History of Bishan Bus Services

Introduction:

Bishan is one of Singapore’s latest satellite towns developed since the early 1980s, located in the central region of the island. To cater to the increasing population in the developing public housing estate, SBS gradually introduced new trunk services and extended the routes of existing trunk services from the neighbouring towns of Ang Mo Kio and Toa Payoh, as well as providing several feeder services that connected the town’s neighbourhoods with the town centre.

While there was no specific bus plan implemented by SBS, Bishan Bus Interchange serves as the main transport hub for bus services and the MRT in the housing estate, opening its doors on 30th April 1989 along Bishan Street 13.

Pre-Interchange Opening (1985 – 1989):

Before the development of Bishan New Town, the area where the housing estate occupies today was mainly served by long distance trunk services along Braddell Road and Upper Thomson Road. In 1974, a roadside bus terminal was established along in the adjacent Sin Ming housing and industrial estates, catering to the extended route for Bus Service 130 from Balestier Road.

In Dec 1985, Bus Service 56 was launched as the 1st bus service to officially serve the estate, connecting it with the neighbouring Toa Payoh New Town.

From there, 3 more trunk services were introduced in Bishan New Town between 1987 and 1988, while a new bus interchange was constructed in the Bukit Batok Town Centre to serve as the primary transport node for the estate:

• Bus Service 56: New trunk service to Toa Payoh from 22 Dec 1985
• Bus Service 58: New trunk service to Marina Ctr from 18 Jan 1987
• Bus Service 59: New trunk service to Jln Kayu from 10 Jul 1988
• Bus Service 57: New trunk service to Sin Ming from 22 Aug 1988

To link the neighbourhoods to the town centre, Feeder Bus Service 353 was briefly implemented by SBS, operating from Sin Ming Road Bus Terminal between 1986 and 1988, before it was replaced by former Bus Service 57.

On 30th April 1989, the new Bishan Bus Interchange was opened, offering a pleasant environment for bus passengers to transfer and wait for their buses. All 4 bus services were relocated to the new interchange from the roadside bus terminal along Bishan St 13. The interchange would also be the third to incorporate a Multi-Storey Car Park (MSCP), a design that was adopted for previous bus interchanges built in Bukit Batok and Serangoon (1988 – 2011).

Summary of Post-Amendment Bus Routes in Bishan (as of 30 Apr 1989):

• 56: Bishan – Toa Payoh (Loop)
• 57: Bishan – Sin Ming Avenue (Loop)
• 58: Bishan – Upper Serangoon Road – Bugis – Marina Centre (Loop)
• 59: Bishan – Ang Mo Kio – Yio Chu Kang Road – Jalan Kayu (Loop)
• 105: Serangoon – Bishan – Toa Payoh – Orchard Road – Clementi

More detailed information for operational bus services can be found in the Historical Routes of Bus Services article.