Mandai Shuttle

The Mandai Shuttle, also called Mandai Khatib Shuttle, is an express bus service connecting Khatib MRT Station to popular tourist attractions in Mandai, such as the Singapore Zoo, Night Safari, River Wonders and Bird Paradise. This route operates at frequent intervals of around 10 minutes per bus, offering easy access for visitors coming from the City, and Singapore’s North and East regions.

This service is operated daily from 8:00 am till 12 midnight. Bus operations are currently contracted to Tong Tar Transport effective 2 Jan 2024.

---

Mandai Shuttle
(Mandai Khatib Shuttle)

NS14  Khatib MRT Station Pick-Up Point ↔ Singapore Zoo Bus Stop (via Bird Paradise)		Operating Daily
From Khatib MRT Station Pick Up Point	8:30am–11:40pm	15 minutes frequency (20 mins from 11pm to 12am)
From Singapore Zoo (Bus Stop 48131 – Singapore Zoo, Mandai Lake Road)	8:50am–12:00am

Launched on 10 March 2017, the Mandai Shuttle currently operates at 15-minute intervals, shuttling visitors between Khatib MRT and Singapore Zoo with a journey time of approximately 15 minutes.

The route charges a fare of $2.50 per passenger (from 1 Oct 2024) per way, payable by EZ-Link, VISA, Mastercard, American Express, Apple Pay, Google Pay & Samsung Pay. Children below 7 years old may travel for free.

Travel between parks (Bird Paradise / Mandai Wildlife West – Singapore Zoo / River Wonders / Night Safari) is free. Passengers have to inform the Bus Captain upon boarding that they are travelling between parks for free travel.

Visitors can board the bus at Khatib MRT Station Passenger Pick-up/Drop-off Point along Yishun Avenue 2, just next to Khatib MRT Station Exit A. At Singapore Zoo, the pick-up point for the route is at Bus Stop 48131 – Singapore Zoo, Mandai Lake Road.

The bus also makes an en-route stop at Bird Paradise and Mandai Wildlife West in both directions. Pick-up and drop-off points are at Bus Stop #48111 – Opp Bird Paradise (Inbound), and Bus Stop #48119 – Bird Paradise (Outbound).

---

Mandai East West Shuttle (EWS) [Withdrawn]

Singapore Zoo Bus Stop ↺ Bird Paradise Bus Stop		Operating Daily
From Singapore Zoo Bus Stop (Bus Stop 48131 – S’pore Zoo)	9:00am – 4:50pm	15 minutes frequency
Bus Stop 48111 – Opp Bird Paradise, Mandai Lake Rd Mandai Wildlife West (Inbound) Bus Stop	9:10am – 5:00pm

Launched on 8 May 2023, the Mandai East-West Shuttle (EWS) currently operates at 15-minute intervals, shuttling visitors between Mandai Wildlife East (Singapore Zoo / River Wonders/ Night Safari) and Mandai Wildlife West (Bird Paradise) with a journey time of approximately 5 minutes.

This route was later withdrawn in July 2023.

The route is free for all guests.

---

History (not exhaustive)

The operating history of the Mandai Shuttle is not well documented and this section is not exhaustive.

The Mandai Express – Khatib line or Mandai Express (Khatib) was first launched by Strides on 10 March 2017. The direct bus service takes 15 minutes in each direction and is priced at $1 per commuter each way. Fare is payable by EZ-link card and children below 3 years old can ride for free. Free rides were offered on the launch weekend (10-12 March 2017).

At launch, the service operated daily between 8.30 am and 7 pm at 30-minute intervals, with increased frequency promised during peak hours. The following month (Apr 2017), frequencies were adjusted to every 40-minute intervals (on weekdays) and 20-minute intervals (on weekends and public holidays).

Intermediate changes to this service are not documented; but sometime in 2018, frequencies were improved to 20 minutes on all days.

By 2019, this service was renamed as the Mandai Khatib Shuttle and at one point, operating hours were 8am to 10:40pm from Khatib; 8:20am to 11pm from Mandai, with frequency remaining at 20-minute intervals. Buses now accepted NETS FlashPay on top of EZ-Link.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, operations were degraded due to reduced passenger demand. Operating hours were 8am to 7pm from Khatib; 8:20am to 7:20pm from Mandai, with buses operating at 20-minute intervals.

Operations were gradually improved with the pandemic recovery. In January 2022, pre-pandemic operating hours were restored on all days (8am to 10:40pm from Khatib; 8:20am to 11pm from Mandai). 10-minute frequencies were offered at certain times (3pm-7pm on Weekdays, 9am-7pm on Weekends, Public Holidays and School Holidays), with 20-minute frequencies at all other times.

In April 2023, ComfortDelGro Bus took over operations of the Mandai Khatib Shuttle. Frequencies were improved to 10 minutes per bus at all hours, increasing to 20 minutes from 11pm to 12am. In mid-April, a stop at Mandai Wildlife West was added to serve the Bird Paradise, and on 8 May 2023, a free shuttle service (East West Shuttle) was offered, linking Mandai Wildlife East and Mandai Wildlife West at 15-minute intervals.

Fares were increased to $2.00 per passenger from 16 October 2023, charged only at Khatib MRT towards Mandai, and boarding at other stops were made free of charge.

On 2 January 2024, Tong Tar Transport Service took over operations of the Mandai Khatib Shuttle.

Fares were later revised to $3.00 from 1 April 2024.

The fare structure was been updated from 1 October 2024. The one-way fare from Khatib MRT to Mandai, and vice versa, will be $2.50. However, travel between parks within Mandai remains free. To avoid any charges when traveling between parks, passengers must inform the Bus Captain upon boarding.

Fleet Changes

At launch in 2017, Strides deployed Dennis Lance buses on the Mandai Express (Khatib) route. Buses were adorned with a special advertising wrap promoting the Mandai Express route. On the inside, the bus was decorated with stuffed toys and artificial vines, matching the wildlife theme promoted by the Mandai attractions. The Dennis Lance buses retired in 2018, and were replaced by subcontracted buses from private operator Hui Leong Bus, such as the King Long XMQ6117K and Higer KLQ6108GQ. The Higer buses permanently assigned to the route also received the interior decorations.

Sometime in 2020, Woodlands Transport took over operations of the Mandai Khatib Shuttle, with the Yutong ZK6116HE bus most commonly sighted. This time, the buses bore no special advertising wrap or interior decorations. In May 2021, two low-floor Euro VI Yutong ZK6126HGA buses joined the fleet, both with advertising wraps promoting Mandai attractions. The Yutong ZK6126HGA were redeployed sometime in late 2022 or early 2023, with Woodlands Transport roping in a subcontracted coach to support operations till March 2023.

In April 2023, ComfortDelGro Bus took over operations of the Mandai Khatib Shuttle. The wheelchair-accessible Volvo B9L buses deployed on the route previously served on NUS Internal Shuttle Bus (ISB) routes, and were recently transferred out of NUS following an influx of new electric buses. Buses were refurbished with blue seat covers and payment terminals were retrofitted for fare collection on the Mandai Shuttle.

Tong Tar Transport began operating the Mandai Khatib Shuttle on 2 January 2024. A fleet of wheelchair-accessible low-floor Zhongtong LCK6125HQGA buses as well as Yutong ZK6116H1 coaches were deployed, wrapped with Mandai Wildlife Reserve advertising. These buses were redeployed from Tong Tar Transport’s Resorts World Sentosa route.

2023 June school holiday arrangements

Starting on 26 May 2023, the Mandai Khatib Shuttle offered free rides on Weekends and Public Holidays, which coincided with the commencement of the June school holidays. The Mandai Wildlife Group did not announce these changes.

To accommodate the higher influx of visitors to the Mandai attractions, extra buses were deployed on the Mandai Khatib Shuttle that were not equipped with fare collection systems, such as Volvo B9L buses and BYD B12A03 buses, and this likely necessitated the free rides. In addition, bus boarding was expedited through the elimination of fare collection.

Subcontracting

From September to December 2023, ComfortDelGro Bus regularly subcontracted the additional buses for the Mandai Wildlife Reserve Mandai-Khatib Shuttle on selected peak periods such as weekends or school holidays to A&S Transit.

---

Gallery

Tong Tar Transport

 

ComfortDelGro Bus

Woodlands Transport

Strides Transportation

Old Pick Up / Drop Off Points

---

See Also:

• Mandai Heartlands Express | Land Transport Guru

External Links & References:

• Getting Here – Singapore Zoo (mandai.com)