The Land Transport Authority has announced 6 new peak period bus services under the Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme.
To be introduced across the next few months, these 6 services comprise:
- Three peak period bus services 457, 458, 459 connecting Hougang, Sengkang and Punggol to the Circle Line and Tai Seng.
- Two peak period bus services 460 and 461 connecting Tampines Boulevard to Tampines MRT Station and Yishun East to Khatib MRT Station respectively
- City Direct Bus Service 684 between Brickland, Bukit Batok West and the Central Business District
New type of limited-stop peak period bus service
Existing routes under the 45x series provide a direct connection to MRT Stations for estates farther away from transport nodes.
The bus services 457, 458 and 459 appear to be a new type of limited-stop peak period bus service. While the exact routes have not been announced, these 3 bus services appear to provide alternate transport options for existing North East Line commuters to Tai Seng, similar to Express Bus Service 43e. It is not known if these bus services will charge express fares.
In recent times, measures to ease peak hours crowds on the congested North East Line have been ramped up. In 2025, a total of 9 new City Direct Bus Services were introduced for the northeast region, bringing the total number of northeast city direct bus services to 16. Free and discounted NEL rides were also made availlable since 27 December 2025 during selected hours in the morning.
The new bus services are also expected to shift commuters travel patterns away from the congested Serangoon MRT Station amidst the tunnel strengthening works on the Circle Line.
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