Ghim Moh Bus Terminal

Ghim Moh Bus Terminal is a roadside bus terminal located along Ghim Moh Road, opposite Blk 20 Market & Hawker Centre and near Ulu Pandan Community Centre. One of a handful of roadside bus terminals in Singapore, this terminal serves the small housing estate of Ghim Moh.

The terminal may be relocated north to Mount Sinai Road in the near future. Plans were released in 2021 detailing the construction of a temporary bus terminal at the current Ministry of Education (Mount Sinai) site. This site is used to facilitate bus turnaround to the existing Ghim Moh bus terminal from 10 September 2023.

Details:

Terminal Facilities & Operations

Ghim Moh Bus Terminal is a roadside terminal along the southbound direction of Ghim Moh Road, with six roadside bays for bus layovers. A sheltered bus stop functions as the waiting area, and SBS Transit operates out of a container office that doubles as a driver’s lounge.

Adjacent to the terminal, there is a cul-de-sac that serves as a turnaround point for buses entering Ghim Moh from Commonwealth Avenue West, as well as additional bus parking space. An alighting stop is also provided for passengers alighting from Bus Services 100 and 111. To accommodate the construction of HDB Ghim Moh Ascent, the turnaround point was closed on 10 September 2023 and relocated north to 53 Mount Sinai Road.

Bus Services 92 and 92M practice CLOWbus (for crew layover without bus) at Ghim Moh Terminal. This allows bus drivers to be substituted between trips while passengers can remain onboard the bus, and continue their journey beyond the bus terminal without having to alight or change buses.

Historical Background:

Before bus routes in Singapore were consolidated to operate between major bus interchanges, roadside bus terminals were very common in the 1970s. To meet the commuting needs of Ghim Moh Estate residents, Ghim Moh Bus Terminal opened in 1977, serving SBS Service 20 and SBS Service 13 (amended from Commonwealth Ave Ter on 7 March and 6 June respectively). The terminal was situated along Ghim Moh Road, fronting HDB Block 9.

According to SBS, the terminal was then intended to be temporary, and in 1979, SBS explored securing a proper site within the estate with relevant authorities. As no land could be made available, one solution offered to community leaders of Ghim Moh was to run a low-cost feeder service to bring residents to the nearby Commonwealth Avenue Terminal, where more bus services were available, allowing for Ghim Moh Terminal to be demolished. This solution was deemed unacceptable, as it was felt at the time that the terminal should remain, so that direct bus services could continue to service Ghim Moh estate.

Between 1977 and 1982, a cul-de-sac (bus turning bay) was constructed beside HDB Block 9 to allow buses to make a three-point turn off the main road. Congestion caused by parked buses was the subject of residential complaints in 1982, which SBS explained was caused by the short intervals of Services 13 and 20 due to high demand, which was as short as about 6 minutes, and bus crews needing to take longer rests after covering long distances. An alighting-only stop was also constructed at the bus turning bay.

In December 2006, the HDB announced the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) for the HDB flats east of Ghim Moh Ter, which were Blocks 9, 9A, 10, 11, 12 and 12A. These HDB flats were vacated in early 2012 and later torn down, leaving a large vacant plot of land adjacent to the bus terminal. The site would be redeveloped into new HDB flats (Ghim Moh Ascent), and necessitated the relocation of the existing bus turning bay. Plans were also made to relocate the terminal further north as indicated in building approvals published by the Building and Construction Authority.

On 10 September 2023, the bus turning bay was relocated further north to 53 Mount Sinai Road, the site of the Ministry Of Education HQ (Mount Sinai). Bus Services 100 & 111 towards Ghim Moh were extended to terminate at Ghim Moh Road (Blk 7) and serve a new bus stop constructed opposite the existing terminal, Ghim Moh Rd (Opp Ghim Moh Ter). No alighting would be allowed at Ghim Moh Ter henceforth for services 100 and 111.

Future Relocation to 53 Mount Sinai Road

In June 2021, plans were approved by the Building and Construction Authority for “Proposed new erection of a single-storey temporary bus terminal MK04 on Lot 03354A PT, 04048L PT, 06215X PT, 06243A PT & 98584C PT at Ghim Moh Road” (Project Reference No. E3889-00002-2019-BP02). Highlighted in yellow on the following diagrams is the maximum extent of the five land lots in yellow; the actual terminal is not expected to cover the full extent of these land lots.

These land lots currently make up the car park of the Ministry of Education Headquarters (Mount Sinai), at 53 Mount Sinai Road. The premises were also the site of the former Eunoia Junior College.

On 10 September 2023, this site replaced the old bus turning bay previously located next to Ghim Moh Ter. The old bus turning bay was closed for redevelopment works as part of the HDB Ghim Moh Ascent project. A new bus stop was constructed opposite the existing Ghim Moh Ter—Bus Stop 11001 – Opp Ghim Moh Ter—to replace the alighting-only stop at the bus turning bay.

Bus Services

History of Bus Services

On 7 March 1977, SBS Service 20 was amended from Commonwealth Ave Ter to Ghim Moh Ter (Chai Chee ↔ Ghim Moh). On 16 June 1977, SBS Service 13 was also amended from Commonwealth Ave Ter to Ghim Moh Ter (Chai Chee ↔ Ghim Moh).

Following a bus rationalisation exercise, on 5 November 1989, Service 20 was withdrawn and replaced by an amended Service 100 (Serangoon ↔ Ghim Moh), which remains to this day. The same day, Service 13 was integrated into Service 111 (Hougang South ↔ Ghim Moh). Service 111 route would later be shortened to (Ghim Moh ↺ Temasek Ave) on 27 July 2003, under North East Line bus rationalization.

On 11 September 1989, Service M1 was introduced, linking Buona Vista Stn with Mount Sinai via Ghim Moh. It was later extended to Science Park in 1994, and in 1997 was renumbered Service 92. From 26 Nov 2007, it was amended to start from Ghim Moh Ter at loop at Science Pk /Mt Sinai, formally making it a terminating service at Ghim Moh.

Between 1988 and 1994, Service 191 operated as (Ghim Moh ↺ Portsdown Rd). Introduced on 29 May 1988, it was amended to Buona Vista Ter on 19 Jan 1994.

(historical data via sgwiki)

Gallery (Mar 2021)

External Links & References:

• Aim is to phase out such sites wherever we can – The Straits Times, 12 March 1982, Page 17
• Interchanges and Terminals – SBS Transit

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Page 2: Additional photos (Dec 2016 & May 2014)