History of Serangoon Bus Services

Introduction:

Serangoon is one of Singapore’s latest satellite towns developed since the early 1980s, located in the north-eastern region of the island. To cater to the increasing population in the developing public housing estate, SBS gradually introduced new trunk services and amended the routes of existing trunk services to cut through the town, 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, Serangoon Bus Interchange serves as the main transport hub for bus services (and later the MRT) in the housing estate, opening its doors on 13th March 1988 along Serangoon Central. The current air-conditioned Integrated Transport Hub (ITH) is sited in a separate location south of the original bus interchange along Serangoon Avenue 2.

Pre-Interchange Opening (until 1988):

Before the development of Serangoon New Town, the area where the housing estate occupies today was mainly served by long distance trunk services along Yio Chu Kang Road, Lorong Chuan and Upper Serangoon Road. Due to the location and small size of the new town, these major roads continue to serve as the main links in and out of the estate today, along with other roads that were later built, such as Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 and Boundary Road, as well as the Central Expressway (CTE).

The developed private residential areas around the town have long been served by the Serangoon Gardens Bus Terminal along Serangoon Garden Way, which also functioned as the primary terminus for Serangoon New Town before the opening of the bus interchange.

To link the neighbourhoods to the town centre, 3 new feeder bus services – 217, 312 & 315 – were implemented by SBS between 1977 & 1984. Feeder Bus Services 217 & 315 operated from the bus terminal along Serangoon Garden Way, while Feeder Bus Service 312 operated from an interim roadside terminus along Serangoon Avenue 3.

On 13th March 1988, the new Serangoon Bus Interchange was opened, offering a pleasant environment for bus passengers to transfer and wait for their buses. All bus services from Serangoon Gardens Bus Terminal and the roadside terminus along Serangoon Avenue 3 were relocated to the new interchange. The interchange would also incorporate a Multi-Storey Car Park (MSCP), a design that was first adopted for Bukit Batok Bus Interchange in 1987, and subsequently applied for Bishan Bus Interchange in 1989.

Summary of Post-Amendment Bus Routes in Serangoon (as of 13 Mar 1988):

• 72: Serangoon – Upper Paya Lebar Road – Tanjong Katong Road – Tanjong Rhu Road (Loop)
• 81: Tampines – Serangoon – Little India – New Bridge Road
• 82: Punggol – Serangoon – Beach Road – Shenton Way
• 83: Punggol – Serangoon – Little India – New Bridge Road
• 85: Hougang – Serangoon – Kallang Bahru – Sims Avenue (Loop)
• 97: Hougang – Serangoon – Little India – World Trade Centre – Jurong East
• 100: Serangoon – Upper Aljunied Road – Shenton Way – World Trade Centre
• 101: Serangoon – Upper Serangoon Road – Little India – New Bridge Road
• 103: Jalan Kayu – Serangoon – Little India – Chinatown – Buona Vista
• 104: Serangoon – Thomson Road – River Valley Road – Upper Cross Street (Loop)
• 105: Serangoon – Bishan – Toa Payoh – Orchard Road – Clementi
• 106: Serangoon – Upper Serangoon Road – Orchard Road – Clementi – Bukit Batok
• 107: Serangoon – Upper Serangoon Road – Kallang Bahru – Beach Road – Shenton Way (Loop)
• 111: Hougang – Serangoon – Little India – Orchard Road – Buona Vista
• 153: Upper Serangoon Road – Serangoon – Toa Payoh – Bukit Merah
• 162: Ang Mo Kio – Serangoon – Kallang Bahru – Sims Avenue (Loop)
• 217: Serangoon – Serangoon Gardens Estate (Loop)
• 312: Serangoon – Serangoon Avenue 3 (Loop)
• 315: Serangoon – Serangoon North Avenue 1 (Loop)
• 318: Serangoon – Serangoon Garden Circus (Loop)
• 853: Yishun – Ang Mo Kio – Serangoon – Kallang Bahru – Geylang
• 853#: Yishun – Ang Mo Kio – Serangoon – Geylang – Marine Parade

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