(Defunct) Hougang South Bus Interchange

Not to be confused with Hougang Central Bus Interchange.

Hougang South Bus Interchange, also known as Hougang Bus Interchange, was a former bus station located at Hougang Street 21, in the vicinity of the present-day Kovan MRT Station.

The interchange is located at Blk 206 Hougang Street 21. Opened in October 1983, it the main bus interchange in the Hougang area until the opening of Hougang Central Bus Interchange in December 1994. Located further away from Hougang New Town and with its role diminishing, the interchange was finally closed in February 2004.

Unlike many defunct Bus Interchanges or Terminals, much of the original interchange structure remains today as a community space. The former bus movement areas have been converted into a carpark, and one of the old berths is still used as a bus stop.

Details

The Interchange

Hougang South Bus Interchange was a bus station located in the residential town of Hougang. The interchange was a transport node for commuters heading in and out of town, allowing for convenient transfers between many feeder and trunk bus services at the interchange.

The interchange had two vehicular concourses and a central passenger concourse. The South vehicular concourse had one alighting berth and five sawtooth boarding berths, with a bus park opposite the passenger concourse. The North vehicular concourse had twenty-eight (28) end-on berths which provided simultaneous alighting, layover and boarding facilities. Both concourses had vehicular ingress and egress lanes leading to Hougang Street 21.

The Interchange Today

Following its decommissioning as a bus interchange, the former interchange concourse (Block 206) was stripped of all interior fixtures and re-purposed as as a community space, named Kovan Hub. Indoor spaces were built at the west end of the concourse, while pop-up stalls occupy the east end of the concourse.

The former North vehicular concourse was converted into a vehicular carpark, while the bus park within the South vehicular concourse continued to be used as a coach park. The former Berth B5 is still used today as a en-route stop for Services 112, 113, 115 and 119. Bus Service 115, introduced months after the interchange’s closure, continues to use the other disused sawtooth berths for alighting passengers and layovers. Supplementary Bus Service 53M between Hougang Avenue 1 and Serangoon MRT also uses the former interchange as a turnaround point.

The current name for the bus stop at former Berth B5 is Bus Stop 63221 (Kovan Hub) along Hougang Street 21. It was renamed from Hougang St 21 FC in late 2017.

Service 112 and 113 only serve the former interchange in one direction. Passengers taking Service 112 towards Hougang Avenue 9 / Hougamg Street 92, or Service 113 towards Hougang Central Interchange, should board from Bus Stop 63229 (Aft Blk 207) along Hougang Street 21.

Express bus services to Malaysia are also offered from the terminal.

Historical Background

• 1981: Hougang Bus Interchange opens at Hougang Street 21
• 1994: Hougang Central Bus Interchange opens; Hougang Bus Interchange renamed Hougang South Bus Interchange
• 2004: Hougang South Bus Interchange closes

Prior to Hougang South Bus Interchange, several smaller bus terminals existed in the area since the 1970s. The first was a bus terminal at Upper Serangoon Road 10.5km (formerly 6½ miles, and near the present-day junction with Tampines Road) serving Services 85 and 111. Another was located at Upper Serangoon Road (End) (near the present-day junction with Upper Serangoon View) serving Services 74, 84, 136, 147, 153 prior to the construction of Sengkang Town. Tampines Way (present-day Hougang Avenue 3 north of Tampines Road) opened in the late-1970s for Service 86, and a temporary Hougang Street 21 roadside terminal for Service 321.

On 30 October 1983, Hougang Bus Interchange opened along Hougang Street 21, the site of the former Hougang Town Centre. It absorbed bus services previously terminating at nearby bus terminals. The compound was over 14,000 square metres and featured 34 boarding and alighting berths.

On 17 December 1994, Hougang Central Bus Interchange opened to serve the new Hougang Town Centre being built further north. That same day, the existing Hougang Bus Interchange was renamed to Hougang South Bus Interchange, having been saved from demolition after strong objections from local residents. Only a fraction of existing bus services were left behind at Hougang South.

Gradually, services were rerouted away from Hougang South Interchange and operations finally ceased on 15 February 2004, several months after the opening of the North-East Line. The end-on berths on the north side have been cleared to make way for a HDB carpark, while the sawtooth berths and parking lots at the south side still remain operational. The interchange continues to operate as a bus stop for services 112, 113 115 and 119, under the bus stop name Kovan Hub.

Feeder bus services:

Hougang South Bus Interchange housed many feeder buses which provided connections to Hougang, namely Service 321, 322, 323, 326, 327, 328 and 329.

329 would later be withdrawn and integrated with 323, and 323 was later withdrawn due to low demand. With only 321, 322, 326, 327 and 328 left in 2004, 321 and 326 were combined into a new route 113 while 322 and 327 were combined into a new route 112, both of which started from Hougang Central. 328 was renumbered to 101 and extended to Serangoon.

Gallery (2017):

Gallery (1984):

External Links & References:

• Interchanges and Terminals – SBS Transit

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