SMRT Bus Service 961 / 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, it plies an alternative route serving Marina Centre in both directions and is denoted as Service 961# or 961C.

Bus Services 961 & 961# towards Lorong 1 Geylang calls at a new bus stop along Woodlands Road (Bef Yew Tee Flyover) from 10 Jun 2018.

Technical Information
Service	SMRT Bus Service 961	SMRT Bus Service 961#
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	Woodlands Rd, Upper Bukit Timah, Bukit Timah, Farrer, Queensway, Bukit Merah, Chinatown, City Hall, Marina Centre, Beach Rd, Kallang Bahru
Route Length	35.7km (D1) | 35.9km (D2)	38.3km (D1) | 37.7km (D2)
Travelling Time	110 mins	110 mins
Operator Information
BCM Route Package	Woodlands Bus Package
Current Operator	SMRT Buses Ltd
Current Depot	Woodlands Bus Depot (WLDEP)
Current Fleet	12-metre Double Deck Bus: – Alexander Dennis Enviro500 – MAN A95 12-metre Single Deck Bus: – MAN NL323F
Departure Times from Woodlands	Weekdays & Saturdays: 0530hrs – 2330hrs	Sundays/Public Holidays: 0550hrs – 2330hrs
Departure Times from Lorong 1 Geylang	Weekdays & Saturdays: 0600hrs – 2330hrs	Sundays/Public Holidays: 0600hrs – 2330hrs
Frequency	Direction 1 (961)	Direction 1 (961#)
	0630-0830: 07 – 11 mins 0831-1659: 07 – 15 mins 1700-1900: 11 – 15 mins After 1900: 12 – 15 mins	0630-0830: 12 – 14 mins 0831-1659: 11 – 14 mins 1700-1900: 10 – 13 mins After 1900: 14 – 15 mins
	Direction 2 (961)	Direction 2 (961#)
	0630-0830: 11 – 13 mins 0831-1659: 08 – 13 mins 1700-1900: 08 – 12 mins After 1900: 11 – 16 mins	0630-0830: 14 mins 0831-1659: 08 – 13 mins 1700-1900: 13 – 14 mins After 1900: 14 – 16 mins

Service 961 is a lenghty 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 961 will operate an alternative route serving Marina Centre in both directions. Usually denoted as Service 961C or 961#, the weekend route continues to be numbered 961 but serves Raffles Boulevard and Raffles Avenue. Because buses serve the same bus stops in different directions, passengers should check the destination signage before they board the bus.

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. Calculate your bus fare using LTA’s fare calculator on MyTransport.sg here.

MRT/LRT Stations Served:

• NS9 Woodlands
• NS8 Marsiling
• NS7 Kranji
• BP14 Ten Mile Junction
• 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
• CC4DT15 Promenade (961# Only)
• DT23 Bendemeer
• EW10 Kallang

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
• 1999: Amended to present routing. No significant route changes since 1999.

External Links & References:

• TransitLink E-Guide – Service 961
• TransitLink E-Guide – Service 961#

Back to Bus Services
Back to Bus Articles