On 16 July 2026, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced the awarding of the Serangoon–Eunos Bus Package to SMRT Buses.
The 5-year contract represents the first tendered package term for the Serangoon-Eunos Bus Package. It will commence on 13 June 2027, with an option for extension of 2 to 5 years.
With this, SMRT Buses will succeed SBS Transit as the operator of 26 bus services in the Serangoon & Eunos region. It will also operate buses from the new Kim Chuan Bus Depot.
In addition, it will also manage Serangoon Bus Interchange, Eunos Bus Interchange, Woodleigh Bus Interchange, and Sims Place Bus Terminal.
Contract BC802: Serangoon–Eunos Bus Package
Serangoon–Eunos Bus Package has been operated by SBS Transit under a negotiated contract since the start of the Bus Contracting Model in September 2016.
SMRT Buses will succeed SBS Transit as the new operator of this package. Buses will also be based at the new Kim Chuan Bus Depot, instead of the existing Hougang Bus Depot.
| Incumbent | SBS Transit Ltd |
| Present Contract Term |
Negotiated Contract (Contract PT209): Sep 2016 – Jun 2027 (10 years 9 months term) |
| Upcoming Contract Term |
Tendered Package 1st Term (Contract BC802): June 2027 – 2032 |
| Awarded Operator |
SMRT Buses Ltd |
| Bus Services |
11, 22, 53/53M, 55, 58, 59, 60, 63/63M, 64, 90, 94, 101, 103, 105, 109, 134, 137, 140, 141, 146, 148, 150, 154, 158, 315 & 317 (26 bus routes) |
| Handover Date | From 13 June 2027 |
| Bus Depot | Kim Chuan Bus Depot |
| Bus Interchanges | Serangoon Bus Interchange, Eunos Bus Interchange, Woodleigh Bus Interchange |
| Bus Terminals | Sims Place Bus Terminal |
Reasons for the award to SMRT Buses were provided by LTA:
- Highest total score for its proposal
- Offered cost savings for LTA compared to the current contract
- Proposal demonstrated strong capabilities in electric bus operations and maintenance, alongside comprehensive plans to strengthen workforce development. Initiatives include:
— Implement attractive workforce recruitment initiatives to grow and diversify its local pool of bus captains, including offering a high sign-on bonus, Class 3/3A licence sponsorship, and C-U-Back at work (“CUB”) programme developed in partnership with NTUC Women and Family Division to attract more women to enter the bus sector.
— Enhance bus safety and systems maintenance through the deployment of fleet-wide AI-enabled fatigue detection and fault navigator systems to reduce fault resolution time and improve maintenance turnaround.
— Enhance commuter experience through community-focused programmes tailored to the local profile at each interchange. These include a placemaking initiative featuring the heritage of Kampung Eunos, and extending the community piano and busking sessions initiatives at Woodleigh to support local arts and community engagement.
Transition of impacted workers
Current SBS Transit employees from the Serangoon-Eunos Bus Package will be protected by the Public Transport Tripartite Committee’s Guidelines on Good Employment Practices in the Public Bus Industry and must be offered a job by SMRT Buses, the incoming operator, at employment terms that are no worse off than their current employment terms.
Affected employees can also choose to join SMRT Buses or be redeployed by their current employer (SBS Transit), where feasible.
Bid Prices
The tender for the Serangoon-Eunos Bus Package was called on 19 December 2025. The awarded tenderer and its corresponding contract sum are highlighted in red.
| No. | Company | Base | Alternative |
| 1 | SBS Transit Ltd | $635,243,284.11 | $630,345,868.51 |
| 2 | SMRT Buses Ltd | $599,528,428.00 | — |
| 3 | Tower Transit Singapore Pte. Ltd. | $644,630,098.50 | $639,290,213.50 |
The tender submissions were evaluated based on a two-envelope process, which looked at both quality and price factors. The price submissions were only opened after the quality evaluation was completed. This two-envelope process ensures that LTA gets the best value-for-money proposal without compromising on quality.
LTA also retains the option to extend the contract by between two and five years, beyond the end of the initial five-year term.
Observations
The tendered package term for the Serangoon-Eunos Bus Package will commence operations on 13 June 2027, which is 2 weeks ahead of the 27 June 2027 date initially expected, as was released by SBS Transit in a Q1 2026 business update.
For this contract, the anchor interchanges / terminals that the winning operator would manage also notably excludes Changi Village Bus Terminal. The terminal is currently managed by SBS Transit under the negotiated contract of the Serangoon-Eunos Bus Package. Of the three bus services that currently terminate at Changi Village, two of these are from the Serangoon-Eunos Bus Package (59 & 109), with the other being from the Loyang Bus Package.
References
- LTA Awards Serangoon-Eunos Bus Package to SMRT Buses | Land Transport Authority [Accessed 16 Jul 2026]
Back to Serangoon–Eunos Bus Package
61, 67, 105, 154, 961/M & 985 confirmed dual depot.
They were right about smrt winning…
Well on bright side CRL 99.99% confirmed to be operated by SBS/SOR
Maybe even bag bulim or choa chu kang-bukit panjang bus package
There’s a saying that SBS Transit runs better train services, while SMRT runs better bus services. Either way, it seems the original operators still come out on top.
This result also suggests that Tower Transit simply didn’t make the cut, and that the Land Transport Authority (LTA) doesn’t award bus packages just for the sake of it. Instead, it shows that the LTA carefully evaluates the bids before deciding which operator is best suited to run each package under the Bus Contracting Model.
First is Jurong West, now this one? Again?
Wow, this is really unexpected! This also means SMRT is coming back to Yishun Bus Int one way or another with 103! Congrats to SMRT!!