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.
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 | 38.1 km (D1) | 37.2 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):Â 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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Next will be 170M from 170X
700A>700M
BPS1 should be renumbered as 928.
AC7 should be awarded to SMRT as 870.
Only Tampines package doesn’t have any M variant
BPS1 is already replaced by SMRT 976.
Where did you get the info from? There has been no press release or posts of 925M/961M posters made by SMRT/LTA so far. Please provide the source of the posters thank you.
It’s announced when 853M was renumbered prior to Yishun Interchange opening back then.