SBS Transit Bus Service 123

SBS Transit Bus Service 123 is a trunk route connecting Bukit Merah Int and Beach Station Bus Terminal in Sentosa, passing through Queensway, Napier Road, Orchard, Clemenceau Avenue, Havelock, Tiong Bahru and Lower Delta Road, while also operating a supplementary route variant, Service 123M.

• Bus Service 123 towards both Beach Station and Bukit Merah duplicates along Bukit Purmei Ave. Check the bus destination before boarding.
  – Buses displaying the Red 123 Plate head towards Bukit Merah
  – Buses displaying the White 123 Plate head towards Beach Station (Sentosa)

Route Overview
Route	Bukit Merah Bus Interchange ↔ Beach Station Bus Terminal
Passes Through	Jln Bt Merah, Queensway, Holland Rd, Orchard Rd / Orchard Blvd, Tiong Bahru Rd, Lower Delta Rd
Route Length	Towards Beach Stn: 21.3 km						Towards Bukit Merah: 19.8 km
Travelling Time	61 – 104 mins
Operator Information
BCM Route Package	Bukit Merah Bus Package
Current Operator	SBS Transit Ltd
Current Depot	Ulu Pandan Bus Depot (UPDEP)
Current Fleet	Single-deck & Double-deck buses
Operating Hours
Departure Times from Bukit Merah	Weekdays & Saturdays								Sundays / Public Holidays
	05:45 – 23:45								06:00 – 23:45
Departure Times from Beach Station	Weekdays & Saturdays								Sundays / Public Holidays
	06:00 – 23:45								06:15 – 23:45
Operating Frequency
From Bukit Merah	6:30am–8.30am			8.31am–4.59pm			5.00pm–7.00pm			After 7.00pm
Mondays – Thursdays	11 – 14 mins			13 – 16 mins			14 mins			14 – 18 mins
Fridays	11 – 12 mins			12 – 16 mins			13 – 16 mins			14 – 16 mins
Saturdays	15 mins			14 – 15 mins			15 mins			15 – 18 mins
Sundays / Public Holidays	17 – 18 mins			15 – 19 mins			16 mins			16 – 18 mins
From Beach Station	6:30am–8.30am			8.31am–4.59pm			5.00pm–7.00pm			After 7.00pm
Mondays – Thursdays	12 mins			12 – 15 mins			14 – 15 mins			15 – 17 mins
Fridays	12 mins			12 – 15 mins			14 mins			14 – 15 mins
Saturdays	14 – 15 mins			13 – 16 mins			15 – 16 mins			18 mins
Sundays / Public Holidays	16 – 17 mins			15 – 18 mins			16 mins			18 mins
Fare Information
Fare	Charges regular distance fares

Service 123 is a trunk route connecting Bukit Merah Int and Beach Station Bus Terminal in Sentosa. It primarily serves the residential estates along Bukit Merah, Queensway, Tiong Bahru and Bukit Purmei, offering connections to activity nodes such as the Orchard Road district, as well as Tiong Bahru and Sentosa.

With the extension of Service 123 to Sentosa in July 2017, it was the first trunk route to terminate at Sentosa. The route serves the basement bus stop at Resorts World Sentosa in the direction of Beach Station only.

This service calls at several bus stops in Bukit Purmei estate twice in different directions, i.e. towards Bukit Merah and towards Beach Station. Red and white service plates are used to distinguish the direction of travel in addition to Electronic Display Signages (EDS) on buses. Red plate indicates buses heading for Bukit Merah; white plate indicates buses heading for Beach Station.

Hybrid Bus trial

In November 2022, SBS Transit allocated Volvo B5LH hybrid buses to Service 123 as part of a trial. At pre-defined zones around Sentosa such as at bus stops and in the vicinity of hotels, these buses will operate in electric-only mode, which is emissions free.

MRT / Sentosa Monorail Stations Served:

• TE12 Napier
• TE13 Orchard Boulevard
• NS22TE14 Orchard
• NS23 Somerset
• TE16 Havelock
• EW17 Tiong Bahru
•  S2  Resorts World
•  S3  Imbiah
•  S4   Beach

Special Departures:

• Kg Bahru Rd (Bef Mt Faber Lodge) → Bukit Merah Int
  Weekdays & Saturdays: 05:50
  Sundays & Public Holidays: 06:05

Route Variant:

• Service 123M: HarbourFront Int ↺ Tiong Bahru Road (Loop)
  Daily

Gallery (Buses):

Posters:

Operator History:

• 11 Apr 1971 – 05 Dec 1971: Singapore Traction Company
• 06 Dec 1971 – 1973: United Bus Company
• 1973 – 2001: Singapore Bus Services Ltd
• 2001 – Present: SBS Transit Ltd

The Bus Service Operating License (BSOL) for this route will be renewed in 2029 under the Bukit Merah Bus Package.

History:

• 1971 (11 Apr): Introduced between Jln Aman Ter and South Canal Ter under 1971 Bus Reorganisation
• 1971 (09 May): Amended to Kg Bahru Rd Ter
• 1971 (06 Dec): Operations transferred to UBC
• 1974 (24 Feb): Amended to ply Grange Rd, Orchard Blvd and Paterson Rd towards Jln Aman Ter with the conversion of Orchard Rd to one-way traffic
• 1975 (02 Feb): Amended to ply Zion Rd and Ganges Ave towards Jln Aman Ter with the partial conversion of Outram Rd to one-way traffic
• 1976 (08 Aug): Amended to loop at New Bridge Rd
• 1978: Amended to ply Moulmein Rd, skipping Norfolk Rd
• 1983 (02 Jan): Amended to Whampoa Rd Ter and amended to ply Whampoa Rd, Whampoa Dr, Jln Bahagia and Kim Keat Rd when exiting St. Michael’s Est.
• 1984 (27 May): Amended to ply Whampoa Dr when entering St. Michael’s Est with the closure of Jln Kebun Limau to facilitate the construction of the Central Expressway (CTE)
• 1987 (06 Apr): Skips abolished bus stop before College Rd along Outram Rd
• 1987 (01 Nov): Amended to ply Eu Tong Sen St towards St. Michael’s Ter to facilitate the second stage of road expansion along New Bridge Rd
• 1987 (13 Dec): Serves new staggered bus stop outside Orchard Stn along Orchard Blvd, skipping the bus stop opposite Orchard Stn; Serves new bus stop outside Newton Stn along Scotts Rd
• 1992 (19 Jul): Amended to ply Orchard Lk due to the closure of Grange Rd to facilitate road expansion works
• 1992: Amended to ply Clemenceau Ave towards St. Michael’s Ter, skipping Tank Rd
• 1993 (04 Apr): Shortened to loop at Tomlinson Rd from New Bridge Rd Ter under TransitLink Network Integration Exercise Phase 12
• 1993 (23 May): Integrated with Service 14, extended to start from Bt Merah Int and amended to loop at Bt Purmei Ave under TransitLink Network Integration Exercise Phase 13
• 1999: First bus brought forward to 0545 hrs on weekdays and Saturdays
• 2002 (07 Jul): Skips the bus stop opposite Mandarin Singapore along Orchard Rd
• 2005 (02 Jul): Amended to ply Grange Rd with the partial closure of Somerset Rd
• 2005 (30 Oct): Serves new bus stop outside Blk 94 along Zion Rd
• 2008 (14 Jul): Designated wheelchair-accessible bus service (WAB)
• 2014 (24 Aug): Extended to HarbourFront Int.
• 2017 (30 Jul): Extended to Beach Station Bus Terminal in Sentosa, skipping Telok Blangah Rd
• 2018 (18 Nov): Start of operations under Bukit Merah Bus Package (Tendered Contract)

Past Routings

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