History of Yishun Bus Services

Introduction:

Yishun is one of Singapore’s latest satellite towns developed since the early 1980s, located in the northern region of the island. To cater to the increasing population in the developing public housing estate, TIBS gradually introduced new trunk services to connect the developing town with other areas of Singapore, as well as providing several feeder services that connected the town’s neighbourhoods with the town centre. In addition, an SBS trunk route from the adjacent bus terminal along Sembawang Road would also be extended to serve the new estate.

While there was no specific bus plan implemented by TIBS, Yishun Bus Interchange serves as the main transport hub for bus services (and later the MRT) in the housing estate, opening its doors on 23rd August 1987 at Yishun Central 1 and Yishun Avenue 2. The current air-conditioned Integrated Transport Hub (ITH) sits on the former location of the bus interchange.

Pre-Interchange Opening (1984 – 1987):

Before the development of Yishun New Town, the area where the housing estate occupies today was mainly served by long distance trunk services along Sembawang Road. The 1st bus service to serve the new town – Feeder Bus Service 800 – would only be introduced in 1984, connecting the developing Neighbourhoods 1 & 2 with major trunk services along Sembawang Road. A roadside bus terminal was established along Yishun Avenue 5, catering mainly to other feeder bus services introduced at the time.

In 1985, the 1st trunk service – Bus Service 850 to Bukit Merah via Orchard Road and Shenton Way – was launched from another roadside bus terminal along Yishun Central, which would also serve as the interim terminating point for other trunk bus services originating from Yishun New Town.

A newspaper article from 1985 indicated TIBS’ initial proposal to launch 12 trunk services and 7 feeder services to serve Yishun New Town. However, only 6 trunk services, including the route extension for SBS Bus Service 171, were ultimately added to the new town, on top of Feeder Bus Services 800, 801 & 802:

• Bus Service 850: New trunk service to Bukit Merah via Orchard Rd and Shenton Way from 3 Feb 1985
• Bus Service 851: New trunk service to Bukit Merah via Bugis and Chinatown from 16 Feb 1985
• Bus Service 852: New trunk service to Jurong via Bukit Timah and Bukit Batok from 8 Dec 1985
• Bus Service 171: Extended from Sembawang Rd/Mandai Rd on 18 Jan 1987
• Bus Service 854: New trunk service to Bedok via Yio Chu Kang Rd and Hougang from 18 Jan 1987
• Bus Service 853/853#: New trunk service to Geylang via Ang Mo Kio and Serangoon from 20 Jan 1987, with an alternate route to Marine Parade on Sundays & Public Holidays from 21 Jun 1987

On 23rd August 1987, the new Yishun Bus Interchange was opened, offering a pleasant environment for bus passengers to transfer and wait for their buses. All 9 bus services were relocated to the new interchange from the roadside bus terminals along Yishun Central and Yishun Avenue 5, alongside the launch of former Feeder Bus Service 803 to serve Yishun East.

Summary of Post-Amendment Bus Routes in Yishun (as of 23 Aug 1987):

• 171: Yishun – Mandai Road – Bukit Timah Road – Orchard Road – Queen Street
• 800: Yishun – Yishun Ring Road – Yishun Avenue 5 (Loop)
• 801: Yishun – Yishun Avenue 6 – Yishun Avenue 5 (Loop)
• 802: Yishun – Yishun Ring Road – Yishun Avenue 3 (Loop)
• 803: Yishun – Yishun Street 61 (Loop)
• 850: Yishun – Ang Mo Kio – Orchard Road – Shenton Way – Bukit Merah
• 851: Yishun – Ang Mo Kio – Little India – Bugis/Chinatown – Bukit Merah
• 852: Yishun – Ang Mo Kio – Bukit Timah Road – Bukit Batok – Jurong
• 853/853#: Yishun – Ang Mo Kio – Serangoon – Lorong 1 Geylang – Marine Parade*
• 854: Yishun – Yio Chu Kang Road – Hougang – Eunos – Bedok

*Sundays & Public Holidays only

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