SMRT Bus Service 61

SMRT Bus Service 61 is a trunk route linking Bukit Batok with Eunos via Ulu Pandan, Queenstown, HarbourFront, Chinatown, Bugis, Bendemeer, MacPherson and Ubi. At 39.6km in its longest direction, it is the among the longest bidirectional trunk routes in Singapore.

Route Overview
Route	Bukit Batok Bus Interchange ↔ Eunos Bus Interchange
Passes Through	Jln Jurong Kechil, Clementi Rd, Holland Rd, Commonwealth Ave, Telok Blangah Rd, Eu Tong Sen St / South Bridge Rd, Victoria St / North Bridge Rd, MacPherson Rd, Ubi Ave 2
Route Length	Towards Eunos: 39.7 km						Towards Bukit Batok: 35.7 km
Travelling Time	130 mins
Operator Information
BCM Route Package	Choa Chu Kang–Bukit Panjang Bus Package
Current Operator	SMRT Buses Ltd
Current Depot	Kranji Bus Depot (KJDEP) Buses park at: Soon Lee Bus Depot
Current Fleet	Single-deck & Double-deck buses
Operating Hours
Departure Times from Bukit Batok	Daily
	05:20 – 23:30
Departure Times from Eunos	Weekdays & Saturdays						Sundays / Public Holidays
	05:30 – 23:30						05:45 – 23:30
Operating Frequency
	6:30am–8.30am			8.31am–4.59pm			5.00pm–7.00pm			After 7.00pm
From Bukit Batok	7 – 9 mins			9 – 14 mins			10 – 13 mins			10 – 15 mins
From Eunos	8 – 13 mins			9 – 15 mins			8 – 15 mins			11 – 15 mins
Fare Information
Fare	Charges regular distance fares

Service 61 is a lengthy inter-town route serving residential, suburban and central areas of Bukit Batok, Ulu Pandan, Holland, Tanglin Halt, HarbourFront, Chinatown, Clarke Quay, Bugis, Kallang/Geylang Bahru, MacPherson Estate, Ubi and Eunos. It does not ply any expressways, unusual for trunk services of such length. At 39.6km in its longest direction (towards Eunos), it is the longest distance covered per direction for any bi-directional route in Singapore.

The lengthy nature of its route is a remnant of its long history where bus routes in the past were usually very long to serve more residential areas with connections to the City Centre, maximizing their catchment areas and hence profitability. The presence of many more alternative routes today has diminished the role of Service 61 as a crucial connection between the City and outlying housing estates.

Demand is spread evenly throughout, and this route mainly shuttles commuters over shorter distances throughout various points of the route.

Formerly operating with a large fleet of articulated buses, Service 61 has experienced declining demand with the opening of the Circle MRT Line. By 2012, most of the articulated buses have been withdrawn in favor of wheelchair-accessible rigid buses.

This service is also the sole route serving Commonwealth Drive and surrounding estates.

At Commonwealth MRT Station, Service 61 buses heading towards Eunos calls at both sides of Commonwealth Avenue. Buses heading towards Eunos will perform a U-Turn near Commonwealth MRT Station along Commonwealth Avenue and at the junction of Queensway and Commonwealth Ave.

MRT Stations Served:

• NS2 Bukit Batok
• DT5 Beauty World
• CC21 Holland Village
• EW20 Commonwealth
• CC27 Labrador Park
• CC28 Telok Blangah
• NE1CC29 HarbourFront
• EW16NE3TE17 Outram Park
• TE18 Maxwell
• NE4DT19 Chinatown
• NE5 Clarke Quay
• EW13NS25 City Hall
• CC2 Bras Basah
• EW12DT14 Bugis
• EW11 Lavender
• DT23 Bendemeer
• DT24 Geylang Bahru
• DT25 Mattar
• CC10DT26 MacPherson
• DT27 Ubi
• EW7 Eunos

Special Departures:

• Victoria Street (Opp Blk 461) → Eunos Int
  Weekdays & Saturdays: 06:00 & additional trips before 06:48
  Sundays / Public Holidays: 06:10 & additional trips before 06:39
• Neil Rd (Blk 3) → Bukit Batok Int
  Weekdays & Saturdays: 06:00 & additional trips before 06:26
  Sundays / Public Holidays: 06:10 & additional trips before 06:41

Gallery (Buses):

Poster Gallery:

Operator History:

• 11 Apr 1971 – 5 Dec 1971: Singapore Traction Company
• 6 Dec 1971 – 1973: Associated Bus Services Pte Ltd
• 1973 – 2000: Singapore Bus Services Ltd
• 2000 – 2004: Trans-Island Bus Services Ltd
• 2004 – Present: SMRT Buses Ltd

The Bus Service Operating License (BSOL) for this route will be renewed in 2026 under the Choa Chu Kang–Bukit Panjang Bus Package.

History:

• 1971 (11 Apr): Introduced between MacPherson Ter and Alexandra Rd Ter under 1971 Bus Reorganisation
• 1971 (02 May): Extended to Ulu Pandan Ter
• 1971 (06 Dec): Operations transferred to ABS
• 1975 (02 Mar): Amended to ply Sims Ave towards MacPherson Ter with the conversion of Geylang Rd to one-way traffic
• 1977 (29 Aug): Amended to ply Holland Ave and Holland Rd, skipping Nth Buona Vista Rd
• 1977 (21 Nov): Amended to ply Jln Kolam Ayer, Kallang Bahru and Lavender St, skipping Sims Ave/Geylang Rd
• 1982 (22 May): Amended to ply Aljunied Rd, MacPherson Rd, Bendemeer Rd and Geylang Bahru, skipping Jln Kolam Ayer
• 1987 (19 Apr): Extended to Bt Batok Ter
• 1987 (20 Apr): Serves new staggered bus stop under the PIE Flyover along Jln Anak Bt, skipping the bus stop opposite Bt Timah Plaza
• 1987 (27 Sep): Amended to Bt Batok Int; Amended to ply the extended Eu Tong Sen St towards MacPherson Ter to facilitate the first stage of road expansion along New Bridge Rd
• 1987 (01 Nov): Amended to ply Eu Tong Sen St towards MacPherson Ter to facilitate the second stage of road expansion along New Bridge Rd
• 1989 (29 Jan): Serves relocated bus stop opposite Sri Mariamman Tp along Sth Bridge Rd, skipping abolished bus stop opposite Jamae Mque; Serves additional bus stop opposite Upp Hokien St along Sth Bridge Rd
• 1990 (22 Jul): Serves additional bus stop outside Ellenborough Mkt along Eu Tong Sen St
• 1991 (26 May): Extended to Eunos Int under TransitLink Network Integration Exercise Phase 5
• 1999: Serves the bus stop outside Bugis Stn along Victoria St, skipping the bus stop opposite Bugis Junction
• 1999: Skips abolished pair of bus stops outside and opposite Wishart Rd along Telok Blangah Rd
• 2000 (03 Sep): Operations transferred to Trans-Island Bus Service (TIBS)
• 2003: Serves new bus stop outside Goh & Goh Bldg along Jln Jurong Kechil
• 2003 (04 May): Amended to ply Geylang Bahru, Bendemeer Rd and Serangoon Rd, skipping Jln Kolam Ayer
• 2003 (12 Oct): Serves bus stop opposite Bt Timah Plaza along Jln Anak Bt with the abolition of the bus stop under the PIE Flyover
• 2006 (16 Apr): Serves 2 additional bus stops outside Mujahidin Mosque and opposite Blessed Sacrament Ch along Queensway
• 2006 (29 Oct): Serves new bus stop outside VivoCity along Telok Blangah Rd
• 2008 (07 Dec): Skips abolished bus stop opposite Temenggong D Mosque along Telok Blangah Rd
• 2009 (22 Nov): Serves new pair of bus stops outside and opposite MacPherson Stn along Circuit Link
• 2011 (26 Jun): Amended to ply Lor Bengkok with the closure of Circuit Link to facilitate the construction of MacPherson MRT station on the Downtown MRT Line; Serves new bus stop outside The Pinnacle @ Duxton along Neil Rd
• 2011 (03 Dec): Designated wheelchair-accessible bus service (WAB)
• 2012 (09 Dec): Amended to ply Upp Bt Timah Rd and Bt Timah Link with the partial closure of Jln Jurong Kechil to facilitate the construction of Beauty World MRT station on the Downtown MRT Line
• 2014 (26 Jan): Amended to ply the reinstated Jln Jurong Kechil, skipping Upp Bt Timah Rd and Bt Timah Link
• 2016 (16 Oct): Amended to ply the reinstated Circuit Link, skipping Lor Bengkok
• 2017 (12 Feb): Serves new pair of bus stops before and after Ubi Rd 3 along Ubi Ave 2
• 2017 (26 Nov): Serves bus stop after Hospital Dr along Eu Tong Sen St with the abolition of the bus stop before Hospital Dr along Kg Bahru Rd
• 2018 (10 Mar): Amended to ply Commonwealth Ave towards Eunos Int with the partial closure of Tanglin Halt Rd; First bus from Bt Batok Int brought forward to 0520 hrs daily.

Past Routings

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