Bukit Merah Bus Package

Refer to Page 1 for details on the Bukit Merah Bus Package (PT218A – 2nd Tendered Term 2024 – 2029).

PT203 – Bukit Merah Bus Package (1st Tendered Package Term: 2018 to 2024):

First announced on 11 August 2016, the Bukit Merah Bus Package was the fourth set of public bus services to be put up for tender under the Bus Contracting Model. SBS Transit operated all bus services in this package under a Negotiated Contract (NC) model before transitioning to a Tendered Contract model as the successful tenderer of the Bukit Merah Bus Package. This package crucially covers SBS Transit’s major cross-border operations (Service 160, 170 and 170X).

In February 2018, SBS Transit Ltd secured the Bukit Merah Bus Package tender, based on a tender sum of $482 million over five years. The 18 bus routes (as of tender award) were based out of the newly-built Ulu Pandan Bus Depot, located at Business Park Drive, which was completed in Q1 2018 and is able to accommodate 470 buses.

The package started with a fleet of 340 buses when implemented in November 2018, and was projected to grow to about 390 buses in tandem with new developments and projected growth in ridership.

Contract Extension

In the SBS Transit Annual Report 2022, it was mentioned that “the contract for the Bukit Merah Bus Package will end in April 2024”. This implied that the contract was extended by 5 months from the original end date of Nov 2023 (5 years from tendered package commencement in Nov 2018).

Bidding Process:

As of the tender closing time, 6 bids were submitted from hopeful operators.

Contract Award:

Tender submissions were evaluated based on a two-envelope process looking at quality and price factors. The price submissions were only opened after the quality evaluation was completed, ensuring that the best value-for-money proposal was selected without compromising on quality.

On Friday, 23 February 2018, LTA announced SBS Transit Ltd as awarded operator of the Bukit Merah Bus Package. The LTA press release cited its reasons for picking SBS Transit:

• Demonstrated a comprehensive understanding of the operational considerations
• Strong competence in bus service scheduling that would enable the optimal deployment of buses and resources
• Extensive experience in bus operations, while offering good value for money
• Comprehensive contingency plans for cross-border services
• Committed a significant number of experienced technicians to ensure high maintenance and reliability standards
• Demonstrated innovative IT solutions for infrastructure and asset maintenance, as well as security management, with the development of several in-house mobile applications for staff to report defects and incidents
• Presented a career development programme to up-skill its staff, with more opportunities for career progression

Alternative Proposal

The alternative proposal awarded involves SBS Transit leveraging on its existing bus fleet and bus depots to optimise bus operations. This involved garaging some buses which operate on Bukit Merah Bus Package bus services at other bus depots; for example, Service 57 is partially garaged at Ang Mo Kio Bus Depot, and 198 is partially garaged at Soon Lee Bus Depot.

In addition, several bus services from other Bus Packages operated by SBS Transit under a Negotiated Contract also garage at Ulu Pandan Bus Depot, such as Service 95 & 201.

Additional Initiatives:

• SBS Transit introduced iSafe to provide Bus Captains with a complete overview of their driving behaviour using technology as an independent assessor.
  The iSafe package includes:
  – SAfe Green Eco System (SAGE), which aims to improve the safety of buses, to monitor the smoothness and comfort of bus rides provided by Bus Captains (BCs). The system records and monitors the BC’s driving behaviour such as speeding and harsh acceleration with feedback given in real-time through audio and visual alerts. The system is provided by TNT Surveillance.
  – Golden Eye Driver Anti-Fatigue system by TNT Surveillance
  – Mobileye Collision Avoidance System
• SBS Transit also set up a new Bus Technical Specialist Certification Centre (BTSCC) at Ulu Pandan Depot for the Singapore Bus Academy (SGBA). This would enhance the professionalism of engineering and technical staff in the bus industry. SBS Transit’s experienced engineering staff would be involved in curriculum development and conducting assessments and certification.
• Free WiFi installed on all bus services under the Bukit Merah Bus Package from February 2019.
• Interactive touchscreen panels at Bukit Merah and Harbourfront Bus Interchanges to provide convenient access to travel information – the panels will display comprehensive and user-friendly information such as bus services, bus departure times, bus routes and locality map. Commuters can also catch up on up-to-date information such as service extension hours, and even routes that are being diverted or delayed.
• Feedback panels at Bukit Merah and Harbourfront Bus Interchanges near the Passenger Service Office allow commuters to conveniently share immediate feedback on bus interchanges’ facilities such as toilet cleanliness and lighting of the interchanges. This will allow SBS Transit to take corrective action quickly to improve the travel experience.
• Quarterly Commuter Chat sessions at Bukit Merah and Harbourfront Bus Interchanges for SBS Transit managers to engage commuters and listen to their feedback.
• Dedicated television screens at Bukit Merah and Harbourfront Bus Interchanges displaying information on local community events and activities to engage residents in the neighbourhood.
• Mobile charging points for commuters to recharge their devices at bus interchanges.
• Umbrella dispensers at Bukit Merah and Harbourfront Bus Interchanges (by Nestia) near the Passenger Service Office to allow commuters to borrow umbrellas for free for 24 hours during rainy days via a mobile application.

Bus Services (as of Apr 2024)

Operated by SBS Transit under the Bukit Merah Bus Package till Apr 2024:

Short Trip & Supplementary Bus Services

These services do not add to the overall service count.

Under the Bukit Merah Bus Package, SBS Transit operated part of the bus services using buses garaged at other bus depots apart from Ulu Pandan Bus Depot.

Buses from Ulu Pandan Bus Depot which are mainly deployed on other services which are not from the Bukit Merah Bus Package may also be deployed on Bukit Merah Bus Package services.

• Ulu Pandan Bus Depot for all bus services under the Bukit Merah Bus Package
• Ang Mo Kio Bus Depot for some Service 57, 131 & 145 buses
• Bedok North Bus Depot for some Service 5 & 16 buses
• Soon Lee Bus Park for some Service 198 buses

Transition Dates:

With SBS Transit already operating all the Bukit Merah Bus Package services under a Negotiated Contract till Nov 2018, all bus services transitioned to the Tendered Package contract with no change in operator on 18 November 2018.

Bukit Merah Bus Package – First Tendered Package Term (PT203) Timeline

• 2016 (11 Aug): Bukit Merah Bus Package mentioned as one of 11 Negotiated Contract (NC) Packages operated by SBS Transit.
• 2017 (28 Apr): Bukit Merah Bus Package open for Tender. Closes on 28 Aug 2017, 12:00PM
• 2017 (28 Aug): Tender closed with 6 bids received
• 2018 (23 Feb): Tender awarded to SBS Transit Ltd (Alternative Bid)
• 2018 (18 Nov): Commencement of Bukit Merah Bus Package (Tendered Contract)
• 2019 (16 Jun): Bus Service 402 removed from the bus package following its withdrawal
• 2020 (09 Mar): Supplementary Bus Service 16M added to the bus package
• 2020 (18 Mar): Bus Service 170X temporarily suspended due to Malaysia Movement Control Order
• 2020 (26 Jul): Supplementary Bus Service 160M added to the bus package
• 2021 (19 May) – 2022 (31 Mar): Bus Service 170A suspended
• 2022 (01 Apr): Bus Service 170A resumed and converted to a bi-directional service; Service 170 temporarily suspended
• 2022 (01 May): Resumption of Bus Services 170 & 170X; Service 170A withdrawn
• 2022 (12 Dec): Bus Service 131M withdrawn
• 2023: 5 month contract extension till April 2024 as indicated within the SBS Transit Annual Report 2022
• 2023 (14 Aug): Short Trip Services 5A & 5B added to the bus package
• 2023 (24 Sep): Bus Service 160M renumbered to Service 993 with the extension of route along Bukit Batok West Ave 8 & Bukit Batok Rd
• 2024 (28 Apr): All 18 Bus Services transitioned to Bukit Merah Bus Package (2nd Tendered Package Term)

External Links & References:

• Bus Industry to complete transition to BCM on 1 Sep 2016 – LTA
• Bukit Merah Bus Package up for Tender – LTA
• Contract PT203: Schedule of Tenders Received – LTA
• Contract PT203: Price Schedule – LTA

Page 1 – Bukit Merah Bus Package 2nd Tendered Term (PT218A) / 2024 –
Page 3 – Bukit Merah Bus Package Negotiated Contract (PT205) / 2016 – 2018