SMRT Bus Service 981 is a Peak-Hour, unidirectional trunk route between Sembawang Interchange and Senoko Industrial Estate, passing through Canberra Road and Senoko Drive. The route links industrial areas around Senoko and Admiralty Road West with the transport node of Sembawang.
| Technical Information | ||
Route  |
[AM]: Sembawang Bus Interchange → Senoko Loop (Bef Senoko Dr) [PM]: Senoko Road (Opp Lian Aik Song Machinery) → Sembawang Bus Interchange |
|
| Passes Through | Canberra Road, Senoko Drive | |
| Route Length | 8.2 km (D1) | 8.3 km (D2) | |
| Travelling Time | 25 mins | |
| Operator Information | ||
| BCM Route Package | Sembawang – Yishun Bus Package | |
| Current Operator | SMRT Buses Ltd | |
| Current Depot | Ang Mo Kio Bus Depot (AMDEP) Buses park at: Yishun Temporary Bus Interchange |
|
| Current Fleet | 12-metre Double Deck Bus: – Alexander Dennis Enviro500 – MAN A95 12-metre Single Deck Bus: – Mercedes-Benz Citaro – Mercedes-Benz OC500LE – MAN NL323F |
|
| Departure Times from Sembawang | 0645hrs – 0915hrs (Weekdays, Saturdays) | |
| Departure Times from Senoko Rd |
1700hrs – 1930hrs (Weekdays) 1200hrs – 1400hrs (Saturdays) |
|
| Frequency | Direction 1 | Direction 2 |
| 0630-0830: 08 – 09 mins 0831-1659: 08 – 09 mins 1700-1900: NA After 1900: NA |
0630-0830: NA 0831-1659: NA 1700-1900: 08 – 10 mins After 1900: 08 – 09 mins |
|
Service 981 is a largely industrial route, connecting the many industries around Senoko Loop, Senoko Dr, Senoko Rd, Senoko Avenue and Admiralty Road West with transport nodes at Sembawang Town Centre. The route also serves dedicated sectors along sections of Senoko Road/Drive/Loop with no other bus services.
Operating only on Weekdays and Saturdays, the route plies in a unidirectional fashion, with Senoko-bound trips in the morning and Sembawang-bound trips in the afternoon or evening. (On Saturdays, the return trips are operated in the afternoon rather than the evening.)
Apart from Service 981, Services 169 and 856 provide daily bus connections to the industrial areas around Senoko and Admiralty Rd West. High capacity double-deck buses were deployed on weekdays since October 2015 to cope with high demand levels.
MRT Station Served:
- NS11 Sembawang
Fare: Charges basic distance fares. See Bus Fares.
Gallery
Operator History:
- 1999 – 2004: Trans-Island Bus Services Ltd
- 2004 – Present: SMRT Buses Ltd
- (~September 2021) onwards: Tower Transit Singapore Pte Ltd
Operations for this route would be transferred to Tower Transit in 2021 as part of the Sembawang – Yishun Bus Package.
The Bus Service Operating License (BSOL) for this route will be renewed in 2026 under the Sembawang – Yishun Bus Package.
History:
- 1999: Introduced as a unidirectional peak hour service between Sembawang MRT and Senoko. Morning trips towards Senoko on Mondays to Saturdays, return trips to Sembawang on Weekday evenings and Saturday afternoons.
- 2005 (20 Nov): Amended to Sembawang interchange via Sembawang Drive and Sembawang Vista
- 2013:Â Service improvement under the Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP)
- 2013 (21 Apr):Â Designated wheelchair-accessible bus route (WAB)
- 2015 (12 Oct): Start of Double Decker Bus Deployments
Past Routings:
- Refer to this article
- 2005: Amended to present routing. No significant route changes since 2005.
This service, bus128 and bus177 needs to be a 24/7 trunk services, bus 128 needs to call more stops and this service can loop at Senoko drive. No change in bus 177, just adjust the operating hours
128 – WITHDRAWN already, people can take 162 or NSL
177 – The reason why is set at peak hour as its to commute soldiers at MINDEF between Bukit Batok and Bukit Panjang. Majority of the route are covered by 176.
This bus service is AMDEP according to SgWiki and I saw the 4 perm carrying refueling work at amdep
Maybe for temporary measure or just refuel at Amdep.882 also I think will be back to Wldep.