Tampines Retail Park houses IKEA Tampines, Giant Hypermarket and Courts Megastore in close proximity, making it a popular shopping destination.
As of 6 September 2023, IKEA, Giant and Courts have each implemented their own dedicated shuttle bus services connecting directly to their respective premises. These shuttle bus routes establish convenient links between Tampines Retail Park and three key heartland MRT stations, namely Tampines, Bedok, and Sengkang.
Shuttle services to Tampines and Bedok run daily, while services to Sengkang only run on Weekends and Public Holidays. Details of each shuttle route are enclosed in the following sections, grouped by their respective retail destination served.
New Bus Service 296, which serves Tampines Retail Park, will be launched on 28 April 2024.
Tampines Retail Park Shuttle Services
Click to expand the following sections.
Tampines MRT Station ↔ Giant / IKEA / Courts
| EW2–DT32 Tampines MRT Station ↔ Tampines Retail Park |
Operating Daily | |
| From Tampines MRT | ||
| To Giant | Weekdays No Service |
Weekends 10:30, 11:00, 11:30, 12:00, 12:30, 13:00, 13:30, 14:00, 14:30, 15:30, 16:00, 16:30, 17:00, 17:30, 18:00, 18:30 & 19:00 |
| To IKEA | Monday – Thursdays (including Public Holidays) 11:00, 11:40, 12:20, 13:00, 13:40, 14:40, 15:40, 16:40, 17:15, 17:45, 18:15, 19:00, 19:35, 20:05 & 20:40 |
Fridays – Sundays (including Public Holidays) 11:00, 11:35, 12:05, 12:35, 13:05, 13:40, 14:10, 14:40, 15:40, 16:40, 17:10, 17:45, 18:15, 18:45, 19:15, 19:45, 20:15, 20:45, 21:15 & 21:45 |
| To Courts | Weekdays (Monday – Friday): 09:50, 10:50, 11:50, 12:50, 13:50, 14:50, 15:50, 16:50, 17:50, 18:50, 19:50, 20:50 & 21:50 |
Weekends & Public Holidays: 09:50, 10:20, 10:50, 11:20, 11:50, 12:20, 12:50, 13:20, 13:50, 14:20, 14:50, 15:20, 15:50, 16:20, 16:50, 17:20, 17:50, 18:20, 1850, 19:20, 19:50, 20:20, 20:50, 21:20 & 21:50 |
| To Tampines MRT | ||
| From Giant | Weekdays No Service |
Weekends 10:50, 11:20, 11:50, 12:20, 12:50, 13:20, 13:50, 14:20, 14:50, 15:50, 16:20, 16:50, 17:20, 17:50, 18:20, 18:50 & 19:15 |
| From IKEA | Monday – Thursdays (including Public Holidays) 11:20, 12:00, 12:40, 13:20, 14:20, 15:20, 16:20, 17:00, 17:30, 18:00, 18:40, 19:20, 19:50 & 20:20 |
Fridays – Sundays (including Public Holidays) 11:20, 11:50, 12:20, 12:50, 13:20, 13:55, 14:25, 15:20, 16:20, 16:55, 17:25, 18:00, 18:30, 19:00, 19:30, 20:00, 20:30, 21:00, 21:30 & 22:15 |
| From Courts | Weekdays (Monday – Friday): 10:35, 11:35, 12:35, 13:35, 14:35, 15:35, 16:35, 17:35, 18:35, 19:35, 20:35, 21:35 & 22:00 |
Weekends & Public Holidays: 10:05, 10:35, 11:05, 11:35, 12:05, 12:35, 13:05, 13:35, 14:05, 14:35, 15:05, 15:35, 16:05, 16:35, 17:05, 17:35, 18:05, 18:35, 19:05, 19:35, 20:05, 20:35, 21:05, 21:35 & 22:05 |
Shuttle services to/from Tampines MRT are offered by IKEA & Courts operate daily, while the shuttle to/from Giant only operates on Weekends, with each retail outlet engaging its own transport provider. These timings above are effective 6 September 2023.
The pick-up point for all shuttle buses is at Tampines MRT Station pick-up point along Tampines Central 4, just outside Exit B.
Passengers can also take Bus Services 27, 68 and 168 between Tampines MRT and Tampines Retail Park.
Bedok MRT Station ↔ IKEA
| EW5 Bedok MRT Station ↔ Tampines Retail Park |
Operating Daily | |
| From Bedok MRT | Monday – Thursdays (including Public Holidays) | Fridays – Sundays (including Public Holidays) |
| To IKEA | 11:00, 12:05, 13:05, 14:05, 15:05, 16:05, 17:05, 18:10, 19:10 & 20:05 | 12:00, 13:05, 14:05, 15:05, 16:05, 17:05, 18:10, 19:10, 20:05, 21:05 & 22:00 |
| To Bedok MRT | Monday – Thursdays (including Public Holidays) | Fridays – Sundays (including Public Holidays) |
| From IKEA | 11:45, 12:45, 13:45, 14:45, 15:45, 16:45, 17:45, 18:45, 19:45 & 20:45 | 12:45, 13:45, 14:45, 15:45, 16:45, 17:45, 18:45, 19:45, 20:45, 21:45 & 22:40 |
The shuttle service to Bedok MRT daily is provided by IKEA. Giant has ceased the Bedok shuttle from 6 September 2023.
The pick-up point for the Shuttle is at Bus Stop 84031 (Bedok Station) along New Upp Changi Road, near Bedok MRT Station Exit B.
Passengers can also take Bus Service 168 between Bedok MRT and Tampines Retail Park.
Sengkang MRT Station ↔ Giant
| NE16STC Sengkang MRT Station ↔ Tampines Retail Park |
Operating on Weekends and Public Holidays | |
| From Sengkang MRT | ||
| To Giant | 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00, 15:00, 16:00, 17:00 & 18:00 | |
| To Sengkang MRT | ||
| From Giant | 10:35, 11:35, 12:35, 13:35, 14:35, 15:35, 16:35, 17:35 & 18:35 | |
The shuttle service to Sengkang MRT is provided by Giant Hypermarket and operates only on Weekends & Public Holidays.
The pickup point for the Shuttle is at the Taxi Stand / Passenger Pick-up / Drop Off Point along Sengkang Square, near Sengkang MRT Station Exit C.
Passengers can also take Bus Service 27 between Sengkang MRT and Tampines Retail Park.
Operators
As of 6 Sep 2023:
- Giant: Leisure Frontier (S) Pte Ltd
- IKEA: Leisure Frontier (S) Pte Ltd (Subcontracted from Bookabus Pte Ltd)
- Courts Megastore: Leisure Frontier (S) Pte Ltd (Subcontracted from Bookabus Pte Ltd)
The Tampines Retail Park shuttle by ComfortDelGro Bus formerly served Giant, IKEA & Courts. Courts and IKEA exited the Tampines Retail Park shuttle bus network from 1 Apr 2021 and 15 May 2023 respectively. The operator for the Giant shuttle was changed from ComfortDelGro Bus to Leisure Frontier on 6 September 2023.
Shuttle Boarding Points at Tampines Retail Park
Operating History
Early years
The Tampines Retail Park free shuttle started in December 2006, in tandem with the opening of IKEA Tampines. Operated by SBS Transit, the daily Tampines MRT ↔ IKEA Tampines route was operated at 30-minute intervals. A new daily route, Bedok MRT ↔ IKEA Tampines, was added in March 2007. As Giant Hypermarket and Courts Megastore opened in the following months, the shuttle was amended to serve these outlets as well.
In September 2007, the Pasir Ris MRT ↔ IKEA Tampines route was launched, operating on weekdays only at 45-minute intervals. This shuttle service stopped at various en-route bus stops along Pasir Ris Drive 1, 8, 3 and 12. In late 2008, this service would be converted to daily operation, and in April 2009, weekday service was discontinued owing to low usage.
Also in late 2008, the Sengkang MRT ↔ IKEA Tampines route was launched, operating on weekends only at 1-hour intervals.
SMRT Operations
Sometime in 2009, SMRT’s charter arm BusPlus took over the Tampines Retail Park shuttle, with PA-plated Dennis Lance buses running daily and supplemented by TIB-plated Mercedes-Benz O405 buses on weekends. From ~2012, Dennis Lance buses would make up the full operating fleet, substituting Mercedes-Benz O405 buses.
In late 2014/early 2015, the Pasir Ris MRT ↔ IKEA Tampines route would only stop at Pasir Ris MRT, omitting all en-route stops in Pasir Ris.
ComfortDelGro Operations & Courts Decoupling
From 1 November 2016, ComfortDelGro Bus took over operations of the Tampines Retail Park shuttle services. The Tampines, Bedok and Sengkang routes were served by low-entry Scania K230UB buses that were formerly deployed on NUS Internal Shuttle Bus routes, while a minibus covered the Pasir Ris route. Coach buses would occasionally be deployed as replacement buses.
On 1 April 2021, Courts Megastore decoupled from the Tampines Retail Park shuttle service network, launching its own daily shuttle service to Tampines operated by minibuses. That same day, the shuttle routes were amended to omit Courts Megastore, and Courts was correspondingly removed from the bus’ liveries, initially via removing/covering mentions of Courts. Several months later, buses were re-stickered with an updated livery promoting IKEA and Giant only.
In February 2023, ComfortDelGro Bus would introduce Volvo B9L buses to the regular Tampines Retail Park shuttle fleet. Like the preceding Scania K230UB buses, these buses were also displaced from the NUS Internal Shuttle Bus fleet as newer buses were introduced to NUS. Buses were initially deployed in NUS colours and later received the black-themed livery promoting IKEA and Giant.
2023 IKEA Decoupling
On 15 May 2023, IKEA Tampines abruptly exited from the existing Tampines Retail Park shuttle network. Between 15–31 May 2023, a significantly-degraded interim timetable was introduced by IKEA with Bookabus Pte Ltd appointed as transport provider. Daily Tampines ↔ IKEA trips operated at 1-hour intervals, and Bedok ↔ IKEA trips operated only on weekends at 1-hour intervals (no weekday service). The shuttle services from Sengkang and Pasir Ris MRT stations were discontinued.
According to IKEA, the shuttle service will be coordinated by Bookabus and seating capacity is limited to a first-come-first-served basis. During the interim period, the Tampines route was served by a 13-seater Toyota Hiace van on weekdays, and a minibus was deployed on weekends. The Bedok route was served by a Toyota Hiace van. Both routes are served by a minibus from 1 June 2023.
At the same time, Giant Hypermarket inherited the existing Tampines Retail Park shuttle network from 15 May 2023, with ComfortDelGro bus continuing to operate the service. The shuttle routes to Tampines, Bedok, Pasir Ris and Sengkang remained unchanged, except for the removal of IKEA Tampines as an en-route stop, and a reduction in shuttle bus frequencies. References to IKEA Tampines were also removed from the bus’ liveries.
2023 Giant Shuttle Degradation / Change of Operator
The Giant Tampines shuttle service schedule was revised from 6 September 2023, with changes summarised below:
- Tampines MRT route to only operate on weekends instead of daily, with shortened operating hours (1030 – 1900 instead of 0745 – 2230)
- Bedok MRT route to be withdrawn, previously operating daily
- Sengkang MRT route operating hours on weekends to be shortened (1000 – 1800 instead of 0800 – 2200)
- Pasir Ris MRT route to be withdrawn, previously operating on weekends only
The operator for the Giant shuttle also changed from ComfortDelGro Bus to Leisure Frontier.
Detailed Timings:
Continued on Page 2:
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Can you please review the bus route from Bedok Mall to Ikea Tampines?
Wondering why the bus is taking a longer route to bedok reservoir instead of going by bedok north ave 3 and then tampines ave10? Isn’t it shorter?
The service for free shutter bus from sengkang to ikea tampines is getting poor. The bus driver off the engine and did not open both door to let fresh air come into the bus. The bus is full of passengers. The driver happy playing his handphone and did not care about the passengers. Is that the company rule?
Why do your driver need to off the air Con engine while waiting at the courts station? Do you have to rule to off the engine while waiting?
Rude bus driver.
why wait so long for free shuttle service ??? fr 7pm to 7.45pm…19 jun..
is this efficent n good service i wonder ?
The bus drivers from China are very rude, park the bus at the point where difficult to board or alight
Hi manager-in-charge at Comfort Delgro for the shuttle bus service to Ikea, Giant and Courts. Is it a rule that bus driver has to turn off the engine when he stops the bus at each bus-stop of the retail store while waiting for passengers? It’s a good 10 minutes of waiting before the bus driver will leave the stop and he left all the passengers inside the sauna bus waiting! Passengers started grumbling and complaining. I went out to ask the driver to turn on the aircon as I also have frozen food in the bus. He raised his voice at me while calling me “aunty”. I no older than him! And, can’t he talk to me patiently when all I did was to request him to turn on the air con? Another passenger also came out to make that request. He said they got two warnings for leaving the aircon on while waiting for the departure time. So he can’t turn it on and if we find it hot, we should come out of the bus to wait. Now, this isn‘t fair to all existing passengers and customers of the three retail stores.
Happened on Monday, 11 November 2019, at 2.42pm with bus driver of vehicle number PA 9841K.