SMRT Bus Service 985 is a trunk route between Choa Chu Kang Interchange and Lorong 1 Geylang Terminal, passing through Teck Whye, Bukit Batok West, Bukit Batok, Jln Jurong Kechil, PIE, Jln Toa Payoh and Boon Keng Road.
985
| Route Overview | ||||||||||||
Route  |
Choa Chu Kang Bus Interchange ↔ Lorong 1 Geylang Bus Terminal | |||||||||||
| Passes Through | Teck Whye Ave, Bukit Batok West Ave 2, Bukit Batok East Ave 2, Jln Jurong Kechil, Jln Toa Payoh, Bendemeer Rd / Serangoon Rd | |||||||||||
| Route Length | Towards Lor 1 Geylang: 25.7 km |
Towards Choa Chu Kang: 26.0 km |
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| Travelling Time | 75 mins | |||||||||||
| Operator Information | ||||||||||||
| BCM Route Package | Choa Chu Kang–Bukit Panjang Bus Package | |||||||||||
| Current Operator | SMRT Buses Ltd | |||||||||||
| Current Depot | Gali Batu Bus Depot Woodlands Bus Depot (WLDEP) |
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| Current Fleet | Single-deck & Double-deck buses | |||||||||||
| Operating Hours | ||||||||||||
| Departure Times from Choa Chu Kang |
Daily | |||||||||||
| 05:30 – 23:30 | ||||||||||||
| Departure Times from Lor 1 Geylang |
Daily | |||||||||||
| 05:45 – 23:30 | ||||||||||||
| Operating Frequency | ||||||||||||
| 6:30am–8.30am | 8.31am–4.59pm | 5.00pm–7.00pm | After 7.00pm | |||||||||
| From Choa Chu Kang |
8 – 11 mins | 10 – 15 mins | 12 – 13 mins | 12 – 14 mins | ||||||||
| From Lor 1 Geylang |
9 – 11 mins | 9 – 13 mins | 10 – 11 mins | 12 – 13 mins | ||||||||
| Fare Information |
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| Fare | Charges regular distance fares |
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Service 985 is an inter-town trunk route linking housing estates around Choa Chu Kang / Teck Whye, Bukit Batok and Jln Jurong Kechil with the Central areas of Boon Keng and Kallang, incorporating an express sector along the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) between Jln Jurong Kechil and Jln Toa Payoh.
The route compliments Service 190 and 975 for the Choa Chu Kang – Teck Whye stretch and Service 188 for the Choa Chu Kang – Bt Gombak stretch. It also plies between Bukit Batok – Jalan Toa Payoh along the PIE, providing a slightly longer alternative route for passengers who would otherwise rely on Express 506.
MRT / LRT Stations Served:
- NS4BP1 Choa Chu Kang
- BP4 Teck Whye
- NS2 Bukit Batok
- DT5 Beauty World
- NE9 Boon Keng
- EW10 Kallang
Special Departures:
- Bt Batok Ctrl (Opp Blk 628) → Lor 1 Geylang Ter
Weekdays: 05:40 - Serangoon Rd (Aft Moonstone Lane) → Choa Chu Kang Int
Weekdays: 05:50 & 06:05 - Upp Bt Timah Rd (Pei Hwa Presby Pr Sch) → Choa Chu Kang Int
Weekdays: 05:45 & 05:57
Saturdays: 06:05
- Bt Batok Ctrl (Aft Bt Batok Stn/Blk 628) → Choa Chu Kang Int
Weekdays: 05:45 - Choa Chu Kang Rd (Blk 26) → Choa Chu Kang Int
Weekdays: 05:20, 05:35 & 05:50
Saturdays: 05:20, 05:38, 05:56 & 06:14
Sundays / Public Holidays: 05:30, 05:47, 06:04 & 06:21
Gallery:
Operator History:
- 2003 – 2004: Trans-Island Bus Services Ltd
- 2004 – Present: SMRT Buses Ltd
Route History:
- 2003 (27 Jul): Introduced between Choa Chu Kang Int and Lor 1 Geylang Ter with the integration of Services 185 and 989
- 2003 (12 Oct): Serves the bus stop opposite Bt Timah Plaza along Jln Anak Bt with the abolition of the bus stop under the PIE Flyover
- 2004 (27 Apr): Amended to ply Geylang Rd, Kallang Rd and Sims Ave towards Choa Chu Kang Int with the temporary conversion of Lor 1 Geylang to a one-way road
- 2004 (06 Dec): Amended to ply the reinstated Lor 1 Geylang towards Choa Chu Kang Int, skipping Geylang Rd, Kallang Rd and Sims Ave
- 2006 (30 Apr): Amended to ply Bt Batok West Ave 5 and Bt Batok West Ave 7
- 2006 (15 Oct): Service 985W introduced between Choa Chu Kang Int and Lor 1 Geylang Ter via Bt Batok Rd and Bt Batok West Ave 7 on a 3-month trial
- 2007 (13 Oct): Service 985W withdrawn
- 2012 (15 Nov): Designated wheelchair-accessible bus service (WAB)
- 2012 (09 Dec): Amended to ply Upp Bt Timah Rd and Bt Timah Link with the partial closure of Jln Jurong Kechil to facilitate the construction of Beauty World MRT station on the Downtown MRT Line
- 2014 (26 Jan): Amended to ply the reinstated Jln Jurong Kechil, skipping Upp Bt Timah Rd and Bt Timah Link
- 2018 (16 Dec): Amended to relocated Choa Chu Kang Bus Interchange.
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Kranji side 15 buses and Woodlands is 6.
Weekdays Kranji deploy 3 double deckers and 1 for Woodlands.Saturday Kranji deploy 2 DD and Woodlands stay with 1.
Sunday and PHs more worse 1 DD each…
985 should amend to ply Bukit Batok East Avenue 4,5 , Bukit Gombak MRT so Beauty World residents can have a direct link to Little Guilin and Bukit Gombak MRT.
There also should be a new service 997 which serves from Bukit Batok to Sengkang passing via Jurong Kechil, PIE, Thomson Road, Bishan, Ang Mo Kio & Buangkok Green
Service 997 will ply Bukit Batok East Avenue 2 to cover lost sectors of Service 985
No, the current Bukit Batok route is good enough.
yeah maybe Lee is right the Bukit batok west route is a good connection for those headed to CCK and Beauty World from Bukit Batok
Sorry Wong. Let me tell the sad truth for TIBS 989 between 2001-2003.
You may think TIBS 989 was fun but sorry it’s NOT. Alot in Bukit Batok & CCK have bad negativism on 989 especially its looping & shit reliability in the past. The demand was very weak in the past.
TIBS had chosen 185 route cause 185 have higher demand back then, even now. When 989 was about to be withdrawn, there will be no alternative. So TIBS had eventually decoded to merge 185 + 989 into 985, but taking away Changi Airport due to MRT.
Do bare in mind that CGL was suffering abit, 989 removal also helps BC Welfare as well.
This service should have at least 7 Double decker buses 7 days a week
and it’s probably high demand on PIE from Beauty World/Bukit Batok to Toa Payoh/Boon Keng
Update
985 now is majority KJ control park at Kranji with minority control by WL park at Seletar
Wrong impression that there are just as many double-decks on this fleet as single decks. May not be sufficient to meet demand. Compared to some 15-20 single decks, 4-5 DDs operate on this route on weekdays (SG5428, SG5429, SG5430, SG5823, SG5825), . Any 2 of the of the 5 on Saturdays and none on Sundays and PHs. A very peculiar arrangement. Is the company trying to save on diesel?