Hougang Central Bus Interchange

Hougang Central Bus Interchange is a bus interchange located at Hougang Central, serving residential areas around Hougang, Buangkok and Kovan.

The interchange building occupies Blk 840 Hougang Central, along the road of the same name, Hougang Central. The sheltered concourse building connects directly to Hougang MRT Station (Exit A). Nearby public amenities include Aljunied-Hougang Town Council, Hougang Mall, Kang Kar Mall and The Midtown.

Currently, SBS Transit is the anchor operator of Hougang Central Bus Interchange. With the rollout of the Bus Contracting Model (BCM), the future operator of the Sengkang–Hougang Bus Package will take over as anchor operator of this interchange.

Part of Hougang Central Bus Interchange was temporarily relocated to Hougang Bus Park (formerly referred as Hougang Temporary Bus Parking and Driver Facility) in April 2022, to make way for the construction of the Cross Island Line.

Details

Name	Hougang Central Bus Interchange  |  后港中心巴士转换站
Address	840 Hougang Central, Singapore 538757
BCM Route Package	Sengkang–Hougang Bus Package
Anchor Operator	SBS Transit
Bus Routes	20 (SBS Transit)
Berths	4 linear alighting berth, 6 sawtooth boarding berths
Rail Connection	NE14  Hougang

The Interchange

Hougang Central Bus Interchange is a bus station located in the residential town of Hougang. Connecting with Hougang MRT Station along the North East MRT Line, the interchange is a transport node for commuters heading in and out of town, allowing for convenient transfers between the rail network and the many bus services at the interchange.

The interchange has a single vehicular concourse area with a combined entrance and exit leading to Hougang Central. The interchange concourse, comprising a linear alighting berth and five sawtooth berths, wraps around the bus park.

The interchange concourse has pedestrian entrance/exits located on all sides. A pair of bus stops along Hougang Central allows for easy transfer to passing-by bus services that do not call at the interchange. All berths at the interchange are wheelchair-accessible.

An expansion of Hougang Central Bus Interchange was constructed west of the current interchange and opened on 11 January 2017. It was closed from 24 June 2022 to facilitate construction for the Cross Island Line Hougang station.

Historical Background

• 1981: Hougang Bus Interchange opens at Hougang Street 21
• 1994: Hougang Central Bus Interchange opens
• 1998: Interchange moved to Temporary facility for NEL construction
• 2001: Amended back to original site
• 2004: Hougang South Bus Interchange closes

Prior to Hougang Central Bus Interchange, several smaller bus terminals existed in the area since the 1970s. The first was a bus terminal at Upper Serangoon Road 10.5km (formerly 6½ miles, and near the present-day junction with Tampines Road) serving Services 85 and 111. Another was located at Upper Serangoon Road (End) (near the present-day junction with Upper Serangoon View) serving Services 74, 84, 136, 147, 153 prior to the construction of Sengkang Town. Tampines Way (present-day Hougang Avenue 3 north of Tampines Road) opened in the late-1970s for Service 86, and a temporary Hougang Street 21 roadside terminal for Service 321.

On 30 October 1983, Hougang Bus Interchange opened along Hougang Street 21, the site of the former Hougang Town Centre. It absorbed bus services previously terminating at nearby bus terminals. The compound was over 14,000 square metres and featured 34 boarding and alighting berths.

As Hougang New Town expanded further north, a new town centre was being constructed further north at Hougang Central, along with a new bus interchange. The older Hougang Interchange at Hougang Street 21 would then be demolished–but the proposal was met with strong objections and this delayed the closure of the old interchange.

On 17 December 1994, Hougang Central Bus Interchange opened. The new, spacious 1.3 ha interchange was built at a cost of $5.7 million, featuring air-conditioned crew rest areas and a canteen. The pyramid-shaped roof thrusts were unique in design, and two skylights were incorporated into the design for more natural lighting within the interchange. That same day, the existing Hougang Bus Interchange was renamed Hougang South Bus Interchange.

To facilitate the construction of Hougang MRT Station along the North-East Line, the passenger concourse and a portion of the bus park was partially closed on 24 May 1998, leaving only a small bus park at Hougang Central Bus Interchange. Only Bus Services 74, 147, 501, 501X & 502 continued to park and layover the existing bus interchange, but commuter boarding/alighting stops were shifted to Upper Serangoon Road (Hougang Plaza) and Hougang Central (Blk 851) respectively. At the same time, the remaining Bus Services 84, 97, 111, 153, 165 and 325 were relocated to Hougang Central Temporary Bus Interchange. All bus services (74, 89, 97, 111, 147, 147A, 153, 165, 325, 511, 512 were relocated back to Hougang Central Bus Interchange on 20 May 2001.

After bus services were gradually rerouted away from Hougang South Interchange, operations finally ceased on 15 February 2004, several months after the opening of the North-East Line. The end-on berths on the west side were cleared to make way for an HDB carpark, while the sawtooth berths and parking lots at the east side still remain. The interchange continues to operate as a bus stop for services 112, 113 115 and 119, under the bus stop name Kovan Hub.

Bus Park Expansion

In April 2015, LTA called for a tender to expand the existing Hougang Central Bus Interchange. The current 1.3ha interchange would be expanded by another 0.3ha, with a further 11 parking spaces added to the current 48 parking lots. The expanded concourse will allow for about 4 to 5 new bus services under BSEP. The construction tender (RD305 – Expansion of Bus Interchanges) was awarded to BSI (1990) Pte. Ltd. for a fee of S$12.5 million in February 2016.

The interchange expansion is located at the empty grass patch west of the current interchange, along Hougang Central beside Block 838. It opened on 11 January 2017.

Hougang Bus Park

To facilitate the construction of the Cross Island Line, a part of Hougang Central Bus Interchange is expected to be relocated in the near future. A tender for a Temporary Bus Parking and Driver Facility (TPDF) (Reference No.: CR1088) by the Land Transport Authority was published on 31 January 2019. Construction began in end-2019 and is expected to be completed in end-2021.

In 2021, signage for the facility referring it to be “Hougang Bus Park” was put up on site. It opened on 25 April 2022.

Hougang Bus Park features 25 bus parking spaces, as well as offices, lounges and canteens for bus captains and staff.

Feeder bus services:

Hougang South Bus Interchange housed many feeder buses which provided connections to Hougang, namely Service 321, 322, 323, 326, 327, 328 and 329.

329 would later be withdrawn and integrated with 323, and 323 was later withdrawn due to low demand. With only 321, 322, 326, 327 and 328 left in 2004, 321 and 326 were combined into a new route 113 while 322 and 327 were combined into a new route 112. 328 was renumbered to 101 and extended to Serangoon, while 112 and 113 started from Hougang Central. 325 would later be introduced from Hougang Central and remains to be the only feeder bus route from Hougang Central until 2014, where Feeder 324 was introduced under the Bus Service Enhancement Scheme (BSEP) to loop at Upper Serangoon Cres. Feeder service 329 was also introduced under BSEP in 2017.

Interchange facilities:

• Passenger Service Offices (SBS Transit)
• SimplyGo Ticketing Service Centre
  Open 10am to 6pm daily except Public Holidays
• SimplyGo Kiosk
• Top Up Kiosk
• Drivers lounge
• NTWU Canteen
• Boarding and alighting berths
• Information boards & Bus arrival display screen
• Retail outlets
• Service guide rack
• Toilets

Bus Services:

Service	Berth	Destination	Remarks
27	B3	↺ Changi Airport
51	B6	Jurong East
74	B1	Buona Vista
89	B2	↺ Airport Cargo Road
89e	B2	Airport Cargo Road (SATS Cargo Ter)	Express Service / Weekdays Morning Peak
102	B2	↺ Seletar Aerospace Avenue (Seletar Airport)
107	B4	Shenton Way
107M	B4	↺ Raffles Boulevard
112	B4	↺ Hougang Street 92
113	B3	↺ Upper Paya Lebar Road
116	B4	↺ Serangoon Central
132	B2	Bukit Merah
147	B1	Clementi
147A	B1	New Bridge Road (Aft Duxton Plain Pk)	Short Trip Service
151	B6	Kent Ridge
153	B4	Bukit Merah
161	B3	Woodlands
165	B3	Clementi
324	B6	↺ Upper Serangoon View
325	B2	↺ Hougang Street 91
329	B1	↺ Buangkok Crescent

Berth 5 will be closed to facilitate the construction of the Cross Island Line Hougang Station Entrance 1 from 5 May 2024 to 1Q 2026.

Berths:

Berth	Services / Remarks
Alighting	For alighting only
B1	74, 147/147A, 329
B2	89/89e, 102, 132, 325
B3	27, 113, 161, 165
B4	107/107M, 112, 116, 153 North-East Line Rail Bridging Service towards HarbourFront
B5	[Closed from 5 May 2024 to 1Q 2026 for CRL Hougang Station Construction]
B6	51, 151, 324 North-East Line Rail Bridging Service towards Punggol

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Gallery (2023):

Gallery (2017):

Gallery (2015):

Gallery (2014):

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External Links & References:

• Those Years When We Waited For Our Buses Together – Remember Singapore
• Interchanges and Terminals – SBS Transit
• Bus interchanges, terminal to be expanded – Asiaone
• 后港中巴士转换站部分设施将迁移到临时地点 – 8world

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