Hougang Bus Depot

Hougang Bus Depot is a bus depot under SBS Transit’s West District. Located at Defu Avenue 1, it serves as a parking and maintenance facility for bus operations mainly around Serangoon, Hougang, Sengkang and Punggol.

The depot will be replaced by the future Kim Chuan Bus Depot, a multi-storey bus depot being built on top of the Kim Chuan MRT Depot expansion.

General Information
Name Hougang Bus Depot / 后港巴士车厂
Address 4 Defu Avenue 1, Singapore 539536
Depot Information
BCM Route Package Sengkang–Hougang Bus Package (To Be Confirmed)
Operator SBS Transit
Type Major bus depot / open-air
Abbreviation HGDEP
Catchment Serangoon, Hougang Central, Sengkang, Compassvale, Punggol, Sims Place, Lorong 1 Geylang
Sub-depots

Details

Hougang Bus Depot - Defu Avenue 1 (Main Entrance)
Hougang Bus Depot – Defu Avenue 1 (Main Entrance)

Hougang Bus Depot was built by Singapore Bus Services (SBS) and began operations in 1984, built at the cost of around $13 million and taking over the old Bedok Depot. At 76,838 square metres, Hougang Depot accommodates the parking of up to 546 buses (recorded as 74,236 sq m in 2017). Situated in an industrial area along Defu Avenue 1, it is far from residential areas, ensuring that the early morning and late-night bus activity does not disturb residents. As a major bus depot serving the northeast of Singapore, it provides maintenance and refuelling facilities for buses in the area. It is commonly referred to as HGDEP.

The depot is also home to Comfort DelGro Engineering (CDGE)’s bus assembly facility. The bus assembly facility started off with SBS in 1977 or 1979 at McKenzie Road Depot, assembling Leyland Atlantean buses from complete knock-down (CKD) kits. The facility shifted to Woodlands Depot (SBS) in 1983, and finally settling in Hougang Depot on 1 Dec 1994. All locally-assembled buses done by CDGE (for SBS and SBS Transit) are produced here, including SBS’ Volvo Olympian, Volvo B10TL & Dennis Trident buses and SBS Transit’s Volvo B9TL (CDGE) & Volvo B9TL (Wright) buses. SBS Transit holds the land tenure lasting 38 years from 1 January 1983.

Hougang Depot also housed SBS Transit’s Bus Captain Development Centre, where new Bus Captains undergo training. As such, Training Buses are frequently sighted within the depot and making their rounds in the surrounding areas. Training operations shifted to Ulu Pandan Bus Depot in April 2024.

Modification

To make way for the construction of the Kim Chuan Depot Extension, Hougang Bus Depot was expanded towards the North and East to compensate for lost parking space at the South end of the depot. Modification work to Hougang Bus Depot was completed in late 2017.

Contract 8813 for Modifications to Existing Hougang Bus Depot was awarded to Quek & Quek Civil Engineering Pte Ltd for S$21.4 million in June 2016.

Future Plans

The depot is expected to be replaced by the future Kim Chuan Bus Depot, a multi-storey bus depot being built on top of the Kim Chuan MRT Depot expansion. This was mentioned in an LTA newsletter covering the Circle Line Stage 6 (In Touch In Motion – Issue 1 July 2019).


Depot Fleet:

Hougang Depot currently houses the following models of buses:

Single Deck Buses
Double Decker Buses

Gallery:

Bus Depot:

Bus Depot Expansion:

More photos on Page 2

13 thoughts on “Hougang Bus Depot

  • 10 September 2024 at 2:31 PM
    Permalink

    If Hougang Depot gets replaced by Sengkang West Bus Depot, services like Service 74 and 147 might move to Ang Mo Kio Depot or Kim Chuan Depot

    Reply

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