Bus Interchanges and Terminals

A Bus Interchange or Bus Terminal is a public transport facility that functions as the start and end point of bus routes. These centralized facilities allow for seamless transfer between bus services. There are currently 26 bus interchanges and 19 bus terminals in operation.

A Bus Interchange (referred to as a Bus station outside of Singapore) is a large facility handling many bus routes, usually offering connections to the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) network. They are an integral part of Singapore’s hub-and-spoke public transportation system, where commuters frequently rely on buses for last-mile connections.

Integrated Transport Hub (ITH)

Several bus interchanges are designated as Integrated Transport Hubs, which have fully air-conditioned passenger concourses with links to rail stations. These are often built within commercial and residential buildings as part of an integrated development.

At present, the various ITHs in operation are:

• Toa Payoh (May 2002)
• Sengkang (Jan 2003)
• Ang Mo Kio (Apr 2007)
• Boon Lay (Dec 2009)
• Serangoon (Sep 2011)
• Clementi (Nov 2011)
• Bedok (Nov 2014)
• Joo Koon (Nov 2015)
• Bukit Panjang (Sep 2017)
• Yishun (Sep 2019)
• Woodlands (Jun 2021)

A Bus Terminal is a smaller facility used as a regional terminating point for bus services. While the majority are dedicated facilities, there are a handful of roadside bus terminals with minimal infrastructure. Some bus terminals do not allow for passenger boarding and alighting.

In addition, some bus depots are used as route termini of bus services, as follows:

Bus termini used only by private buses:

Bus Park used to park buses only, with no boarding and alighting activities allowed:

Upcoming Bus Interchanges & Terminals:

Works in Progress / Construction Tenders Issued

• Bidadari Integrated Transport Hub
  (Under Construction, projected opening in 2019 & delayed)
• Buangkok Integrated Transport Hub
  (Under Construction; projected opening in Q3 2023 & delayed)
• Punggol North Integrated Transport Hub
  (Under Construction)
• Tengah Bus Interchange
  (Under Construction)
• Pasir Ris Integrated Transport Hub
  (Tender Phase, opening around 2028)
• Jurong East Integrated Transport Hub
  (Tender Phase)
• Kallang Bus Interchange
  (Integrated with Kallang Horizon BTO Project; Under Construction)
• Beauty World Integrated Transport Hub
  (Mixed-use Development at Bukit Timah; within Bukit V Mall)

Under Planning

• Bedok South Integrated Transport Hub*
• Hougang Integrated Transport Hub*
• Tampines North Integrated Transport Hub*
• Tengah Integrated Transport Hub*
• Tiong Bahru Integrated Transport Hub*
• Marina South Integrated Transport Hub^
• Woodlands North Integrated Transport Hub (Shelved)
• Choa Chu Kang Integrated Transport Hub

* – As per URA Draft Master Plan 2019
^ – As per Land Transport Master Plan 2040

List of abolished Bus Interchanges and Terminals:

In addition, several bus services terminate at bus stops which do not count as bus termini. These are:

• Hougang Street 21
  Service 115
• Jalan Kembangan
  Services 42 & 135
• Sengkang Central
  Service 114

History:

In the past, private bus companies built and operated their own bus termini. They were usually located along the roads and were plenty in number, adding to the difficulty of integrating various different bus routes. In the 1970s, smaller-scaled bus terminals were built, most of them by the Public Works Department (PWD) and the Housing and Development Board (HDB). The private bus companies would then rent these terminals for thousands of dollars per month.

In the late seventies, the construction of new towns resulted in the idea of regional bus interchanges to take over the roles of the bus terminals. This would improve efficiency and reduce overlapping of bus routes. In 1978, the Jurong Bus Interchange became Singapore’s first bus interchange. The early bus interchanges were mainly shared by the SBS, TIBS, SSB and Scheme B bus operators. Until the completion of the Woodlands Bus Interchange in 1996 by the Mass Rapid Transit Corporation (MRTC), all the early bus interchanges were designed and built by the Housing and Development Board (HDB), which was also the main architect of bus stops and other facilities for the public transport.

With the construction of the MRT in the 1980s, bus transport in Singapore slowly adapted in favour of centralised bus interchanges that provide connections to the MRT, and the use of multiple feeder bus services to link up different parts of new towns with MRT stations. Also in 1983, the Government and its statutory boards took over five bus interchanges and more than 50 roadside termini from SBS.

In the modern era, bus interchanges were further redesigned to provide greater comfort and integration. Toa Payoh and Sengkang Bus Interchanges were among the first to be fully air-conditioned and fully integrated with their basement MRT stations. Sengkang Interchange was also the first to integrate residential development with bus interchanges by the use of fully enclosed bus interchanges, i.e. the entire interchange occupies the ground floors of the building, a concept previously used extensively in land-starved Hong Kong. Integrated Public Transport Hubs have been built at Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Serangoon, Boon Lay, Clementi and Joo Koon, and more are expected to be completed in the next decade, such as Bukit Panjang, Hougang, Jurong East, Marina South and Yishun.

Today, bus interchanges are designed and constructed by the Land Transport Authority (LTA), but are managed by the bus operator which operates the majority of bus services from the interchange (and with the rollout of the Bus Contracting Model, bus interchanges/terminals are allocated to bus operators). Some bus terminals do not allow for passenger boarding and alighting.

In the early 2010s, bus interchanges have been used for overnight parking of buses due to lack of parking space within bus depots, but the practice has been curtailed with the construction of more bus parks.

Facilities:

Bus interchanges (and some terminals) have one or more of such facilities:

• Interchange Office / Passenger Service Office
  Staffed by the bus operators, this office is the management center of any bus interchange. It handles passenger inquiries, timekeeping for bus services and various other interchange operations. They usually have a computer terminal for drivers to clock the start and end of their scheduled trips.
• TransitLink Ticket Office
  Staffed by TransitLink personnel, this office mainly handles contactless card transactions among other services.
• Drivers’ Lounge / Briefing Room
  Where bus drivers take a break before their next departure.
• NTWU Canteen
  The National Transport Workers’ Union (NTWU) manages a group of canteens known as NTWU canteens which are commonly found at major bus interchanges. They provide healthy and low-cost meals for bus drivers, and are also open to members of the public.
• Parking lots for the layover of buses
• Waiting berths
  Berths are pick-up areas for buses. Most major interchanges have three services assigned to a berth, with queuing areas for passengers.
• Alighting berths
  Buses terminating at the interchange drop off passengers here before heading to park
• Information board
  Public transport operators design various information boards for their interchanges such as locality maps, bus service maps and bus information.
• Bus arrival displays
  This electronic bus arrival board contains timings of the next scheduled bus departure.
• Service guide rack
  The service guide rack is stocked with paper guides containing details of various bus services.
• Retail Stalls
  In recent years, bus operators have opened various stalls at their bus interchanges to increase profits by renting them out to vendors. Food stalls are among the most common.
• Toilets
  Some bus interchanges charge a small fee for members of the public.
• Nursing Rooms
• Bicycle Racks