SMRT Bus Service 961M

SMRT Bus Service 961M is a trunk route between Woodlands Interchange and Lorong 1 Geylang Terminal, passing through Woodlands Road, Upper Bukit Timah, Bukit Merah, Chinatown, City Hall, Marina Centre, Beach Road and Kallang Bahru. It plies Raffles Boulevard and Raffles Avenue in both directions.

Operating only on Sundays and Public Holidays, it is an extended route of Service 961 which does not serve the Marina Centre area. Bus Service 961M will be renumbered from 961# (the weekend route of Service 961) from Sunday, 8 September 2019, with no change in operational details.

Note

• Commuters along Raffles Blvd & Raffles Ave should check the bus destination as buses from both directions (Towards Lorong 1 Geylang & Woodlands) will call at the same stops.

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, Marina Centre, Beach Rd, Kallang Bahru
Route Length	38.4 km (D1) | 37.7 km (D2)
Travelling Time	110 min
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: – MAN A95 – Volvo B9TL 12-metre Single Deck Bus: – MAN A22
Departure Times from Woodlands	0550hrs – 2330hrs (Sundays / Public Holidays)
Departure Times from Lorong 1 Geylang	0600hrs – 2330hrs (Sundays / Public Holidays)
Frequency	Direction 1	Direction 2
	0630-0830: 12 – 14 mins 0831-1659: 10 – 12 mins 1700-1900: 11 – 14 mins After 1900: 14 – 15 mins	0630-0830: 14 mins 0831-1659: 08 – 13 mins 1700-1900: 13 – 14 mins After 1900: 14 – 16 mins

Service 961M 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, Marina Centre and Beach Road. As a route variant of Service 961, Service 961M only operates on Sundays and Public Holidays, and serves Marina Centre in both directions.

Service 961M serve the same bus stops in different directions along Raffles Boulevard and Raffles Avenue. Passengers should check the destination display of the bus before boarding.

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
• CC4DT15 Promenade
• DT23 Bendemeer
• EW10 Kallang

Route Variant

• Service 961: Woodlands Temp Int ↔ Lor 1 Geylang Ter
  Weekdays & Saturdays only, except Public Holidays

Fare: Charges basic distance fares. See Bus Fares.

Gallery:

Operator History:

• 1998 – 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:

• 1998 (27 Dec): Following the closure of Crawford St Ter, route variant Service 961# introduced to ply 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)
• 2019 (08 Sep): Service 961# renumbered to Service 961M

Past Routings:

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

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