Bus Interchanges and Terminals

Bus Interchanges and Bus Terminals are public transport facilities that are used as terminating points for bus routes.

In Singapore, bus interchanges and terminals are key transport nodes that support the commuting needs of their localities. Under the hub-and-spoke public transport model, buses are frequently used for last-mile connections, and these transport facilities are thus also constructed near MRT stations. Modern bus interchanges are built as air-conditioned mixed-use developments, called  Integrated Transport Hubs (ITHs).

As of 2024, there are 30 bus interchanges in operation, and about 17 bus terminals served by public bus services.

Locality Map

Brief Overview

Bus terminals in Singapore were originally built and managed by individual bus operators. After the 1973 consolidation that formed Singapore Bus Service (SBS), the company initiated a terminal improvement program to enhance facilities. This included adding more parking spaces, crew offices and rest areas, sheltered commuter waiting areas, toilets, and food stalls.

The development of bus terminals has been closely aligned with Singapore’s town planning. Since the late 1970s, densely-populated New Towns have been designed with a centrally-located bus interchange. Feeder services connected residents within these towns to their respective bus interchanges.

In 1983, the Government assumed responsibility for building and developing bus interchanges and terminals. The opening of the MRT system in the late 1980s led to the placement of bus interchanges near MRT stations to facilitate the integration of bus and train services. Since 2002, the government has been upgrading neighbourhood bus interchanges into Integrated Transport Hubs (ITHs), which are air-conditioned, mixed-use developments.

A more detailed write-up of Singapore’s bus interchanges and terminals can be found below.

List of Bus Interchanges

Bus Interchanges are large commuter facilities serving multiple bus routes, with most also offering connections to the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) network. They are integral to Singapore’s hub-and-spoke public transportation network, where commuters frequently rely on buses for last-mile connections.

All bus interchanges currently in operation are listed here:

Bus Interchange Bus Services
Ang Mo Kio 22, 24, 25, 73, 86, 130, 133, 135, 136, 138, 166, 169, 261, 262, 265, 269
Bedok 7, 9, 14, 16/16M, 17, 26, 30, 30e, 32, 33, 35/35M, 38, 40, 60, 69, 87, 155, 168, 196, 197, 222, 225G/225W, 228, 229, 401, 854, 854e
Bishan 50, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 410G/410W
Boon Lay 30, 79, 154, 157, 172, 174, 174e, 178, 179, 180, 181/181M, 187, 192, 193, 194, 198, 199, 240, 241, 242, 243G/243W, 246, 249, 251, 252, 405
Buangkok
 [From 1 Dec 2024]
Bukit Batok 61, 77, 106, 173, 177, 189, 852, 941, 945, 947, 990, 991, 992
Bukit Merah 5, 16/16M, 57, 75, 123, 131, 132, 139, 153, 167, 176, 198, 272, 273, 851
Bukit Panjang 176, 180, 920, 922, 970, 972/972M, 973, 975, 976, 979
Choa Chu Kang 67, 172, 188, 188e, 190, 300, 301, 302, 307, 925, 927, 976, 983, 985, 991
Clementi 7, 14, 96, 99, 147, 156, 165, 166, 173, 175, 196, 282, 284, 285
Compassvale [Till 30 Nov 2024]
110, 374
Eunos  22, 60, 61, 63/63M, 76, 93, 94, 150, 154
HarbourFront  65, 80, 93, 123M, 124, 188, 188e, 855, 963, 963e
Hougang Central 27, 51, 74, 89, 89e, 102, 107/107M, 112, 113, 116, 132, 147, 151, 153, 161, 165, 324, 325, 329
Joo Koon 99, 182/182M, 253, 254, 255, 257, 258, 974
Jurong East 41, 49, 51, 52, 66, 97, 97e, 98/98M, 105, 143/143M, 183, 197, 333, 334, 335, 506, 993
Jurong Town Hall 78, 79, 160, 870, CW3, CW4, CW4S
Pasir Ris 3, 5, 6, 12, 12e, 15, 17, 21, 46, 58, 68, 88, 354, 358, 359, 403, 518, 518A
Punggol 3, 34, 43/43M, 43e, 50, 62, 82, 83, 84G/84W, 85, 117/117M, 118, 119, 136, 381, 382G/382W, 384, 386
Sembawang 117/117M, 167, 859/859A/859B, 861, 882, 883/883M, 980, 981
Sengkang 80, 83, 86, 87, 156, 159, 163, 371, 372, 965
Serangoon 100, 101, 103, 105, 109, 158, 315, 317, 506
Tampines 3, 4, 8, 10, 19, 20, 23, 28, 29, 31, 37, 38, 65, 67, 68, 69, 72, 81, 127, 291, 292, 293, 296, 969
Tampines Concourse 39
Tampines North
 18, 129, 298
Tengah
 870, 871, 992
Toa Payoh 8, 26, 28, 31, 73, 88, 90, 139, 141, 142, 143, 145, 155, 157, 159, 163, 230, 231, 232, 235, 238
Woodlands
(Temporary Bus Interchange)		 925/925M, 950, 961/961M, 965
Woodlands
(Integrated Transport Hub)
 161, 168, 169, 178, 187, 856, 858, 900, 901/901M, 902, 903/903M, 904, 911, 912/912M, 913/913M, 960, 960e, 962, 963, 963e, 964, 966, 969
Yio Chu Kang 13, 70/70M, 71, 72, 76, 162, 825, 860
Yishun 39, 85, 103, 171, 800, 801, 803, 804, 805, 806, 807, 811, 812, 851, 851e, 852, 853/853M, 854, 854e, 855, 856, 857, 859, 860, AC7

Integrated Transport Hub (ITH)

Several bus interchanges are designated as Integrated Transport Hubs or ITHs. These interchanges are located near MRT stations and have fully air-conditioned passenger concourses. These are often built within commercial and residential buildings as part of an integrated development.

There are currently 12 ITHs in Singapore, which are, in order of opening date:

  • 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)
  • Buangkok (Dec 2024)

List of Bus Terminals

Bus Terminals are smaller facilities used as regional terminating points for bus services. Compared to bus interchanges, they handle fewer bus services and often have more basic commuter facilities. Some bus terminals do not allow for passenger boarding and alighting.

All bus terminals currently in operation are listed here:

Bus Terminal Bus Services
Beach Station 123, Sentosa Bus A, Sentosa Bus B
Buona Vista 32, 48, 74, 91, 145, 185, 191, 200
Changi Airport Terminal 2 24, 27, 34, 36, 53, 110, 858
Changi Business Park 47, 118
Changi Village 2, 29, 59, 109
Gali Batu 75, 184
Ghim Moh 92, 100, 111
JB Sentral 160, 170X, 950, other JB local bus routes
Kampong Bahru 2, 12, 12e, 54, 120, 122, 174, 174e, 190
Kent Ridge 10, 33, 95, 151, 200, 201, NUS A1, NUS A2
Larkin 170, other JB local bus routes
Lorong 1 Geylang 11, 140, 141, 175, 853, 961/961M, 980, 985
Marina Centre 56, 77, 97, 97e, 195, 960, 960e
Queen Street 170, CW2, SJE
Resorts World Sentosa 123, RWS8, Sentosa Bus A
Saint Michael’s 21, 124, 125, 129, 131, 186
Shenton Way 70, 106, 107, 121, 130, 133, 186, 400, 970
Sims Place 64, 134, 137
Tuas 192, 193, 247, 248, 248M
Upper East Coast 13, 25, 43, 45, 46, 55, 137, 853M

JB Sentral and Larkin are located in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

Bus Depots used as route termini

Some bus depots in Singapore are used as route termini of bus services, as follows:

Bus Depot Bus services
Ang Mo Kio 45, 265, 268
Bedok North 18, 48
Soon Lee 185, 502/502A
Private Bus Termini

These facilities are used only by private buses:

Bus Terminal Bus services
Little India Little India Bus Services
Private buses to/from workers’ dormitories
Prince George’s Park NUS A1, NUS D2, NUS BTC, NUS K

Bus Parks

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

Bus Park Remarks
Hougang Bus Park Supports Hougang Central Int during construction of the Cross Island Line Hougang Station

 

Upcoming Bus Interchanges & Terminals:

Works in Progress / Construction Tenders Issued
Under Planning

* – As per URA Draft Master Plan 2019
^ – As per Land Transport Master Plan 2040
** – Mentioned as part of Draft Master Plan 2025

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:

  • Bartley Road
    Service 146
  • Hougang Street 21
    Service 115
  • Hougang Avenue 1
    Service 53M
  • Jalan Kembangan
    Services 42 & 135
  • Sengkang Central
    Service 114 [Till 30 Nov 2024]

Detailed 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 1970s, 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. Early bus interchanges were designed and built by the HDB, which was also the main architect of bus stops and other facilities for public transport.

Starting in 1976, SBS started its Bus Terminal Improvement Programme, leading to the phase-out or relocation of 28 bus terminals. Many moved to major bus interchanges located at the centre of the new towns. In 1978, Jurong Bus Interchange was opened, being Singapore’s first bus interchange.

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. This was complemented by a 1981 Ministry of Communications report that evaluated the public bus system, and found that interchanges and terminals needed to be better coordinated with the development of new towns and MRT stations.

In 1983, the Government and its statutory boards took over five bus interchanges and more than 50 roadside termini from SBS [Link], while also taking over the building and maintenance of all bus interchanges and termini in future. Bedok, Bukit Merah, Clementi, and Woodlands Interchanges were taken over by the HDB, while Jurong Interchange was taken over by the Jurong Town Corporation, and terminals were distributed among statutory boards in charge of the land they were built on. The cost of building the five bus interchanges, at roughly $9 million, was written off by SBS, as was the cost of the bus termini. Ownership would later be merged under the Land Transport Authority (LTA), which was formed in 1995.

In 1996, Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange was opened. Built by the Mass Rapid Transit Corporation (MRTC), this novel design saw the bus interchange constructed underneath the elevated Woodlands MRT Station, to maximize space for the development of the surrounding town centre.

Starting in the 2000s, bus interchange designs in residential towns evolved into Integrated Transport Hubs (ITHs), wherein bus interchanges are integrated into mixed-use developments. These air-conditioned facilities provide seamless links to MRT stations and adjoining commercial developments such as shopping malls. The first such interchange was Toa Payoh, which opened in May 2002.

ITHs have since been integrated with shopping malls, condominiums, and even HDB flats, as was the case for Woodleigh. As of June 2021, there are eleven ITHs in Singapore, with more expected to be completed in the years to come.

New bus interchanges have also been constructed to expand the capacity of existing bus interchanges. These are Tampines Concourse (opened 2016), Compassvale (opened 2017), and Jurong Town Hall (opened 2023).

Bus termini have also been constructed on the roof slabs of train depots to maximize land use. These are Tuas (opened 2017) and Gali Batu (opened 2021).

Current operations:

Today, construction of bus interchanges and terminals is commissioned by the Land Transport Authority (LTA). ITHs that are part of commercial buildings/condominiums/etc. are still built by private developers, but must follow LTA guidelines on architecture and commuter infrastructure.

With the rollout of the Bus Contracting Model in 2016, all bus interchanges and terminals are bundled together with Bus Packages which are subsequently tendered out to bus operators. Therefore, each interchange or terminal has a designated anchor operator, which is almost always the bus operator with the largest operations at the facility. Anchor operators must operate and maintain the bus interchanges/terminals, along with all the equipment and systems provided within, and provide bus service information to passengers.

While all bus interchanges have passenger facilities, not all bus terminals allow for passenger boarding and alighting.

Bus interchanges/terminals also double as overnight parking spaces for public buses, due to the lack of parking space within bus depots. This practice was common in the early 2010s but has since been reduced, with the construction of more bus depots and 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

28 thoughts on “Bus Interchanges and Terminals”

  • Chanhee
    6 November 2024 at 2:28 PM
    Permalink

    Current Predictions of Upcoming Bus Interchanges to be part of ITH:
    Under Planning/Work In Progress:
    Woodleigh, Pasir Ris, Punggol Coast, Jurong East, Tengah, Beauty World, Kallang, Bedok South, Hougang, Tampines, Tampines North, Choa Chu Kang, Woodlands North, Marina South, Punggol (Highly Possible)

    TBD:
    Harbourfront, Eunos, Bukit Batok, Yio Chu Kang, Bishan, Sembawang, Chencharu, Tiong Bahru

    Reply
  • Transport suggester
    18 September 2024 at 8:27 PM
    Permalink

    Interchanges in need of a sub-interchange (e.g compassvale, tampines concourse)
    – Tanah Merah Interchange (Extension to Bedok Int); Consist of services 7, 16, 32, 33, 60, 87 & 155
    – Lakeside Interchange (Extenstion to Boon Lay Int); Consist of services 154, 157, 174 & 198
    – Yew Tee Interchange (Extension to Choa Chu Kang Int); Consist of services 172, 188, 925 & 983
    – Ulu Pandan Terminal (Extension to Clementi Int); Consist of services 7, 14, 96, 165 & 173

    Reply

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