Tower Transit Bus Collision at Bukit Batok Bus Interchange (July 2021)

On Sunday, 12 July 2021 at around 5:03 pm, two Tower Transit buses collided at Bukit Batok Bus Interchange, leaving one bus toppled on its side. The two Mercedes-Benz Citaro buses involved were SBS6329P and SBS6403H. Both buses were operating on Tower Transit Feeder Bus Service 945 at the time of the collision.

SBS6329P was heading from the parking bay to the boarding berth, preparing to pick up passengers for a new trip of Bus Service 945. While turning into the interchange driveway,  it collided with the right side of SBS6403H, which was on revenue service. SBS6403H had just entered the bus interchange with fourteen passengers on board, and was heading for the alighting berth.

The impact of the collision by SBS6329P caused SBS6403H to mount a kerb, knock down a metal railing and land on its left side. It landed on the driveway ramp leading to/from the end-on berths, which is about two metres lower than the interchange driveway where the accident occurred. An SBS Transit Bus Captain, who was taking a break in between trips of Bus Service 852, was also injured in the accident.

The 17 people injured were as follows:

• 2 Tower Transit Bus Captains (driving SBS6329P & SBS6403H)
• 1 SBS Transit Bus Captain (on break)
• 14 commuters onboard SBS6403H

The collision and flipping of SBS6403H shattered the rear windscreen of the bus, which enabled several trapped commuters to escape. This was also filmed by several on-site members of the public.

After the incident, a 65-year-old bus driver was arrested for a rash act causing grievous hurt and later dismissed by Tower Transit. The driver, Singapore permanent resident Loo Eng Chai, was charged in court on 9 Feb 2022 with one count of causing grievous hurt to six people by driving in a negligent manner.

On 31 May 2022, Loo pled guilty and was handed a jail sentence of six weeks, plus disqualified from driving for five years.

Accident scene

According to the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), it received a call for assistance at 5.05 pm. SCDF rescuers used the shattered rear windscreen as an entry point to guide commuters out of the bus. An additional point of entry was created using an electrical saw to cut through the front windscreen. Several poles in the bus were cut off using rescue equipment to create space for the casualties to be rescued safely.

Public areas in the vicinity were cordoned off by the police after the accident, but lifted shortly before vehicle recovery commenced.

This incident resulted in the closure of the end-on berths at Bukit Batok Bus Interchange, with all boarding and alighting activities temporarily shifted to the sawtooth berths on the North side of the interchange. Ushers from Tower Transit, SBS Transit & SMRT Buses were present to inform commuters on the alternative arrangement and facilitated queue lines for commuters boarding the affected bus services (77, 173/173A, 852, 944, 947 & 991/991A).

Later in the evening, buses parked at the end-on berths at the time of the accident were driven out of the end-on berths without passengers.

Recovery of flipped bus

Recovery works commenced at about 2300hrs after the Traffic Police completed its on-site investigations. Two recovery vehicles with loading cranes were used.

The bus was first lifted up slightly on each end to allow for the removal of large debris trapped under the bus, such as the green metal fencing.

The cranes were also used to drag the bus further away from the wall, allowing for enough space for the uprighting of the bus. At about 2355hrs, SBS6403H was lifted into an upright position.

The bus was subsequently towed away from the accident site at about 0110hrs the next day.

Damage to SBS6403H

Video – Recovery of SBS6403H

References

• TTS Statement – Tower Transit Singapore Facebook Post
• Road Traffic Accident at No. 631 Bukit Batok Central – Singapore Civil Defence Force Facebook
• 17 injured in bus collision at Bukit Batok interchange, driver suspended – CNA (channelnewsasia.com)
• Bus driver arrested over Bukit Batok interchange collision  – CNA (channelnewsasia.com)
• Bukit Batok accident: Former Tower Transit bus driver charged with negligent driving – The Straits Times
• Bukit Batok bus collision: Former Tower Transit driver jailed six weeks | The Straits Times