City Direct Services

City Direct Services (CDS) are express bus services in Singapore that connect residential estates with the Central Business District (CBD) via expressways.

These routes operate during the weekday peak hours only, offering City-bound trips in the morning, and return trips in the evenings. These services charge Express fares.

List of City Direct Services

Brief History

City Direct Services (CDS) were introduced under the Bus Services Enhancement Programme (BSEP) in line with the Government’s plan to provide more options for commuters using stretches of existing rail lines that experience persistently high ridership. Most of these routes were introduced between 2013 and 2016.

With limited stops and usage of expressways, the travel time for commuters is comparable to taking a feeder bus/LRT and transferring to the MRT to the City, and without the hassle of transferring between different public transport modes. For this convenience, CDS charged express fares, which are higher than regular basic fares.

An initial 10 City Direct services were launched, starting with CDS 651 in September 2013, and CDS 652–660 from January 2014–June 2014. Each City Direct service was introduced with two morning and evening trips, and more trips were added as the demand for them increased.

In March 2024, an expansion of the BSEP was announced, increasing the number of CDS to 20. This was revised to 22 new CDS services in March 2015. Services 661–672 were introduced from September 2015–November 2016.

Under the BSEP, four other Express services were also introduced in the same operating form as City Direct, but operated by Public Transport Operators. These are Services 513, 850E, 951E and 982E, are are not classified as City Direct services.

In July 2024, the Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme was launched. Under the BCEP, more peak-hour express bus services, such as City Direct Services, will be introduced to provide an alternative option for residents to complement busier MRT lines.

Private Bus Operators

At the start, Private Bus Operators were contracted to operate these routes, to augment the resources of public transport operators.

After their initial two-year operating contracts with Private Bus Operators had expired, most City Direct services were transferred to Public Transport Operators. Poorer performing services were withdrawn. CDS 658, 659, 662 & 664 were withdrawn in December 2018, while CDS 669 was withdrawn in June 2019. By December 2020, all City Direct bus services were operated by Public Bus Operators.

Fare History

When the first 10 CDS routes were introduced, flat fares were charged, equivalent to the full distance of the bus route under the distance-based Express fare scheme. Fares could be paid via card or cash, and no transfer discounts were offered.

When the subsequent tranche of CDS routes 661–665 was launched in September 2015, these services were integrated with the distance-based fare structure used across the public transport network. Commuters could pay Express fares corresponding to the exact distance travelled, and benefit from transfer discounts between CDS and other buses/trains under distance-based fare rules. An LTA press release in September 2015 also mentioned that the existing 651–660 would be converted to Distance Fares progressively from 4Q 2015, and the transition is expected to be completed by mid-2016.

Private buses operating on CDS were fitted with fare collection equipment similar to that used on public buses, inclusive of entry and exit readers.

CBD Routing

In general, the routing in CBD for CDS are as follows:

Operating Hours:

City Direct Services operate on weekdays only (excluding public holidays) Single-direction trips from the Heartlands to the CBD are operated during the morning peak hours, while return trips are operated during the evening peak hours.

Evening return trips will be brought forward to the early afternoon on Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve & Chinese New Year’s Eve, should these dates fall on a Weekday. Exact departure timings will be announced by the respective bus operators closer to the dates.

Fares:

These services charge Express fares based on distance-based fare scheme.

Timeline

• 2012 (21 Nov): Tender for CDS 651 published (Contract VT371)
• 2013 (13 Jun): Tender for CDS 652 – 657 published (Contract VT387); Contract for CDS 651 awarded (Contract VT371).
• 2013 (09 Nov): Contracts for CDS 652 – 657 awarded (Contract VT387)
• 2013 (26 Nov): Tender for CDS 658 – 660 published (Contract PT162)
• 2014 (03 Feb): Contracts for CDS 658 – 660 awarded (Contract PT162)
• 2015 (09 Feb): Tender for CDS 661 – 665 published (Contract PT221)
• 2015 (11 Mar): Announcement of 12 more CDS to be launched by LTA from Q2 2015 onward, an increase of 2 CDS from the original announcement.
• 2015 (21 Jul): Contracts for CDS 661 – 665 awarded (Contract PT221); Routing region for CDS 666 – 670 announced.
• 2015 (05 Aug): Tender for CDS 666 – 670 published (Contract PT233)
• 2015 (14 Dec): Contracts for CDS 666 – 670 awarded (Contract PT233)
• 2016 (18 Jan): 1 year extension of contracts for CDS 651 – 657
• 2016 (15 Apr): Tender for CDS 651, 671 & 672 published (Contract PT270)
• 2016 (01 Aug): Contracts for CDS 651, 671 & 672 awarded (Contract PT270); Tender for CDS 652 – 657 published (Contract PT288)
• 2016 (14 Nov): Contract for CDS 654 awarded (Contract PT288). No award for CDS 653, 655, 656 & 657.
• 2017 (Apr): Transfer of operations for CDS 653, 655, 656 & 657 to Public Transport Operators under the Bus Contracting Model (BCM)
• 2017 (12 May): Tender for CDS 658 – 660 published (Contract PT309)
• 2017 (22 Jun): Tender for CDS 661 – 665 published (Contract PT321)
• 2017 (10 Jul): No award for CDS 658 – 660
• 2017 (30 Aug): No award for CDS 658 – 660
• 2017 (28 Sep): Operations for CDS 663 transferred to Public Transport Operator Tower Transit under the BCM
• 2017 (12 Oct): Operations for CDS 665 transferred to Public Transport Operator Tower Transit under the BCM
• 2018 (17 Dec): CDS 658, 659, 662 & 664 discontinued
• 2019 (02 Jan): Operations for CDS 660 & 661 transferred to Public Transport Operators SBS Transit & Go-Ahead Singapore respectively under the BCM
• 2019 (03 Jun): CDS 669 discontinued
• 2019 (22 Jul): Operations for CDS 654 transferred to Public Transport Operator SBS Transit under the BCM
• 2020 (06 Jan): Operations for CDS 652 transferred to Public Transport Operator SMRT Buses under the BCM
• 2020 (13 Jan): Operations for CDS 651 transferred to Public Transport Operator Tower Transit under the BCM; Operations for CDS 671 & 672 transferred to Public Transport Operator SBS Transit under the BCM
• 2020 (02 Mar): Operations for CDS 666 transferred to Public Transport Operator Go-Ahead Singapore under the BCM
• 2020 (09 Mar): Operations for CDS 667 transferred to Public Transport Operator SBS Transit under the BCM
• 2020 (30 Mar): Operations for CDS 670 transferred to Public Transport Operator SMRT Buses under the BCM
• 2020 (14 Dec): Operations for CDS 668 transferred to Public Transport Operator SBS Transit under the BCM
• 2024 (14 Oct): Launch of CDS 673 under the Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme (BCEP)
• 2024 (11 Nov): Launch of supplementary CDS 660M under BCEP; Extension of CDS 654 to Anchorvale Cres under BCEP; Extension of CDS 671 & 672 to Temasek Blvd via Bayfront Ave under BCEP
• 2024 (25 Nov): Launch of CDS 674 under BCEP; Extension of CDS 666 to Temasek Blvd via Bayfront Ave under BCEP

LTA BSEP Poster for CDS

External Links:

• City Direct route plans
• City Direct Poster

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