(Defunct) SMRT Express Bus Service 971E

Service 971E was renumbered to Service 971 and amended to ply Petir Road on Monday, 31 August 2020.

SMRT Express Service 971E was a Peak hour Express service between Bukit Panjang and Cecil Street / Anson Road, passing through PIE, Orchard Road and Shenton Way.

Note:

• No boarding and alighting at Bt Panjang Temp Bus Pk.

Route Overview
Route	[AM]: Bukit Panjang Temporary Bus Park → Cecil Street (Prudential Tower) [PM]: Anson Road (Tanjong Pagar Stn Exit C) → Bukit Panjang Temporary Bus Park
Passes Through	Jelapang Rd, Fajar Rd, Segar Rd, Orchard, Dhoby Ghaut, Shenton Way
Route Length	Towards Cecil St: 24.0 km						Towards Bt Panjang Temp Bus Pk: 21.4 km
Traveling Time	80 mins
Operator Information
Former BCM Route Package	Choa Chu Kang – Bukit Panjang Bus Package
Former Operator	SMRT Buses Ltd
Former Depot	Kranji Bus Depot (KJDEP)
Former Fleet	12-metre Single Deck bus: – MAN A22						12-metre Double Deck bus: – MAN A95
Operating Hours
Departure Times from Bt Panjang Temp Bus Pk	Weekdays, except Public Holidays
	07:05 – 07:45
Departure Times from Anson Rd	Weekdays, except Public Holidays
	18:05 – 18:30
Operating Frequency
From Bt Panjang Temp Bus Pk	6 – 7 mins
From Anson Rd	10 – 15 mins
Fare Information
Fare	Charges express distance fares

Bus Service 971E connects residential estates in Bukit Panjang with Orchard Road and Shenton Way.

History

Introduced on 14 March 2011, Service 971E provides passengers in Bukit Panjang with alternative means of transport to the Orchard Road and Shenton Way. The limited rail connectivity in Bukit Panjang before the opening of Downtown Line 2 created a lucrative opportunity for direct bus services to the city, and this service had received many additional trips since its inauguration, from just 2 morning departures in March 2011, increasing to 7 morning and 3 evening departures by April 2013.

This service formerly had two major competitors in Bukit Panjang: Premium 555 (withdrawn in March 2017) and Premium 722. Both offer direct services to Shenton Way but charged higher fares (given their Premium designation). Alternatively, Service 700 (withdrawn in August 2020) plies from Bukit Panjang to Shenton Way via Orchard, but the hassle of transferring buses might not have appealed to many commuters. The later introduction of Service 972 (in November 2013) relieved much loading off this route by running parallel to it between Bukit Panjang and Dhoby Ghaut as a full-day service charging basic fares.

Despite the slightly higher express fares, many commuters prefer the direct express route to Shenton Way without the hassle of transferring buses. The route still encounters good passenger demand from passengers heading to Shenton Way.

As part of the opening of Bukit Panjang ITH, Bus Service 971E trips start from Blk 602, Bt Panjang Ring Rd in the morning, and evening trips terminate at Blk 541A CP, Bt Panjang Ring Rd, skipping Jelebu Rd in both directions.

Double-deck buses made a regular appearance on Bus Service 971E starting on 14 May 2018.

Following the controversy over Bus 700 withdrawal and Bus 171 & 972 amendment in August 2020, Express 971E was converted to trunk bus service 971 from 31 August 2020 while being amended to ply Petir Road with extended operating hours during weekday peak hours.

Departure Times

Weekdays, except Public Holidays

• From Bukit Panjang Ring Road (Blk 602):
  07:10, 07:17, 07:24, 07:31, 07:38, 07:44 & 07:50
• From Anson Road (Tanjong Pagar Stn Exit C):
  18:05, 18:15 & 18:30

MRT / LRT Stations Served

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

Gallery (Buses):

Poster Gallery:

Operator History:

• 14 Mar 2011 – 28 Aug 2020: SMRT Buses Ltd

Renumbered to trunk Service 971 from 31 Aug 2020.

Route History:

• 2011 (14 Mar): Introduced as a unidirectional morning peak hour express service from Bukit Panjang to Cecil Street. Operates two trips on weekday mornings
• 2011 (28 Mar): 3rd Morning Peak departure from Bukit Panjang added
• 2011 (29 Aug): Extended to operate between Anson Road and Bt Panjang Int during weekday evenings with 2 trips
• 2011 (Dec): 4th Morning Peak departure from Bukit Panjang added
• 2012 (Sep): 5th Morning Peak departure from Bukit Panjang added
• 2012 (16 Dec): Amended to Bukit Panjang Temp Bus Pk, via Jelebu Road
• 2012 (Dec): 6th Morning Peak departure from Bukit Panjang added
• 2013 (15 Apr): 7th Morning Peak departure from Bukit Panjang and 3rd Evening Peak departure from Anson Road added
• 2015 (17 Aug): Serves 2 new bus stops (44349 & 44339) along Fajar Rd
• 2015 (07 Sep): Serves a new pair of bus stops (44701 & 44709) along Segar Rd
• 2017 (04 Sep): Skips a pair of bus stops along Jelebu Rd as part of Bukit Panjang ITH Opening Route Amendments
• 2017 (17 Sep): Designated wheelchair-accessible bus route (WAB)
• 2020 (08 Apr – 01 Jun): Temporarily suspended due to Singapore COVID-19 Circuit Breaker Measures.
• 2020 (31 Aug): Renumbered to trunk bus Service 971 and amended to ply Petir Road

Page 2 – Past Routing of Express 971E & Past Departure Timings

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