SBS Transit City Direct Bus Service 654

SBS Transit City Direct Service 654 is a Weekday Peak Hour City Direct service between Sengkang and the CBD, passing through Rivervale Drive, KPE and Shenton Way. It is the fourth City Direct route introduced under the Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP). Its route was extended to Anchorvale Cres under the Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme (BCEP) from 11 Nov 2024.

City Direct 654 will be extended to Anchorvale Crescent from 11 Nov 2024, with additional morning & evening trips.

Route Overview
Route	[AM]: Anchorvale Crescent (Treasure Crest) → Shenton Way (Opp MAS Bldg) [PM]: Anson Road (Mapletree Anson) → Anchorvale Crescent (Opp Treasure Crest)
Passes Through	Anchorvale St, Compassvale St, Rivervale Dr, Central Blvd / Marina Blvd
Route Length	Towards Shenton Way: 22.1 km						Towards Anchorvale Cres: 21.9 km
Travelling Time	59 mins [AM Peak] | 60 mins [PM Peak]
Operator Information
BCM Route Package	Sengkang–Hougang Bus Package
Current Operator	SBS Transit Ltd
Current Depot	Hougang Bus Depot (HGDEP)
Current Fleet	Single-deck & Double-deck buses
Operating Hours
Departure Times from Anchorvale Cres	Weekdays, except Public Holidays
	07:25 – 08:00
Departure Times from Anson Rd	Weekdays, except Public Holidays
	18:10 – 18:40
Operating Frequency
From Anchorvale Cres	5 mins
From Anson Rd	10 mins
Fare Information
Fare	Charges express distance fares

City Direct Service 654 provides residents of Sengkang with greater connectivity to the CBD. By running parallel to existing rail lines, the service provides a travel alternative for commuters who relied on the rail network and feeder buses to and from work. The route incorporates an express sector between Rivervale Drive and Marina Bay via KPE, ECP and Sheares Avenue.

This is the fourth City Direct service to be introduced under the Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP), and one of ten proposed City Direct bus routes progressively introduced until the 2nd Quarter of 2014. This provides more options for commuters using stretches of the existing rail lines that experience persistently high ridership, while the ongoing rail enhancement measures are being implemented.

The last morning trip is operated by a Double-Decker Bus from 9 October 2023.

The route was further enhanced under the Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme (BCEP) from 11 November 2024, with a route extension to Anchorvale Crescent. In addition, two more morning trips and one more evening trip were added.

Travel Smart Journeys

This bus service is part of the Travel Smart Journeys – North-East Line Scheme from 20 Mar 2023 – 22 Nov 2024, where commuters who switch to this service can earn cashback in the form of e-transport vouchers.

The scheme will be suspended from 25 Nov 2024 till early Jan 2025 for a system upgrade.

MRT/LRT Stations Served

• SW2 Farmway
• SW1 Cheng Lim
• SE1 Compassvale
• SE2 Rumbia
• SE3 Bakau
• SE4 Kangkar
• NS27CE2TE20 Marina Bay
• DT17 Downtown
• TE19 Shenton Way
• EW15 Tanjong Pagar

Departure Timings

Weekdays (except Public Holidays)

• Morning Peak from Anchorvale Crescent (Treasure Crest):
  07:25, 07:30, 07:35, 07:40, 07:45, 07:50, 07:55 & 08:00
• Evening Peak from Anson Road (Mapletree Anson):
  18:10, 18:20, 18:30 & 18:40

Gallery (SBS Transit):

Gallery (BT&Tan / Ren Quan Transport)

Poster Gallery

Operator History:

• 20 Jan 2014 – 19 Jan 2017: Ren Quan Transport Pte Ltd
• 20 Jan 2017 – 19 Jul 2019: BT&Tan Transport Service
• 22 Jul 2019 – Present: SBS Transit Ltd

The Bus Service Operating License (BSOL) for this route will be renewed under the Sengkang–Hougang Bus Package, in which the negotiated contract term was extended by an undisclosed number of years from 2024.

History:

• 2014 (20 Jan): Introduced between Anchorvale St (Blk 336B) and Shenton Way (Opp MAS Bldg) during morning peak hours and between Anson Rd (Hub Synergy Pt) and Anchorvale St (Blk 330) during evening peak hours as a peak hour one-directional service on weekdays under the BSEP. Operated under Contract VT387C.
• 2014 (14 Jul): Additional morning trip added
• 2015 (23 Mar): Serves new staggered bus stop outside Mapletree Anson along Anson Rd, skipping the bus stop outside Hub Synergy Pt
• 2015 (02 Nov): Additional morning trip added
• 2016 (13 Jun): Additional morning trip added
• 2017 (20 Jan): Operations transferred to BT&Tan Transport Service under Contract PT288
• 2018 (12 Jun): Additional morning trip & evening trip added
• 2019 (22 Jul): Operations transferred to SBS Transit Ltd under the Sengkang–Hougang Bus Package
• 2020 (08 Apr – 01 Jun): Temporarily suspended due to Singapore COVID-19 Circuit Breaker Measures.
• 2024 (11 Nov): Extended to Anchorvale Cres under the Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme (BCEP), with additional 2 morning trips & 1 evening trip

Past Routings

Changes in Departure Times:

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