SMRT Bus Service 961

SMRT Bus Service 961 is a trunk route between Woodlands Interchange and Lorong 1 Geylang Terminal, passing through Woodlands Road, Upper Bukit Timah, Bukit Merah, Chinatown, City Hall, Beach Road and Kallang Bahru.

On Sundays and Public Holidays, Service 961M plies an alternative route serving Marina Centre in both directions.

Bus Service 961# will be renumbered to 961M from 8 September 2019

Technical Information
Route	Woodlands Temporary Bus Interchange ↔ Lorong 1 Geylang Bus Terminal
Passes Through	Woodlands Rd, Upper Bukit Timah, Bukit Timah, Farrer, Queensway, Bukit Merah, Chinatown, City Hall, Beach Rd, Kallang Bahru
Route Length	35.6km (D1) | 35.6km (D2)
Travelling Time	110 mins
BCM Route Package	Woodlands Bus Package
Current Operator	SMRT Buses Ltd
Current Depot	Woodlands Bus Depot (WLDEP)
Current Fleet	12-metre Double Deck Bus: – MAN A95 – Volvo B9TL 12-metre Single Deck Bus: – MAN A22
Departure Times from Woodlands	0530hrs – 2330hrs (Weekdays & Saturdays)
Departure Times from Lorong 1 Geylang	0600hrs – 2330hrs (Weekdays & Saturdays)
Frequency	Direction 1	Direction 2
	0630-0830: 07 – 11 mins 0831-1659: 07 – 15 mins 1700-1900: 11 – 15 mins After 1900: 12 – 15 mins	0630-0830: 11 – 13 mins 0831-1659: 08 – 13 mins 1700-1900: 08 – 12 mins After 1900: 11 – 16 mins

Service 961 is a lengthy inter-town route connecting the housing estates of Woodlands, Bukit Panjang, Farrer and Bukit Merah, with the suburban areas of Upper Bukit Timah, Bukit Timah and Bendemeer, and with the City areas of Chinatown, Clarke Quay, City Hall and Beach Road. Much of its demand comes from shuttling commuters between various points of its long route, and is a notably popular connection between the Bukit Merah and Bukit Timah areas. The route encounters moderate demand throughout the day and high demand during peak hours, and high capacity double-deck buses were added to the fleet since June 2015.

On Sundays and Public Holidays, Service 961M will operate with an alternative route serving the Marina Centre area in both directions, on Raffles Boulevard and Raffles Avenue.

Formerly a Singapore Bus Service (SBS) route since the 1970s, it was then known as Service 181. The route was transferred to Trans-Island Bus Service (TIBS) in 1983 and renumbered to Service 961 in 1998. It has been operated by SMRT ever since.

Fare: Charges basic distance fares. See Bus Fares.

MRT/LRT Stations Served:

• NS9TE2 Woodlands
• NS8 Marsiling
• NS7 Kranji
• DT1BP6 Bukit Panjang
• DT2 Cashew
• DT3 Hillview
• DT5 Beauty World
• DT6 King Albert Park
• DT7 Sixth Avenue
• DT8 Tan Kah Kee
• CC20 Farrer Road
• EW16NE3 Outram Park
• NE4DT19 Chinatown
• NE5 Clarke Quay
• EW13NS25 City Hall
• CC3 Esplanade
• DT23 Bendemeer
• EW10 Kallang

Route Variant

• Service 961M Woodlands Temp Int ↔ Lorong 1 Geylang Ter, via Raffles Ave
  Sundays & Public Holidays only

Gallery

Operator History:

• 1970s – 1973: United Bus Company Pte Ltd
• 1973 – 1983: Singapore Bus Services Ltd
• 1983 – 2004: Trans-Island Bus Services Ltd
• 2004 – Present: SMRT Buses Ltd

The Bus Service Operating License (BSOL) for this route will be renewed in 2023 under the Woodlands Bus Package.

History:

• 1971 (11 Apr): Introduced as Service 181, from Upper Bukit Timah Road (Bukit Panjang 10 m.s.), to Commonwealth Avenue/North Buona Vista Road, eventually amended to Woodlands Int – Crawford St. Handed over to TIBS on 04 Sep 1983.
• 1998 (27 Dec): Re-numbered as Service 961, between Woodlands Regional Int and Lor 1 Geylang Ter, after closure of Crawford St Ter. Route variant Service 961# plys into Marina Centre in both directions on Sundays and Public Holidays.
• 1999: Amended to ply High St instead of Hill St and Bras Basah Rd
• 1999 (26 Dec): Amended to ply Lavender St, Kallang Bahru and Boon Keng Rd instead of Kallang Rd
• 2013: Service improvement under the Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP)
• 2014 (02 Mar): Designated wheelchair-accessible bus route (WAB)
• 2015 (15 Jun): Double-Decker buses deployed.
• 2016 (12 Mar): Amended to Woodlands Temp Int
• 2016 (11 Dec): Serves the new Bus Stop 43991 – Opp Blk 635A, Woodlands Road
• 2017 (28 May): Calls at relocated bus stop 47071 Bef Mandai Rd and no longer calls at bus stop 45081 Opp Mandai Rd along Woodlands Rd.
• 2017 (26 Nov): Calls at B/S 10018 Aft Hosp Dr, Eu Tong Sen St instead of B/S 10039 Bef Hosp Dr, Kg Bahru Rd due to B/S Removal
• 2018 (10 Jun): Calls at a new bus stop along Woodlands Road (44999 Bef Yew Tee Flyover)

Past Routings:

• Refer to this article
• 2016: Amended to present routing. No significant route changes since 2016.