SBS Transit Bus Service 21 is a trunk service plying between Pasir Ris and St. Michael’s, passing through Tampines, Bedok Reservoir, Kaki Bukit, Geylang, Bendemeer, and Balestier.
21
Notes:
- – Wheelchair Inaccessible Bus Stop
- Service 21 serves Jalan Bahagia & Jalan Tenteram towards both St. Michael’s & Pasir Ris. Check the bus destination before boarding.
RED plated Service 21 buses are bound for Pasir Ris, while
WHITE plated Service 21 buses are bound for St. Michael’s.
| Route Overview | ||||||||||||
Route  |
Pasir Ris Bus Interchange ↔ St. Michael’s Bus Terminal | |||||||||||
| Passes Through | Tampines Ave 7, Bedok Reservoir Rd, Geylang Rd / Sims Ave, Moulmein Rd, Balestier Rd | |||||||||||
| Route Length | Towards St. Michael’s: 27.4 km | Towards Pasir Ris: 25.0 km | ||||||||||
| Travelling Time | 130 mins | |||||||||||
| Operator Information | ||||||||||||
| BCM Route Package | Bishan–Toa Payoh Bus Package | |||||||||||
| Current Operator | SBS Transit Ltd | |||||||||||
| Current Depot | Ang Mo Kio Bus Depot (AMDEP) Bedok North Bus Depot (BNDEP) |
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| Current Fleet | Single-deck & Double-deck buses | |||||||||||
| Operating Hours | ||||||||||||
| Departure Times from Pasir Ris |
Daily | |||||||||||
| 05:30 – 00:00 | ||||||||||||
| Departure Times from St. Michael’s |
Daily | |||||||||||
| 05:30 – 00:00 | ||||||||||||
| Operating Frequency | ||||||||||||
| From Pasir Ris |
6:30am–8.30am | 8.31am–4.59pm | 5.00pm–7.00pm | After 7.00pm | ||||||||
| Weekdays | 7 – 12 mins | 11 – 14 mins | 12 – 16 mins | 14 – 16 mins | ||||||||
| Saturdays | 11 – 13 mins | 12 – 15 mins | 14 – 15 mins | 12 – 15 mins | ||||||||
| Sundays / Public Holidays | 11 – 15 mins | 8 – 16 mins | 11 – 15 mins | 13 – 15 mins | ||||||||
| From St. Michael’s | 6:30am–8.30am | 8.31am–4.59pm | 5.00pm–7.00pm | After 7.00pm | ||||||||
| Weekdays | 10 – 13 mins | 8 – 14 mins | 8 – 16 mins | 12 – 16 mins | ||||||||
| Saturdays | 13 – 14 mins | 12 – 15 mins | 12 – 14 mins | 12 – 14 mins | ||||||||
| Sundays / Public Holidays | 12 – 15 mins | 12 – 14 mins | 13 – 17 mins | 14 – 16 mins | ||||||||
| Fare Information |
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| Fare | Charges regular distance fares |
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Service 21 spans from Central to East, serving many residential areas throughout its route, such as Whampoa, Balestier, Boon Keng, Kallang, Paya Lebar, Eunos, Kaki Bukit, Bedok Reservoir, Tampines and Pasir Ris. Its lengthy route and large coverage makes it an important inter-town route, and as a result, journey time is relatively long for its length.
Introduced in 1992, the route originally ran between Pasir Ris Int and Lorong 1 Geylang Ter before being extended to St. Michael’s in 1993 following the merger with then-Service 4. Service 21 made history on 26 June 2006 as the first wheelchair-accessible bus service in Singapore following the debut of Volvo B9TL (CDGE) buses on the route.
The route has several key sectors offering important connections, such as that between St. Michael’s Estate and Novena MRT, Farrer Park and the Geylang district, as well as that between Eunos MRT and Bedok Reservoir Road. As such, in addition to demand from inter-town connections, the route experiences high demand throughout the day, and relies on fleet comprising mostly of double-decker buses. Around Farrer Park, the route plies very different stretches in either direction. The route was amended to serve Jalan Tenteram in both directions in April 2016.
MRT Stations Served:
- EW1 Pasir Ris
- DT33 Tampines East
- EW2–DT32 Tampines
- DT31 Tampines West
- EW7 Eunos
- EW8CC9 Paya Lebar
- EW9 Aljunied
- EW10 Kallang
- NE9 Boon Keng
- NE8 Farrer Park
- NS20 Novena
Special Departures:
- Changi Road (Aft Lor 106 Changi) → St. Michaels’s Ter
Weekdays: 05:55 & 06:10
Saturdays: 05:55 & 06:06
Sundays / Public Holidays: 05:55 - Geylang Road (Bef Lor 18 Geylang) → St. Michaels’s Ter
Sundays / Public Holidays: 17:51, 18:15 & 18:31 - Sims Ave (Eunos Stn/Int) → Pasir Ris Int
Weekdays: 05:50, 06:00, 06:18 & 06:31
Short Trip Service
- Service 21A: Geylang Road (Bef Lor 18 Geylang) → Kitchener Road (Bef Tai Hoe Hotel)
Sundays & Public Holidays: 16:52 – 17:56
Gallery:
Poster Gallery
Operator History:
- 1992 – 2001: Singapore Bus Services Ltd
- 2001 – Present: SBS Transit Ltd
The Bus Service Operating License (BSOL) for this route will be renewed in 2026 under the Bishan–Toa Payoh Bus Package.
History:
- 1992 (29 Nov): Introduced between Pasir Ris Int and Lor 1 Geylang Ter under Transitlink Integration Exercise Phase 10
- 1993 (23 May): Merged with Service 4 and extended to St Michael’s Terminal under Transitlink Integration Exercise Phase 13
- 1994: Skips bus stop outside Kallang Stn along Sims Ave
- 1999: Serves new pair of bus stops outside and opposite The Clearwater Condo along Bedok Reservoir Rd
- 2001 (18 Feb): Serves new staggered bus stop outside Novena Stn along Thomson Rd, skipping the bus stop outside Novena Church
- 2002: Serves new pair of bus stops opposite and between Blks 731 and 734 along Bedok Reservoir Rd
- 2003 (21 Jun): Amended to ply Bendemeer Rd, Jln Besar, Kitchener Rd and Serangoon Rd under North East MRT Line Rationalisation Phase 1
- 2004 (27 Apr): Amended to ply Geylang Rd, Kallang Rd and Sims Ave towards St. Michael’s Ter with the temporary conversion of Lor 1 Geylang to one-way traffic
- 2004 (06 Dec): Amended to ply the reinstated Lor 1 Geylang towards St. Michael’s Ter, skipping Geylang Rd, Kallang Rd and Sims Ave
- 2006 (26 Jun): Designated wheelchair-accessible bus service (WAB), the first WAB route in Singapore
- 2016 (24 Apr): Amended to ply Jln Tenteram in both directions
- 2022 (30 Oct): Amended to ply Pasir Ris St 12 and Pasir Ris St 11 with the partial closure of Pasir Ris Dr 1 to facilitate the construction of Pasir Ris East MRT station on the Cross Island MRT Line
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I thought I saw ADL Enviro500 3 door on this service.
The bus driver on SG5116K that comes to Aft Sims Way at 6.52 am keeps asking me to sit down. I do not like him to keep doing this. Please ask him to stop this.
VERY RARE!
Today I sat on a MAN A95 Euro 6 on service 21
SG 6261L
According to sgwiki.com, the following MAN A95s operate on service 21 but I NEVER EVER see them mostly is Scania K23OUBs and Volvo B9TLs:
SG 6222A
SG 6223Y
SG 6233T
SG 6261L (the one I sat today)
actually now its getting more and more common (i sat quite some times already)
All of the CDGE buses were removed from 21 on 1 Jan 2022. Wonder which bus model replacing them?
MAN A95 Euro 6 Batch 2