Premium Bus Service 531 is a Premium service operated by Ng Ing Tsair Bus Service between Simei Road and Shenton Way. The route passes through Simpang Bedok, Upper East Coast, East Coast Parkway (express sector), Suntec City and Fullerton, operating a city-bound trip in the morning and a return trip in the evening.
| Route Overview |
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| Route |
[AM] Simei Road (Melville Pk) → Shenton Way (Opp MAS Bldg) [PM] Anson Road (Hub Synergy Pt) → Simei Road (Metta Welfare Assn) |
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| Passes Through | Simpang Bedok, Upper East Coast, ECP, Suntec City, Fullerton | |
| Travelling Time | 53 mins (AM) | 55 mins (PM) | |
| Operator Information | ||
| Current Operator | Ng Ing Tsair Bus Service | |
| Departure Times from Simei Rd |
0755hrs (Weekdays, except Public Holidays) | |
| Departure Times from Anson Rd |
1815hrs (Weekdays, except Public Holidays) | |
| Fare | EZ Link / NETS Flashpay Card: $5.50Â |Â Â Cash: $7.00 Transfer rebates & concessionary travel are not applicable. |
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Premium 531 serves housing board estates, private estates and condominiums around Simei and Upper East Coast with connections to Suntec City, Marina Centre and Shenton Way, eliminating the hassle of transferring between different modes of transport. At the same time, SBS Transit’s Express 10e also offers peak hour connections between Upper East Coast and Shenton Way at a cheaper price, but takes a longer journey by not plying along expressways.
Since its introduction in 2007, Premium 531 has experienced considerably high demand from the niche market, mostly from the private housing areas around Upper East Coast, where 531 is a the fastest bus route to the CBD despite its high fares. High capacity articulated buses were deployed on this service duing its initial days of service, when there were just 2 morning departures and buses were filled to the brim (despite the Premium no-standing regulation back then), and some buses (e.g. TIB1081S) were re-tuned for better climbing of Benjamin Sheares Bridge. Articulated buses were eventually removed when more weekday peak hour trips were added.
Originally operating with 2 morning and 2 evening trips, Premium 531 operated with 6 morning and 3 evening trips at its peak under SMRT, making it among the most successful Premium routes around. Most trips were fully seated.
Transfer of Operator to Commute Solutions
Under Commute Solutions, the cash fare for Premium 531 was raised from $5.50 to $6.00. EZ-Link fares remain at $5.50.
AM Departures were reduced from 6 AM trips to 5 AM trips, while PM Departures were also reduced from 3 PM trips to 2 PM trips.
AM Departures were re-timed and reduced to 4 trips between 0740 to 0805hrs after the takeover by Commute Solutions.
Subsequently, from 1 April 2020, the 2 morning trips at 0740hrs & 0755hrs were reduced to only 1 trip at 0750hrs.
Cash fares were increased to $7.00 from 03 Jan 2017.
More Trips were subsequently reduced.
Commuters may also pre-book passes from the ShareTransport App.
Departure Timings
Weekdays, except Public Holidays
- AM Peak from Simei Rd (Melville Park): 07:55
- PM Peak from Anson Rd (Hub Synergy Point): 18:15
Fare:
- EZ Link / NETS Flashpay Card: $5.50
- Cash: $7.00
Gallery
Operator History
- 30 Jul 2007 – 26 Aug 2016: SMRT Buses Ltd
- 29 Aug 2016 – 2021: Commute Solutions Group Pte Ltd
- 2021 – Present: Ng Ing Tsair Bus Service
History
- 2007 (30 Jul): Introduced as a Premium Service from Simei Road → Shenton Way. Operates two trips in the morning at 0755hrs and 0803hrs, and charges a flat fare of $3.00
- 2007 (03 Oct): Third morning trip added. Departure times amended to 0750hrs – 0805hrs with buses departing at 7/8-minute intervals.
- 2008 (Jun): Two evening peak trips introduced at 1810hrs and 1825hrs. Fare increased to $4.00
- 2009 (01 Apr): Fare lowered to $3.80
- 2009 (06 Apr): Fourth morning trip and third evening trip added at 0745hrs and 1840hrs respectively
- ???: Firth morning trip added
- 2009 (05 Oct): Sixth morning trip added at 0810hrs
- 2010 (01 Apr): Original fare of $4.00 reinstated
- Late 2011: Fare revision to $5.00
- 2014 (04 Aug): Fare revision to $5.50
- 2016 (29 Aug): Operations transferred to Commute Solutions Group Pte Ltd.
- 2017 (03 Jan): Cash fare revision to $7.00 from $6.50
- ?: Trip re-timing and reduction to 4 AM trips
- ?: Trip reduction to 3 AM Trips & 1 PM trip
- ?: Trip reduction to 2 AM Trips & 1 PM trip
- 2020 (1 Apr): Trip reduction to 1 AM Trip & 1 PM trip
- 2021: Operations officially transferred from Commute Solutions to Ng Ing Tsair Bus Service
External Links & References:
- Premium Bus Services Update from 1st July 2022 – Commute Solutions
- Commute Solutions – Premium Bus Routes
- Premium Bus Services Update from 4th January 2021 – Commute Solutions
- Bus Services – LTA
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Soon this bus service might be victim to Thomson-East Coast Line Stage Four.
2 days in a row (yesterday and today) the last bus was a no show. I might as well voice my other concerns here: i noticed on 2 occassions the driver was using his cell phone while driving; and for 5.50, i expect the contractor to at least provide commuters with a decent bus, not one that squeaks throughout the journey. And on particular one day with heavy rain, it was leaking water via the aircon vent.