SMRT Bus Service 981

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: Service improvement under the Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP)
• 2013 (21 Apr): 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.