SBS Transit Express 506 is an Express service running between Jurong East and Serangoon, passing through Bukit Batok, Toa Payoh and Woodleigh.
506
Serangoon Int
→ Jurong East Int
→ Jurong East Int
Jurong East Int
→ Serangoon Int
→ Serangoon Int
| Route Overview | ||||||||||||
Route  |
Jurong East Bus Interchange ↔ Serangoon Bus Interchange |
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| Passes Through | Boon Lay Way, Jurong Town Hall Rd, Bukit Batok West Ave 3, Bukit Batok East Ave 3, Lor 6 Toa Payoh, Upp Serangoon Rd | |||||||||||
| Route Length | Towards Serangoon: 23.2 km | Towards Jurong East: 24.0 km | ||||||||||
| Travelling Time | 65 mins | |||||||||||
| Operator Information | ||||||||||||
| BCM Route Package | Bedok Bus Package | |||||||||||
| Current Operator | SBS Transit Ltd | |||||||||||
| Current Depot | Ulu Pandan Bus Depot (UPDEP) Hougang Bus Depot (HGDEP) |
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| Current Fleet | Single-deck & Double-deck buses | |||||||||||
| Operating Hours | ||||||||||||
| Departure Times from Jurong East |
Daily | |||||||||||
| 06:00 – 22:00 | ||||||||||||
| Departure Times from Serangoon |
Daily |
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| 06:20 – 23:45 | ||||||||||||
| Operating Frequency | ||||||||||||
| From Jurong East | 6:30am–8.30am | 8.31am–4.59pm | 5.00pm–7.00pm | After 7.00pm | ||||||||
| Weekdays | 14 – 15 mins | 16 – 21 mins | 17 – 24 mins | 21 – 24 mins | ||||||||
| Saturdays | 17 – 18 mins | 18 – 22 mins | 21 mins | 21 – 23 mins | ||||||||
| Sundays / Public Holidays | 19 – 21 mins | 20 – 23 mins | 22 – 23 mins | 22 – 23 mins | ||||||||
| From Serangoon |
6:30am–8.30am | 8.31am–4.59pm | 5.00pm–7.00pm | After 7.00pm | ||||||||
| Weekdays | 16 – 23 mins | 15 – 21 mins | 18 mins | 16 – 20 mins | ||||||||
| Saturdays | 16 – 24 mins | 16 – 20 mins | 20 mins | 22 – 24 mins | ||||||||
| Sundays / Public Holidays | 19 – 26 mins | 19 – 22 mins | 20 – 23 mins | 23 – 25 mins | ||||||||
| Fare Information |
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| Fare | Charges express distance fares |
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Express 506 plies between the residential estates of Jurong East and Serangoon, via Bukit Batok, Toa Payoh and Woodleigh. It incorporates an express sector along the PIE between Bukit Batok and Toa Payoh.
Despite being an express route, other basic bus services compliment the route over various sectors, such as Service 985 connecting Bukit Batok with Jln Toa Payoh also via PIE.
MRT Stations Served
- EW24NS1 Jurong East
- NS2 Bukit Batok
- NE10 Potong Pasir
- NE11 Woodleigh
- NE12CC13 Serangoon
Gallery:
Poster Gallery:
Operator History:
- 1999 – 2001: Singapore Bus Services Ltd
- 2001 – Present: SBS Transit Ltd
Route History:
- 1999 (30 Aug): Introduced between Jurong East Int and Bedok Int, operating daily
- 2000 (03 Sep): Extended to Changi Airport; Serves additional pair of bus stops outside and opposite Trellis Twrs along Jln Toa Payoh; Last bus from Jurong East Int extended to 2210 hrs daily
- 2001: Serves new pair of bus stops opposite Blk 761 and opposite Baywater along Bedok North Ave 3
- 2002: Serves new pair of bus stops opposite and between Blks 731 and 734 along Bedok Reservoir Rd
- 2002 (15 Sep): Shortened back to Bedok Int; Last bus from Jurong East Int extended to 2230 hrs daily
- 2006: Skips a pair of abolished bus stops outside and opposite Bedok Green Sec Sch along Bedok North Ave 3
- 2006 (12 Nov): Extended to Upper East Coast Ter; Last bus from Jurong East Int reverted to 2200 hrs daily
- 2010 (13 Feb): Serves new pair of bus stops outside and opposite Blk 220 CP along Bedok North Ave 3
- 2011 (17 Dec): Amended to Jurong East Temp Int
- 2012 (30 Sep): Designated wheelchair-accessible bus service (WAB)
- 2017 (23 Apr): Serves relocated bus stop before PIE along Bt Batok Rd
- 2020 (15 Apr – 01 Jun): Temporarily suspended due to Singapore COVID-19 Circuit Breaker Measures.
- 2020 (06 Dec): Amended to relocated Jurong East Int
- 2021 (12 Dec): Shortened to Serangoon Int via Upp Serangoon Rd as part of the Downtown Line 3 Bus Service Rationalisation
Back to Express Services
Back to Bus Services
About the prospect of 506 becoming Tengah to Changi Airport:
First of all, every public bus route that goes to Changi Airport has to loop there.
Second, the longest known public bus route that goes to Changi Airport is 858 from Woodlands, and that one is a trunk bus service.
Third, 858 has a straight line distance of approximately 24.3km.
Using approximately 24.3km as the gauge, the westernmost bus interchange for a Changi Airport bus service (whether trunk or express) is Beauty World ITH (straight line distance 23.8km).
Clementi ITH and Bukit Panjang ITH are about 25km straight line distance from Changi Airport and thus should be considered out of range.
More likely is Beauty World to Changi Airport (loop), and then have express feeders between Beauty World and various residential areas or important areas in the western part of Singapore (eg: Jurong Lake District).
But then again, ridership may be low, because the JRL + EWL maybe much faster and cheaper.
Actually, I rather they make 506 become Tengah to Bedok (straight line distance 22km) or Tengah to Upper East Coast (straight line distance 24.7km) instead, to reinstate the original 506 where most of the demand originally was from.
Otherwise, this talk about 506 becoming Tengah to Changi Airport is very much like talking about JRL back in the 2000s, which was just to attract people to move to Jurong West to stay, without saying that JRL would actually only be ready more than 25 years from then.
Tengah, as understand, has some disadvantages like noise pollution.
But no matter what, 506 becoming Tengah to Changi Airport, I don’t think it’s possible. What’s more possible is the reinstatement of the original 506, but even that, may also not be possible.
So, it’s better to just forget about it, and live in the present. Like that more realistic, and more able to use resources efficiently.