(Defunct) Yishun Bus Interchange

Yishun Bus Interchange is a former neighbourhood bus interchange located at Yishun Town Centre, serving residential areas around Yishun and Khatib.

The interchange ceased operations from 14 March 2015 and was demolished to make way for a new integrated development (Northpoint City). The Yishun Integrated Transport Hub has been operating on this same site since 8 September 2019.

Details:

Introduction:

Yishun Bus Interchange is a bus interchange located in the residential town of Yishun. Connecting with Yishun MRT Station along the North South MRT Line, the interchange was a transport node for commuters heading in and out of town, allowing for convenient transfers between the rail network and the many bus services at the interchange.

The original interchange opened in 1987. It had a single vehicular concourse area wrapping around the interchange, featuring a unique angled design with end-on berths at the west side and sawtooth berths on the east and south side. A combined ingress/egress leads to a signalised junction with Yishun Avenue 2. Two more egress points are located along Yishun Avenue 2 (for end-on berth exiting buses) and Yishun Central 1 (for sawtooth berth exiting bueses, making a total of 3 egress points.

The passenger concourse is a sheltered bus waiting area with commuter facilities such as queue lanes at every berth, bus departure timing screens, and retail outlets.

History:

Before the construction of the Yishun Bus Interchange, Yishun had two roadside bus termini; one at Yishun Avenue 5 and the other at Yishun Central. The former handled feeder services like 800 and 801, while trunk routes 850 and 851 called at the Yishun Central Terminal. In the 1980s, the rising development of Yishun New Town called for a more permanent facility for buses. HDB, who was in-charge of public works, designed and built a permanent facility between Yishun Avenue 2 and Yishun Central 1. The interchange opened in 1987 with five trunk and four feeder bus services, gradually expanding to the 19 bus services today.

In 2003, SBS introduced Service 39 to Yishun, followed by 85 in 2006. In December 2010, private operator Advance Coaches introduces AC7, a cross-border bus route to Kotaraya II.

The last day of operations of Yishun Bus Interchange was on 13 March 2015, following which the Yishun Temporary Interchange was opened to replace the old one. Yishun Bus Interchange was demolished and will be replaced by an air-conditioned Integrated Public Transport Hub, Northpoint City, housing a shopping mall, offices and residential developments by 2019.

Feeder bus routes:

• Service 800: Looped at Yishun Avenue 5, extended to loop at Yishun Street 71 in 1992.
• Service 801: Looped at Yishun Avenue 7, merged with 805 in 1996 to form Intratown 811.
• Service 802: Looped at Yishun Avenue 3, merged with 803 in 1996 to form Intratown 812.
• Service 803: Looped at Yishun Street 61, merged with 802 in 1996 to form Intratown 812. Reintroduced in 2014 under the BSEP scheme.
• Service 804: Looped at Yishun Avenue 11, amended to Yishun Street 11 in 2004.
• Service 804A (1stGen): Peak hour route introduced in 1994, renumbered in 1998 to 806
• Service 804A (2ndGen): Introduced in 2003 to Yishun Ring Road (bef Street 41), withdrawn in 2004 when 804 extended to Yishun Street 41.
• Service 805: Looped at Yishun Avenue 81, merged with 801 to form Intratown 811.
• Service 806: Re-numbered from 804A in 1998, eventually extended to a full-day service.
• Service 811: Intratown service looping at Yishun Avenue 5 and Street 83
• Service 812: Intratown service looping at Yishun Avenue 3 and Street 61

Interchange facilities:

• Interchange offices (SMRT)
• Drivers lounge
• NTWU Canteen
• Boarding and alighting berths
• Information boards
• Bus arrival displays
• Service guide racks
• Retail outlets
• Toilets

Yishun Interchange has one entrance along Yishun Avenue 2. There are three exits, two along Yishun Avenue 2 and one at Yishun Central.

Bus Services list:

Berth Allocation: Yishun Bus Interchange has 24 end-on berths (A-suffixed) and 9 sawtooth berths (B-suffixed). SMRT recently re-numbered their berths (as shown in the New Berth column), which excludes two berths near the interchange canteen that are currently unused.

Bus-Plus operates a free shuttle service between Yishun and Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. Passengers are discouraged from using the shuttle bus if they are not visiting relatives at the hospital.

Last Day of Operations

Early tomorrow morning, an SMRT bus plying intratown Service 812 (S/812) will be the last bus to use Yishun Bus Interchange before operations move across the road to Yishun Temporary Bus Interchange.
To catch this last bus, join the queue for S/812 at Berth 5 at Yishun Bus Interchange at 12:45am (14 Mar’15) as this bus will leave the interchange for the last time about 10 minutes later. The intratown journey should take around 30 minutes.
Upon S/812’s arrival back at Yishun Bus Interchange, this trip will close the chapter on some 28 years of bus operations at the present interchange.
To mark this milestone, SMRT Buses will present a special keepsake to passengers upon their arrival to commemorate the journey as S/812 will be the last of many buses to have used Yishun Bus Interchange.

SMRT Facebook, 13 March 2015

Certificates and bus bookmarks were given out for this special last trip, which was driven by SMRT’s Chief Bus Captain Mr Ho Ai Hock using a Mercedes-Benz O405G Hispano Habit, TIB1218R. SMRT Buses Vice President, Mr. Tan Kian Heong, was present at the event. After its arrival at Yishun Interchange, it was driven to the new Yishun Temporary Bus Interchange.

Barricades were put up to block pedestrian and vehicle traffic from all entrances after the last bus.

Gallery:

Back to Bus Interchanges and Terminals
Back to Bus Articles