SMRT Express Bus Service 960e is a Limited Stop Express route variant of Service 960, plying between Woodlands and Marina Centre at selected hours daily. It passes through Marsiling, Dunearn Rd, Bukit Timah Road and Bugis, skipping Woodlands Road and Bukit Panjang. This bus service only calls at selected bus stops along its parent route and was launched on Sunday, 28 October 2018.
Note:
- No boarding and alighting at Marina Centre Terminal.
| Route Overview | ||||||||||||
Route  |
Woodlands Temporary Bus Interchange ↔ Marina Centre Bus Terminal | |||||||||||
| Passes Through | Woodlands Ave 3, Dunearn Rd, Bukit Timah Rd, Victoria St | |||||||||||
| Route Length | Towards Marina Ctr: 24.2 km | Towards Woodlands: 24.5 km | ||||||||||
| Traveling Time | 50 – 75 mins | |||||||||||
| Operator Information | ||||||||||||
| BCM Route Package | Woodlands Bus Package | |||||||||||
| Current Operator | SMRT Buses Ltd | |||||||||||
| Current Depot | Woodlands Bus Depot (WLDEP) | |||||||||||
| Current Fleet | 12-metre Single Deck Bus – MAN A22 |
12 metre Double Deck Bus – MAN A95 |
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| Operating Hours | ||||||||||||
| Departure Times from Woodlands |
Daily | |||||||||||
| 06:00 – 18:30 | ||||||||||||
| Departure Times from Marina Centre |
Daily | |||||||||||
| 12:30 – 23:30 | ||||||||||||
| Operating Frequency | ||||||||||||
| From Woodlands |
30 mins | |||||||||||
| From Marina Centre |
30 mins | |||||||||||
| Fare Information |
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| Fare | Charges express distance fares |
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Express Bus Service 960e is a Limited-stop Express Bus Service which offers quicker journeys for commuters at Woodlands and Marsiling, linking them with the Central areas of Stevens, Newton, Little India, Bugis and Marina Centre. Operating during selected hours in the day, it only calls at selected bus stops served by its parent Bus Service 960, and charges Express Fares as a result.
In between Marsiling and Stevens, the bus plies an express sector along the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) and Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) in both directions. The route operates daily at 30-minute intervals.
Express 960e is the eighth new route to be introduced under the Bus Contracting Model (BCM) after Service 991, as well as the fourth limited-stop service to operate daily (after 12e, 147e and 851e).
Along with several other express services, operating hours for Express 960e was reduced from 9 February 2020. Trips from Woodlands Temporary Interchange operates till 6:30pm, while trips from Marina Centre Bus Terminal only start operations at 12:30pm.
The service was degraded further from 4 January 2021, with the frequency adjusted to be 30 minutes throughout operating hours daily instead of 20 minutes during weekday peak hours.
Route Preview
The bus route was first revealed in LTA’s “Hacks to Travel Smart” poster at Woodlands MRT Station in July 2018, which stated “Trunk Bus 960e” as an alternative for a more comfortable commute to the city.
Departure Timings
Route Variant:
- Bus Service 960: Woodlands Temporary Bus Interchange ↔ Marina Centre Bus Terminal
Daily
MRT Stations Served
- NS9TE2Â Woodlands
- NS8 Marsiling
- DT10Â Stevens
- NS21–DT11 Newton
- NE7DT12Â Little India
- DT13Â Rochor
- EW12DT14 Bugis
- EW13NS25 City Hall
Gallery (Buses):
Poster Gallery:
Operator History:
- 2018 – Present: SMRT Buses Ltd
The Bus Service Operating License (BSOL) for this route will be renewed in 2023 under the Woodlands Bus Package.
Route History
- 2018 (28 Oct): Introduced between Woodlands and Marina Centre. Wheelchair accessible at launch.
- 2019 (24 Feb): Serves reinstated bus stop Bef Winstedt Rd along Bukit Timah Rd
- 2020 (09 Feb): Reduction of operating hours. Trips from Woodlands operate till 1830hrs, while trips from Marina Centre start at 1230hrs
- 2020 (15 Apr – 01 Jun): Temporarily suspended due to Singapore COVID-19 Circuit Breaker Measures
- 2021 (24 Feb): Amended to the relocated Marina Ctr Ter
Back to Express Services
Back to Bus Services
Where are the bus models for 960e
As of 2020, mostly are MAN ND323F, MAN NL323F and sometimes Volvo B9TL
I think they should’ve put the express variant on 961 instead of 960. 960 already has a long express sector between Bukit Road and Whitley Road. On the other hand, 961 could do with an express sector between Woodlands Avenue 3 and Farrer Road to reduce commuting time between these 2 important areas.
To make it fair to say, 960 demand is much higher than 961. Unlike 961, it shared duplicative sectors along Downtown Line 2 and most of high demand sectors are likely Farrer Road – Kallang sectors. Therefore, Express 960e was invented instead of 961e. And also, most of 961’s sectors are also done by other bus services too, 961 is actually meant to be a lengthy supplementary service.
960e reminds me of the old 950 before WDL MRT extension opened.
Yup. The former 950 had high ridership back then before woodlands mrt opened. Together with 951 & 952, all were wiped out during rationalisation.
Yes. Together with TIBS 951 and 952, all were wiped out during route rationalisation. Given today, some routes would have been retained.
Eventually, 960/960e are a mixture of TIBS 182, 950 and 952 where they only call at selected segments that aren’t duplicated by any MRT Line back then. Bugis Station is not counted as it’s EWL, not NSL.
This almost reminds me of the old service 952 in the early 90s.
Woodlands Int-Rochor Canal Rd?
Probably will continue as Woodlands Temp Int – Marina Centre Ter routing. Will duplicate parent Service 960, but suspect might skip Woodlands Rd and Bukit Panjang town entirely, travelling via BKE and PIE all the way to Whitley Rd. Along Dunearn Rd / Bukit Timah Rd sector suspect will call only at selected stops.
Hope it could be extended to Shenton Way Ter via Bayfront Ave alongside Service 960 on weekdays mornings and afternoon and Saturday mornings (eg. similar to that of 162/M and 700/A, except terminating at Marina Centre Ter). At all other timings can remain at Marina Centre Ter.
I fear this route may be redundant after TEL opens
However, 960e does not duplicate any segments along TEL except Woodlands itself and Stevens Station. 960e is at most serving Little India, partially Newton, Bugis and Promenade, and majority aren’t affected by TEL. Eventually, 960e demand is somehow high ridership mostly