Tower Transit Bus Service 966 is a trunk route from Woodlands Bus Interchange and looping at Marine Parade, passing through Marsiling, Bukit Panjang, Whitley, Jalan Toa Payoh, Eunos and Still Road. Incorporating long express sectors, Service 966 offers key connections between the housing estates of Bukit Panjang, Toa Payoh, Eunos and Marine Parade.
↺ Marine Parade Rd (Loop)
| Route Overview | ||||||||||||
Route  |
Woodlands Integrated Transport Hub ↺ Marine Parade Road (Loop) | |||||||||||
| Passes Through | Woodlands Ave 3, Petir Rd, Jln Toa Payoh, Jln Eunos, Still Rd | |||||||||||
| Route Length | 63.5 km | |||||||||||
| Travelling Time | 125 mins | |||||||||||
| Operator Information | ||||||||||||
| BCM Route Package | Sembawang–Yishun Bus Package | |||||||||||
| Current Operator | Tower Transit Singapore Pte Ltd (Tower Transit Singapore) |
|||||||||||
| Current Depot | Mandai Bus Depot | |||||||||||
| Current Fleet | Single-deck & Double-deck buses | |||||||||||
| Operating Hours | ||||||||||||
| Departure Times from Woodlands |
Weekdays | Saturdays & Sundays / Public Holidays | ||||||||||
| 05:45 – 22:30 | 06:00 – 22:30 | |||||||||||
| After 22:30 – 23:30, buses departing Woodlands Int are renumbered as Service 966A which terminates at Marine Parade Rd (Marine Pde Stn Exit 2). |
||||||||||||
| Departure Times from Marine Parade Rd (Marine Pde Stn Exit 2) |
Weekdays | Saturdays | Sundays / Public Holidays | |||||||||
| 05:45 – 23:30 | 06:00 – 23:30 | 06:00 – 23:29 | ||||||||||
| Operating Frequency | ||||||||||||
| Loop Service | 6:30am–8.30am | 8.31am–4.59pm | 5.00pm–7.00pm | After 7.00pm | ||||||||
| Weekdays | 6 – 9 mins | 6 – 12 mins | 8 – 13 mins | 11 – 13 mins | ||||||||
| Saturdays | 13 – 15 mins | 14 – 15 mins | 14 – 15 mins | 13 – 15 mins | ||||||||
| Sundays / Public Holidays | 15 mins | 15 – 16 mins | 15 – 17 mins | 17 mins | ||||||||
| Fare Information |
||||||||||||
| Fare | Charges regular distance fares |
|||||||||||
Service 966 is a trunk service connecting the housing estates of Woodlands, Bukit Panjang, Jalan Toa Payoh, Eunos and Marine Parade, as well as industrial areas near Kolam Ayer. The route offers fast connections between Woodlands, Bukit Panjang, Toa Payoh and Eunos due to its long express sectors along the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) and Pan-Island Expressway (PIE), while charging basic fares.
The route shares its Woodlands – Bukit Panjang sector with Services 187 and 963, but is otherwise non-duplicative for most of its route. Despite few duplicating services, demand for this service is only moderate during off-peak hours, but high during peak hours. As such, high capacity Alexander Dennis Enviro500 double-deck buses were deployed from August 2014 to cope with peak hour loads, and frequencies were boosted significantly under the Bus Service Enhancement Programme.
MRT / LRT Stations Served:
- NS9TE2 Woodlands
- NS8 Marsiling
- BP8 Pending
- EW7 Eunos
- TE26 Marine Parade
Special Departures:
- Bukit Panjang Rd (Blk 223) → Marine Parade Rd → Woodlands Int
Weekdays: 05:45 & 05:54
Saturdays: 06:05
Sundays / Public Holidays: 06:00 - Marine Parade Rd (Marine Pde Stn Exit 2) → Woodlands Int
Weekdays: 05:45, 05:54, 06:03, 06:13 & 06:23
Saturdays: 06:00, 06:13, 06:26 & 06:38
Sundays / Public Holidays: 06:00 & 06:24
Short Trip Service:
- Service 966A: Woodlands Int → Marine Parade Rd (Marine Pde Stn Exit 2)
Weekdays & Saturdays: 22:45 – 23:30
Sundays / Public Holidays: 22:50 – 23:30
Gallery (Tower Transit):
![Bus 966 - Tower Transit MAN A22 Euro 6 (SG1875Z) [Rear] #HeyChingay50Bus](https://landtransportguru.net/web/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/1875_966-1.jpg)
Gallery (SMRT Buses) at Page 2.
Poster Gallery:
Operator History:
- 2003 – 2004: Trans-Island Bus Services Ltd
- 2004 – 18 Sep 2021: SMRT Buses Ltd
- 19 Sep 2021 – Present: Tower Transit Singapore Pte Ltd
Route History:
- 2003 (16 Nov): Introduced between Woodlands Reg Int and Marine Parade Rd
- 2005 (13 Feb): Amended to loop at Marine Parade Rd from Woodlands Reg Int
- 2006 (16 Apr): Serves additional bus stop after Moonstone Lane along Serangoon Rd
- 2006 (04 Jun): Serves new pair of bus stops outside Kallang Basin Swim Cplx and after Infineon along Jln Kolam Ayer
- 2007 (07 Jan): Amended to ply Bt Panjang Rd, Pending Rd, Petir Rd and Dairy Farm Rd
- 2009 (18 Jan): Serves 2 new pairs of bus stops after and before Chestnut Ave and before and after Dairy Farm Rd along Petir Rd
- 2011 (04 Sep): Amended to ply Whampoa East with the permanent closure of Whampoa North
- 2012 (21 Oct): Amended to skip Bendemeer Rd, Whampoa East and Serangoon Rd towards Woodlands Reg Int
- 2012 (15 Nov): Designated wheelchair-accessible bus service (WAB)
- 2016 (12 Mar): Amended to Woodlands Temp Int
- 2021 (13 Jun): Amended to Woodlands Integrated Transport Hub
- 2021 (19 Sep): Operations transferred to Tower Transit under the Sembawang-Yishun Bus Package
Back to Bus Services
Back to Bus Articles
In my opinion, Service 966 should not be unnecessarily modified or truncated for the following reasons:
Firstly, it is by far the fastest way to reach CCK/BPJ/Woodlands from the east coast. As an East Coast/Marine Parade resident, 966 makes reaching areas like Woodlands and CCK/BPJ easy, as well as being the fastest way to reach camps/HTA/CDA in the west by transferring the other services in CCK/BPJ, evident by the high amount of personnel in military uniform on board all the way to Marine Parade. While the TEL does exist from Marine Parade to Woodlands, it is often times crowded and slower off-peak, which results in Marine Parade residents still using 966 heavily.
Secondly, Service 966 connects Petir and Dairy Farm to the rest of the island, by connecting it to Woodlands as well as the east via connections at the PIE bus stops. Modifying 966 would be very inconvenient to the residents of the upcoming Dairy Farm estate.
Thridly, Service 966 forms a critical transfer point with Service 23 at the Jalan Kolam Ayer bus stops, allowing those living the west to have a single-transfer connection to Bedok North and Tampines, connecting places like Temasek Polytechnic.
Lastly, Service 966 cannot be truncated to Eunos as it is the ONLY direct link in between Marine Parade and Eunos, which despite being two hubs nearby, are still poorly linked. While Service 15 exists, it takes a detour via Telok Kurau Road, which not only adds time but also prevents the usage of Double-Deckers on Service 15. Service 15 in that sector is already heavily loaded, hence if 966 gets cut Service 15 would simply not be able to cope.
If Service 966 needs to be modified due to runtime, it should simply be turned into a bidirectional service, and can use the rear bus bay at Marine Parade Station Exit 2 as a layover point, along with Service 15.
Should terminate at upper east coast terminal
How’s the routing like? Like that 15 also can terminate there remember LTA want long trunk to have proper rest area. 857 also can terminate at Marina Centre
Got potential to become express service
Should merge with feeder 922 and shorten to start from bp and end at eunos as per tel4 rationalization and put this service under cck-bpj package
This bus service number is likely to be rationalise next year due to Thomson-East Coast Line Stage Four.
Maybe forced to shorten to Eunos Int?
But I doubt there will be much difference in route.
They should just start from BP and loop at Marine Parade.. BP does not have a direct link to the east other than 966
Or maybe Kembangan MRT if there’s space hahaha