of a fictional race and their home p ...
and
Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...
. On the other hand, trolleybus operations were scaled down with only 50 new
Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies Ransomes, Sims and Jefferies Limited was a major British agricultural machinery maker also producing a wide range of general engineering products in Ipswich, Suffolk including traction engines, trolleybuses, ploughs, lawn mowers, combine harves ...
-built trolleybuses procured as opposed the original 108 AEC-built trolleybuses from the pre-war period. Trolleybuses were eventually phased out by 1962 and were replaced by new Isuzu-built motorbuses. Unfortunately the 1950s boded bad times for both the STC and the Chinese bus companies. General discontent on the poor working conditions, coupled with a highly politicised environment in the 1950s, led to many of their workers joining labour unions such as the STC Employee's Union and the Singapore Bus Workers’ Union (SBWU). Labour unrest led to transport paralysis, with two notorious incidents being the
Hock Lee bus riots The Hock Lee bus riots took place on 24 April 1955 in Singapore. The riots started as a result of confrontation between the police, bus workers of the Hock Lee Amalgamated Bus Company and students who supported the bus workers. On 24 April 1 ...
in 1955 (that year alone saw 57 strikes) and a 146-day-long Great STC Strike in 1956, the latter which further accelerated the decline of the STC when Chinese bus companies established their presence in the inner city with replacement bus services. Illegal “pirate taxis” also flourished during this time, offering a form of relief for stranded commuters although they were also notorious for unsafe driving practices and cost the bus companies and legitimate taxi drivers much losses. The severity of the situation demanded immediate action from the government; in 1956 five Commissioners led by Mr L.C. Hawkins of the London Transport Executive published a report that recommended nationalisation of public transport but little was followed up by the government then.


1970s: Bus reorganization and mergers

Five years after the independence of Singapore from Malaysia in 1965, the government published a White Paper to study into an overhaul on bus services; this was followed by the Wilson Report published by Australian transport consultant R.P. Wilson, who not only reaffirmed the need for rationalisation of bus transport but also provided detailed recommendations on bus routes, frequencies, fares, vehicle specifications, bus stop and terminal design and maintenance standards. In April 1971, the 10 Chinese bus companies were merged to form three larger regional bus companies, namely Amalgamated Bus Company in the west, Associated Bus Services in the east, and United Bus Company in the north. The STC retained its presence in central Singapore but lost its privileges previously granted by the 1925 STC Ordinance. Unable to cope with existing financial difficulties and competition from the regional companies, the STC eventually discontinued bus operations in 1971, with its remaining bus fleet being split up between the three regional companies. Service quality did not make great improvement however, with breakdowns and complaints from passengers being very common. Eventually in 1973, the Singapore government persuaded the three regional companies to merge to form a single entity called Singapore Bus Services (SBS). SBS inherited many problems from its Chinese predecessors, including use of 14 non-standard bus models that frequently broke down, poor standards among the staff and inadequate infrastructure. Hence, the government seconded a Government Team of Officials to SBS in 1974 to overhaul the management and culture. Under the supervision of the GTO, SBS completely overhauled their bus fleet with new buses of usually the
Albion Viking VK The Albion Viking VK was a bus chassis manufactured by Albion between 1963 and 1980. History The Albion Viking VK41 was launched in 1963 as a front engined replacement for the Albion Victor VT. In 1965, the rear engined Viking VK43 was introd ...
or
Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
OF1413 makes and introduced a rigorous maintenance regime, improving the reliability of their buses greatly whereas a new disciplinary code was introduced, reducing complaints by half from 1979 to 1983. The government also helped to further alleviate the burden from SBS by introducing priority bus lanes to speed up bus services and introduced Scheme B bus services operated by private companies in 1974. In 1977, SBS introduced into service its first
double-decker buses A double-decker bus or double-deck bus is a bus that has two storeys or decks. They are used for mass transport in the United Kingdom, the United States, New Zealand, Europe, Asia and also in cities such as Sydney; the best-known example is the ...
, the Leyland Atlantean AN68 on route 86 between Tampines Way and
Shenton Way Shenton Way is a major trunk road serving Singapore's Central Area and is most commonly known for the commercial skyscrapers flanking both sides of the road. The road is a one-way street that starts at the junction of Boon Tat Street, Raffles Qua ...
. In light of dissatisfaction over bus services in the Jurong area and requests for improved coverage, SBS started a reorganisation of bus services across the country, starting with Jurong. This consisted of a network of internal services serving a town, with external services terminating at a point in the town, along with bus interchanges to serve as such termini. Additional depots were also constructed, which SBS claimed gave them more control over bus operations. In 1975,
one-man operation One-person operation (OPO), also known as driver-only operation (DOO), one-man operation (OMO), single person train operation (SPTO), or one-person train operation (OPTO), similarly to Driver Controlled Operation, is operation of a train, bus ...
(OMO) that charged a
flat fare A flat fee, also referred to as a flat rate or a linear rate refers to a pricing structure that charges a single fixed fee for a service, regardless of usage. Less commonly, the term may refer to a rate that does not vary with usage or time of us ...
(for the case of SBS; TIBS opted for a distance fare) was introduced to cut manpower costs; this was followed by a one-man operated ticketing operation (OTS) in 1982. By 1984, bus conductors were completely phased out. By 1978, SBS was in a healthy position to be publicly listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange as SBS (1978) Limited.


1980s-1990s: Market competition

By the 1980s, SBS had managed to modernise its fleet with new buses such as the
Volvo B57 Volvo B57 was a front-engined single-decker bus chassis manufactured by Volvo between 1966 and 1982. Since 1970 it was also available as the Volvo BB57, with the engine mounted on top of the front axle, giving the buses very little front overhan ...
, Mercedes-Benz OF1417 and the Leyland Atlantean AN68. By 1982 however, there was concerns that SBS might turn complacent. To ensure that SBS remain competitive, the government gave
Ng Ser Miang Ng Ser Miang, (; born 6 April 1949) is a Singaporean entrepreneur, diplomat, and retired sailor. He founded Trans-Island Bus Services (now known as SMRT Buses) in 1982 and is a board member of Singapore Press Holdings. Since 1990, he has been ...
of Singapore Shuttle Bus (SSB, one of the two operators of
City Shuttle Service The City Shuttle Service was a network of bus services operated in Singapore between May 1975 and April 2007 by NTUC Comfort and Singapore Shuttle Bus. History The City Shuttle Service (CSS) was an initiative introduced on 16 May 1975 by the ...
) the green light to set up a second operator. Named as Trans-Island Bus Service (TIBS), TIBS started operations the following year with a modest fleet of 90 Hino buses on routes 160 and 167. By 1988, the company had expanded its operations to encompass
Woodlands Woodlands may back refer to: * Woodland, a low-density forest Geography Australia * Woodlands, New South Wales * Woodlands, Ashgrove, Queensland, a heritage-listed house associated with John Henry Pepper * Woodlands, Marburg, Queensland, a her ...
and Yishun and operated 328 buses on 214 routes and had taken over SSB. In 1984, SBS trialled its first air-conditioned buses, the Mercedes-Benz OF1413/61, on route 168. Following various trials of different air-conditioned demonstrators, SBS made its first bulk order for air-conditioned buses in 1989, the Scania N113CRB. When the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) opened in 1987, bus services were further rationalised such that buses complemented the MRT by “feeding” commuters into the MRT network. Fares for both buses and the MRT were also coordinated together from 1987 with the setting of the
Public Transport Council The Public Transport Council (PTC) is an independent regulatory statutory board under the Ministry of Transport of the Government of Singapore established on 14 August 1987 by the ''Public Transport Council Act of 1987''. PTC regulates the pub ...
that year whereas magnetic stored value cards were implemented across the entire bus network to streamline fare payment earlier in 1986. In 1993, SBS introduced into service its first air-conditioned 12m double decker bus, the
Leyland Olympian The Leyland Olympian was a 2-axle and 3-axle double-decker bus chassis manufactured by Leyland between 1980 and 1993. It was the last Leyland bus model in production. Construction The Olympian had the same chassis and running gear as t ...
3-axle. With a capacity of 131, its size earned it the nickname the “Superbus”. Three years later, TIBS phased in Singapore's first articulated buses with a length of 17.5m and a capacity of 150.


Late 1990s-2000s: Bus operators go multimodal

By 1996, SBS had expanded far beyond public bus operations to include tourist transport (SBS Leisure), taxis (Citycab) and engineering works (SBS Engineering) to name a few. To better manage its business, SBS (1978) Limited was rebranded as DelGro Corporation while public bus services were now managed by a new subsidiary named SBS. This new company also won a tender in 1999 to operate the
North East MRT Line The North East MRT line (NEL) is a high-capacity Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line in Singapore. Operated by SBS Transit, it is the shortest MRT line at . The line runs from HarbourFront station in southern Singapore to Punggol station in the n ...
and the LRT systems in
Sengkang Sengkang (, ta, செங்காங்) is a planning area and residential town located in the North-East Region of Singapore. The town is the second most populous in the region, being home to 249,370 residents in 2020. Sengkang shares bo ...
and
Punggol Punggol, alternatively spelled as Ponggol, is a Planning Areas of Singapore, planning area and New towns of Singapore, new town situated on the Tanjong Punggol peninsula in the North-East Region, Singapore, North-East Region of Singapore. The to ...
and was rebranded as SBS Transit in 2001 to reflect its multimodal nature. By 2003, Delgro Corporation merged with Comfort Group to form
ComfortDelGro ComfortDelGro Corporation is a multi-national land transport company listed on the Singapore Exchange, operating about 35,000 vehicles in seven countries. It was formed on 29 March 2003 through a merger of Singapore-based land transport compa ...
, one of the largest land transport operators in the world whose operations include
Metroline Metroline is a bus company operating services in Greater London and south Hertfordshire. It is a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro Corporation and operates services under contract to Transport for London. As at March 2021, the fleet consisted of 1,5 ...
in London and
ComfortDelGro Australia ComfortDelGro Australia is a major Australian public transport company. Founded in October 2005 as ComfortDelGro Cabcharge, a joint venture between Singapore-based ComfortDelGro (51%) and Australian Cabcharge (49%), today it is a fully owned su ...
. In 2001, TIBS was merged into
SMRT Corporation SMRT Corporation is a multi-modal public transport operator in Singapore operating bus and rail services. A subsidiary of the Government of Singapore's Temasek Holdings, it was established on 6 August 1987 and listed on the Singapore Exchange ...
and by 2004, the TIBS name was dropped by SMRT, with TIBS now being known as
SMRT Buses SMRT Buses is a bus operator in Singapore. A subsidiary of SMRT Corporation, it traded as Trans Island Bus Services until 10 May 2004. History Trans-Island Bus Services (1983–2004) In April 1981, Communications & Labour Minister Ong Teng Cheo ...
. During this period, there were also numerous changes outside corporate shakeups; in 1995, some bus services in
Bukit Panjang Bukit Panjang is a planning area and residential town located in the West Region of Singapore. A portion of this town is situated on a low-lying elongated hill. The planning area is bounded by Bukit Batok to the west, Choa Chu Kang to the no ...
, Sengkang and Punggol were transferred to TIBS from SBS but this was reversed in 1999 when SBS won the contract to operate the North East MRT Line. In return, bus services in Choa Chu Kang and
Bukit Batok Bukit Batok, often abbreviated as Bt Batok, is a planning area and matured residential town located along the eastern boundary of the West Region of Singapore. Bukit Batok statistically ranks in as the 25th largest, the 12th most populous and ...
were transferred to TIBS that year. In 2002, the contactless
EZ-Link The EZ-Link card is a rechargeable contactless smart card and electronic money system that is primarily used as a payment method for public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, o ...
card was introduced to replace the magnetic farecard and the first air-conditioned bus interchange opened in
Toa Payoh Toa Payoh (, ta, தோ பாயோ) is a planning area and matured residential town located in the northern part of the Central Region of Singapore. Toa Payoh planning area borders Bishan and Serangoon to the north, the Central Water Catc ...
; by the end of 2019, there will be 11 air-conditioned integrated transport hubs (ITH). In 2006, SBS Transit introduced into service its first wheelchair accessible bus, the
Volvo B9TL The Volvo B9TL is a low-floor double-decker bus built by Volvo from 2002 until 2018. It superseded the Volvo Super Olympian and the Volvo B7TL. The 2-axle version has been superseded by the Volvo B5TL in 2014 and the 3-axle version has been su ...
, on route 21 between Pasir Ris and St. Michael's. SSB wound up in 2007 with the discontinuation of the City Shuttle Service and its fleet was inherited by SMRT Buses. By 2009, both SBS Transit and SMRT Buses were renewing their respective bus fleets with new low-entry Scania K230UB buses and
Mercedes-Benz OC500LE The Mercedes-Benz OC 500 LE is a modular, heavy-duty, twin-axle bus chassis produced by Mercedes-Benz/ EvoBus Ibérica, Spain. It was designed as a modular platform for low-entry city, suburban, and intercity buses with a maximum gross vehicle ...
buses respectively. LTA took on the role of central bus network planner from 2009, working with communities and the bus operators, SBS Transit (SBST) and SMRT Buses (SMRTB), to identify areas for bus improvements and to shift the focus to placing the commuter at the centre and taking a holistic approach in planning the bus network, taking into consideration development in the Rapid Transit System (RTS) network and other transport infrastructure. It is meant for their feedbacks, and any changes will be under the monthly updates, this has been brought through Bus Services Enhancement Programme. Under BSEP, about 80 new services are being introduced and 1000 buses are being added over five years. Quality of Service (QoS) standards have also been tightened to reduce waiting time and reduce crowding. Now, those with increased loads run every 10 minutes or less during weekday peak hours in 2015. Feeder bus services have become more frequent too, with 95% of bus services now running at intervals of 10 minutes or less during the weekday peak periods, tightened from 85%. It was also in the 21st century when the public bus operators looked into alternative fuel sources. In 2002, SBS purchased 12
CNG Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a fuel gas mainly composed of methane (CH4), compressed to less than 1% of the volume it occupies at standard atmospheric pressure. It is stored and distributed in hard containers at a pressure of , usually in cy ...
-powered
Volvo B10BLE The Volvo B10BLE was a rear-engined low-entry single-decker bus chassis manufactured by Volvo in Sweden between 1993 and 2004. The first prototypes were built in 1992, but mass production started in 1993, only a year after the high-floor B10B. I ...
buses whereas the first
hybrid bus A hybrid electric bus is a bus that combines a conventional internal combustion engine propulsion system with an electric propulsion system. These type of buses normally use a Diesel-electric powertrain and are also known as hybrid Diesel-elec ...
es and
hydrogen fuel cell A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen fuel, hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most bat ...
buses were introduced in 2010.


2010s: Government leans in

Since the early years of independence, the government has maintained its stance that heavy car usage is not sustainable for Singapore in the long term with a mixed-use of policies to both deter car usage and to push its people to take public transport. In December 2011, the
North South MRT Line The North-South line (NSL) is a high-capacity Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line in Singapore, operated by SMRT Corporation. Coloured red on the Singapore rail map, the line is long and serves 27 stations, 11 of which, between the Bishan and M ...
suffered its first major breakdowns with 127,000 passengers affected in the worst of them. Amid growing criticism of the existing operating model and growing strain on the bus system, the main public transport statutory board
Land Transport Authority The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Transport of the Government of Singapore. History Incorporation of Land Transport Authority Land Transport Authority (LTA) was established on 1 September 1995, f ...
(LTA) launched the Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP), with 80 new and extended bus routes only within the general trend and 1000 government-funded buses, involving
Volvo B9TL The Volvo B9TL is a low-floor double-decker bus built by Volvo from 2002 until 2018. It superseded the Volvo Super Olympian and the Volvo B7TL. The 2-axle version has been superseded by the Volvo B5TL in 2014 and the 3-axle version has been su ...
,
Mercedes-Benz Citaro The Mercedes-Benz Citaro is a single-decker, rigid or articulated bus manufactured by Mercedes-Benz/ EvoBus. Introduced in 1997, the Citaro is available in a range of configurations, and is in widespread use throughout Europe and parts of Asia ...
,
Alexander Dennis Enviro500 The Alexander Dennis Enviro500 (previously known as the TransBus Enviro500) is a three-axle double-decker bus built by Alexander Dennis (formerly by TransBus) in the United Kingdom. It was unveiled in 2002 and is one of the Enviro-series bus mod ...
and
MAN A22 The MAN Lion's City is a range of low-floor and low-entry public buses built by German truck and bus manufacturer MAN Truck & Bus (previously MAN Nutzfahrzeuge) since 1996 primarily for the European market, but is also available in chassis-only ...
buses. introduced over a period of five years. In 2013, the last non-air-conditioned public bus, the
Volvo Olympian The Volvo Olympian was a rear-engined 2-axle and 3-axle double decker bus chassis manufactured by Volvo at its Irvine, Scotland factory. The first was built in 1992 and entered production in March 1993, replacing the Leyland Olympian. History ...
2-axle, was phased out of service whereas SMRT Buses introduced its first wheelchair-accessible articulated bus, the MAN A24 and in the following year, its first-ever double-decker bus, the
Alexander Dennis Enviro500 The Alexander Dennis Enviro500 (previously known as the TransBus Enviro500) is a three-axle double-decker bus built by Alexander Dennis (formerly by TransBus) in the United Kingdom. It was unveiled in 2002 and is one of the Enviro-series bus mod ...
. In 2014, LTA announced that it would replace the existing operating model with the
Bus Contracting Model The Bus Contracting Model (BCM), formerly known as the Government Contracting Model, is a contracting model introduced by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in 2014 for public buses in Singapore, implemented in 2016. The BCM is based on the Tran ...
(BCM) from 2016 onwards. Modelled after the
Transperth Transperth is the brand name of the public transport system serving the city and suburban areas of Perth, the state capital of Western Australia. It is managed by the Public Transport Authority (PTA), a state government organisation. Train op ...
model with elements of the competitive tendering model from
London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus se ...
, LTA would own all bus assets and lease them out in regional packages to different bus operators for five years. The first bus package, the Bulim Bus Package, was awarded to Anglo-Australian company
Tower Transit A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specific ...
whereas Loyang was awarded to Go-Ahead. Both companies began their operations in 2016. The entire public bus system was fully transitioned into the BCM by September 2016 with SBS Transit and SMRT signing agreements with LTA to operate the remaining packages up to 2021 to 2026 after which they would be gradually opened up to competitive tendering. With the BCM, bus operators introduced new buses with new features; in 2016 the first fully electric bus since the withdrawal of trolleybuses, the BYD K9A, was operated by Go-Ahead Singapore whereas the first buses with USB charging ports commenced service with SMRT that year. In 2017, two three-door buses — a double-deck MAN A95 and a single deck
MAN A22 The MAN Lion's City is a range of low-floor and low-entry public buses built by German truck and bus manufacturer MAN Truck & Bus (previously MAN Nutzfahrzeuge) since 1996 primarily for the European market, but is also available in chassis-only ...
were trialled by Tower Transit and SMRT Buses respectively. New
Volvo B5LH The Volvo B5LH (initially known as the Volvo B5L Hybrid, also known as the Volvo BRLH) is a low-floor hybrid electric bus chassis for both single-decker buses and double-decker buses manufactured by Volvo Buses, Volvo since 2008. It is the basis ...
hybrid buses were also purchased from Volvo in 2018. On 17 December 2018, LTA started a 6-month trial of on-demand public bus (ODPB) services. It allows commuters to request on-demand bus services within the Marina-Downtown and Joo Koon areas during off-peak hours on weekdays, and those heading from the CBD to Bedok or Tampines late-night hours. During the trial, regular bus services serving the areas specified will still be available, though at lower frequencies. However, the trial wasn't successful and was eventually discontinued after 15 June 2019. As a result, services 400 and 402 were merged into Feeder service 400, from Shenton Way to Marina Barrage and Marina South Pier without the need to be suspended during the COVID-19 circuit breaker. Service NR7 is the first-night bus service to be discontinued, others were suspended from 7 April 2020. In April 2019, SimplyGo, a new payment scheme that allows direct fare payment from bank cards, was introduced. Stroller restraint systems were also retrofitted on all wheelchair-accessible buses from July 2019 onward. In addition, LTA also experimented with assistive technology for commuters with special needs on routes 139 and 141 from January to July 2019.


2020s: Sustainable and accessible buses

On 3 April 2020, 10 units of Yutong E12 electric buses debuted on SMRT Buses services 944 and 983, on Tower Transit services 66 and 990, and on Go-Ahead service 15. Then on 29 July 2020, 5 units of BYD K9 electric buses debuted on SBS Transit services 135, 162, and 807, with the rollout of the remaining 15 units completed in December 2020. On 27 October 2020, 10 units of Yutong E12DD double-decker electric buses debuted on SMRT service 983, on Tower Transit service 189, and on Go-Ahead services 83 and 118. On 25 August 2021, ST Engineering-Linkker LM312 which is fitted with 3 doors debuted on SBS Transit Service 38 and 40, on SMRT Buses services 176 and 976. On 5 October 2021, ST Engineering Retrofitted Electric Bus, SG3100M which was once a diesel bus was retrofitted to an electric bus debuted on SMRT Buses Service 176. However, it was taken out of service the next day due to rolling back issues and charging connectivity issues. All the
Volvo Super Olympian The Volvo Super Olympian was a low-floor double-decker bus manufactured by Volvo. It replaced the 3-axle version of Volvo Olympian. The chassis had the designated manufacturer code B10TL. History The Volvo Super Olympian was unveiled in 1998, wi ...
buses were retired from revenue service on 8 April 2020, with the exception of SBS9889U being in revenue service until 11 November 2020. However, 2 buses have been preserved - 1 in
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
for heritage purposes and the other in a special needs school in
Ang Mo Kio Ang Mo Kio is a planning area and residential town situated in the North-East of Singapore. Located approximately north of the Downtown Core district, Ang Mo Kio is the 3rd most populated planning area in the North-East Region and ranks 8th ...
, Singapore for practical purposes. A sole Mercedes-Benz O405G (Hispano Habit), TIB1238H which operated under Kranji Depot JDEPhas been preserved at Kranji Depot and has been deregistered with the "Off Peak" Number plate which has a Red Plate with White Text. November 2020 marked the last day of operation of non-wheelchair-accessible buses with TIB1242U, a Hispano Habit-bodied Mercedes-Benz O405G on Service 169 being the last non-wheelchair-accessible bus on revenue service. On 1 December 2020, all public buses in Singapore became fully wheelchair-accessible.


COVID-19 pandemic

When the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
first emerged in the beginning of 2020, the Singapore government introduced the
circuit breaker A circuit breaker is an electrical safety device designed to protect an electrical circuit from damage caused by an overcurrent or short circuit. Its basic function is to interrupt current flow to protect equipment and to prevent the ris ...
measures to curb the spread of the virus. Under these measures, selected public bus services were suspended in two tranches, with adjustments made later. The first tranche of suspended bus services took effect from Wednesday, 8 April 2020, while the second tranche of bus service suspensions started from Wednesday, 15 April 2020. The suspensions lasted till Monday, 1 June 2020; Express and City Direct services all resumed after 1 June 2020, and several recreational and discretionary services were suspended until 30 June 2022, after which all services except 401 were withdrawn. Bus 401 was eventually reinstated on 4 June 2022 while the rest of the suspended bus services were withdrawn from 30 June 2022.


Installation of protective screens

Since 2016, protective screens were installed to protect bus drivers from potential abuse by passengers. This was expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic to protect from the virus as well.


Vehicles

Singapore's buses consist of single deck and double deck buses and they are operated by all four operators, SBS Transit,
SMRT Buses SMRT Buses is a bus operator in Singapore. A subsidiary of SMRT Corporation, it traded as Trans Island Bus Services until 10 May 2004. History Trans-Island Bus Services (1983–2004) In April 1981, Communications & Labour Minister Ong Teng Cheo ...
,
Tower Transit Singapore Tower Transit Singapore is a contracted bus operator operating in Singapore. It commenced operations on 29 May 2016 and it is a subsidiary of Transit Systems. History In October 2014, the Land Transport Authority called for tenders to operate 26 ...
and
Go-Ahead Singapore Go-Ahead Singapore is a contracted bus operator operating in Singapore. It commenced operations on 4 September 2016 and it is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group. History On 15 April 2015, the Land Transport Authority called for tenders to ope ...
. Articulated buses are operated by SMRT Buses, with several units being transferred to SBS Transit and Tower Transit Singapore as part of the Seletar and Sembawang-Yishun Bus Packages respectively under the Bus Contracting Model (BCM).


Routes

Singapore has many different bus services plying through the island. These bus routes are categorised accordingly: * Trunk: Routes that ply between towns. (e.g. 7, 21, 53M, 133, 162M, 851, 960) * Feeder: Services that operate within a neighbourhood. (e.g. 293, 334, 386, 410W, 812, 901M) * Short Trip: Routes that operate short haul trips of services which cover high demand sectors of the parent route. (e.g. 3A, 70B, 147A, 222A, 502A, 857A, 965A) * Jurong Industrial Service: Routes that service the
Jurong Jurong () is a major geographical region located at the south-westernmost point of the West Region of Singapore. Although mostly vaguely defined, the region's extent roughly covers the planning areas of Jurong East, Jurong West, Boon Lay, ...
and
Tuas Tuas is a planning area located within the West Region of Singapore. It is bounded by the Western Water Catchment to its north, Pioneer to its east and the Straits of Johor to its west. Tuas also shares a maritime boundary with the Western Isl ...
industrial areas. Operated exclusively by SBS Transit. All Jurong Industrial Services are under Jurong West Bus Package. (e.g. 247, 249, 251, 258) * Express: Routes that stop at selected stops and generally run on
expressways Expressway may refer to: *Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic. *Limited-access road, a lower grade of highway or arterial road. *Expressway, the fictional slide ...
or long stretches of express sector for faster travel between several towns. (e.g. 43e, 174e, 502, 854e, 951E) * City Direct: Service connecting passengers directly to and from the
Central Business District A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...
during peak hours. Previously operated by private operators. (e.g. 655, 661, 666, 670) * Cross Border Services: Services that cross the
Causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tra ...
or the Second Link into Malaysia. (i.e. 160, 170, 170X, 950) * Resorts World Sentosa Bus services: Bus services that operate in and out of Resorts World Sentosa. Services run on weekends and Public Holidays. (i.e. RWS8) * Scheme B Bus services: Bus services that are operated by private operators at peak timings. (Note that these services are not very well mentioned by LTA) (i.e. 621, 623, 625, 640)


Bus packages

Under the Bus Contracting Model, bus services are grouped into bus packages, each of which is operated by a bus operator.


See also

*
Transport in Singapore Transport within Singapore is mainly land-based. Many parts of Singapore, including islands such as Sentosa and Jurong Island are accessible by road. The other major form of transportation within Singapore is rail: the Mass Rapid Transit which ...
*
Rail transport in Singapore Rail transport in Singapore mainly consists of a passenger urban rail transit system spanning the entire city-state: a rapid transit system collectively known as the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system operated by the two biggest public transport op ...


References


Further reading

* Ilsa Sharp, (2005), SNP:Editions, ''The Journey: Singapore's Land Transport Story''. * * * * * * * *


External links


Ministry of Transport website

Land Transport Authority website

Public Transport Council website

TransitLink website

SBS Transit website

SMRT Corporation website

Tower Transit Singapore website

Go-Ahead Singapore website
{{Public buses of Singapore, state=collapsed