[Defunct] SMRT Bus Service 971

SMRT Bus Service 971 was a Peak Hour trunk service between Bukit Panjang Ring Road and Cecil Street / Anson Road, passing through Jelapang, Segar, Fajar, Pending, Petir Road, BKE/PIE, Orchard, Dhoby Ghaut and Bras Basah. The route replaced the former Express Bus Service 971E and commenced operations on 31 August 2020. It was withdrawn on 4 April 2022, with the last day of operations on 1 April 2022.

Route Overview
Route	[AM]: Bukit Panjang Ring Road (Blk 602) → Cecil Street (Prudential Tower) [PM]: Anson Road (Tanjong Pagar Stn Exit C) → Bukit Panjang Ring Road (Blk 541A CP)
Passed Through	Jelapang Rd, Fajar Rd, Segar Rd, Petir Rd, Scotts Rd, Orchard, Dhoby Ghaut, Bras Basah, Shenton Way
Route Length	Towards Cecil St: 23.3 km						Towards Bt Panjang Ring Rd: 21.6 km
Travelling Time	80 – 86 mins
Operator Information
BCM Route Package	Choa Chu Kang–Bukit Panjang Bus Package
Former Operator	SMRT Buses Ltd
Former Depot	Kranji Bus Depot (KJDEP) Buses park at: Woodlands Bus Park
Former Fleet	Single Deck Bus: – MAN A22						Double Deck Bus: – MAN A95
Operating Hours
Departure Times from Bt Panjang Ring Rd	Weekdays, except Public Holidays
	06:15 – 08:30
Departure Times from Anson Rd	Weekdays, except Public Holidays
	18:05 – 19:35
Operating Frequency
From Bt Panjang Ring Rd	10 – 15 mins
From Anson Rd	15 mins
Fare Information
Fare	Charges regular distance fares

Bus Service 971 operated during the peak hours only, connecting residential estates at Bukit Panjang / Petir with the City areas of Orchard / Bras Basah / Shenton Way. It was renumbered from Express Bus Service 971E in August 2020 as a mitigation measure following the controversy over Bus 700 withdrawal and Bus 171 & 972 amendment, as a compromise to continue offering Petir residents a direct bus service to the City, albeit only during the peak hours.

Changes as part of the renumbering from Express 971E include:

• Conversion of Express 971E to Trunk Bus Service 971, thereby charging basic bus fares
• Route amendment to start/end at Bukit Panjang Ring Road instead of Bukit Panjang Temporary Bus Park
• Route amendment to serve Pending Road & Petir Road
• Amended to serve all bus stops along Stevens Road & Bras Basah Road

The first bus timing from Bukit Panjang Ring Road (Blk 602) was originally announced to be at 6:30 am in publicity posters and press releases on 14 Aug 2020. However, on 28 Aug 2020, the first bus timing from that stop was revised to 6:15 am in an update posted by SMRT.

Withdrawal of Service

Service 971 was withdrawn on 4 April 2022, with the last day of operations on 1 April 2022 due to the amendment of amendment of Service 972M via Pending and Petir Road.

MRT / LRT Stations Served

• BP13 Senja
• BP10 Fajar
• BP9 Bangkit
• BP8 Pending
• DT10 Stevens
• NS22 Orchard
• NS23 Somerset
• NS24NE6CC1 Dhoby Ghaut
• DT21 Bencoolen
• CC2 Bras Basah
• CC3 Esplanade
• EW13NS25 City Hall
• EW14NS26 Raffles Place
• EW15 Tanjong Pagar

Departure Times

Weekdays, except Public Holidays:

• Morning Peak from Bukit Panjang Ring Road (Blk 602):
  06:15, 06:30, 06:45, 07:00, 07:10, 07:20, 07:30, 07:40, 07:50, 08:00, 08:15 & 08:30
  
• Evening Peak from Anson Road (Tanjong Pagar Stn Exit C):
  18:05, 18:20, 18:35, 18:50, 19:05, 19:20 & 19:35

Gallery:

Prior to 31 Aug 2020 – See Service 971E

Poster Gallery:

Operator History:

Prior to 31 Aug 2020 – See Service 971E

• 31 August 2020 – 3 April 2022: SMRT Buses Ltd

History:

Prior to 31 Aug 2020 – See Service 971E

• 2020 (31 Aug): Renumbered from Express 971E and converted to peak-hour trunk bus service from Bukit Panjang Ring Road to Cecil Street during weekday peak hours & from Anson Road to Bukit Panjang Ring Road during weekday evening peak hours.
  Amended to ply Pending Road & Petir Road.
  Amended to serve all bus stops along Stevens Road and Bras Basah Road.
• 2022 (04 Apr): Withdrawn with the amendment of Service 972M to Pending Road & Petir Road

Past Routing:

• Direction 1:
  Bukit Panjang Ring Rd, Jelapang Rd, Segar Rd, Fajar Rd, Bt Panjang Ring Rd, Pending Rd, Petir Rd, Dairy Farm Rd, BKE, PIE, Whitley Rd, Stevens Rd, Scotts Rd, Orchard Rd, Bras Basah Rd, Nicoll Highway, Esplanade Dr, Collyer Quay, Raffles Quay, Shenton Way, Palmer Rd, Anson Rd and Cecil St.
• Direction 2:
  Anson Rd, Cecil St, Collyer Quay, Fullerton Rd, Esplanade Dr, Stamford Rd, Orchard Rd, Penang Rd, Somerset Rd, Grange Rd, Orchard Blvd, Paterson Rd, Scotts Rd, Stevens Rd, Whitley Rd, PIE, BKE, Dairy Farm Rd, Petir Rd, Pending Rd, Bt Panjang Ring Rd, Fajar Rd, Segar Rd, Jelapang Rd and Bt Panjang Ring Rd.

Reference

• Chee Hong Tat 徐芳达 – Facebook
• [Update] Service Announcement – Changes to bus services along Downtown Line 2 corridor – SMRT Corporation
• Edward Chia Bing Hui 谢秉辉 – Facebook Post

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