SBS Transit and SMRT Buses have been awarded the Bukit Merah and Jurong West Bus Packages respectively, as the Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced on 18 August 2023. These contracts will commence from 2Q 2024 and are estimated at a total fee of $890 million over a five-year contract period.
For the Bukit Merah Bus Package, SBS Transit secures a further five-year extension and remains the incumbent operator. It currently operates 17 bus services from Ulu Pandan Bus Depot under this package.
For the Jurong West Bus Package, SMRT Buses will succeed SBS Transit as the operator of 26 bus services in the Jurong West region, operating from Soon Lee Bus Depot. These services and the use of the depot will be handed over to SMRT by September 2024. SMRT Buses will also manage Boon Lay Interchange, Joo Koon Interchange, and Tuas Terminal.
Both route packages were tendered out under Contract PT218: Bus Contracting – Bukit Merah and Jurong West Bus Packages. Six companies took part in the tendering, including all four incumbent PTOs (SBST, SMRT, TTS, GAS) alongside foreign firms National Express Group and Transdev Group.
Bus Packages at a glance
Under the Bus Contracting Model, bus routes are bundled into bus packages, consisting of a single bus depot, several bus interchanges/terminals, the bus routes and the buses themselves. With all bus infrastructure belonging to the Government, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) would contract out the bus package, select a bus operator (through a competitive tendering process), and lease these assets to the new operator. Bus interchanges and terminals allocated to each package will also be maintained by the operator.
Contract PT218A: Bukit Merah Bus Package
Bukit Merah Bus Package was first awarded to SBS Transit in February 2018 under Contract PT203 after its negotiated contract expired in Nov 2018. The initial 5-year term was extended by five months.
The most recent award will see SBS Transit being retained as the incumbent for a subsequent 5-year term.
| Incumbent | SBS Transit Ltd |
| Present Contract Term | Tendered Package 1st Term (Contract PT203): Nov 2018 – Apr 2024 (5-year term + 5 months contract extension) |
| Upcoming Contract Term |
Tendered Package 2nd Term (Contract PT218A): Apr 2024 – 2029 |
| Bus Services | 5, 16/16M, 57, 93, 120, 121, 122, 123/123M, 131, 145, 160/160M, 170/170X, 195, 198, 272, 273 & 400 (17 bus routes) |
| Bus Depot | Ulu Pandan Bus Depot |
| Bus Interchanges | Bukit Merah, HarbourFront |
| Bus Terminals | Kampong Bahru, Queen Street, Shenton Way, Marina Centre |
Reasons for the award to SBS Transit were provided by LTA:
- Highest total score for Bukit Merah Bus Package, taking into account both price and quality factors
- Displayed an excellent understanding of the operational considerations for the Bukit Merah Bus Package
- Compelling value-added proposals to improve service delivery, environmental sustainability and promote public transport usage such as:
- Proposal to deploy Minibot, a self-service mobile concierge, as part of its customer service enhancements
- Aim to achieve ‘Net Zero Energy Building’ as part of its sustainability efforts, through optimising energy and water usage
- Committed to establishing a new Bus Captain Training and Certification Centre
SBS Transit submitted both a base proposal and an alternative proposal for the Bukit Merah Bus Package. While both proposals are of the same quality, the alternative proposal offers better value for money with a more efficient use of resources for the LTA.
No elaboration was provided by LTA on the alternative proposal. However, based on existing operations, SBS Transit is likely to garage buses for Bukit Merah Bus Package at other bus depots and also garage buses for other bus packages at Ulu Pandan Bus Depot to reduce dead mileage incurred by the operator. These operations are detailed in our main article on the Bukit Merah Bus Package.
Note
Supplementary Bus Service 160M was renumbered to Trunk Service 993 in September 2023, taking the service count of the Bukit Merah Bus Package to 18.
Contract PT218B: Jurong West Bus Package
Jurong West Bus Package has been operated by SBS Transit under a negotiated contract since the start of the BCM in September 2016.
SMRT Buses will succeed SBS Transit as the operator of this package based out of Soon Lee Bus Depot, which will also be handed over to SMRT. This marks the first time that an existing bus depot has been acquired by the LTA and leased out under the BCM.
| Incumbent | SBS Transit Ltd |
| Present Contract Term |
Negotiated Contract (Contract PT212): Sep 2016 – Sep 2024 (8-year term) |
| Upcoming Contract Term |
Tendered Package 1st Term (Contract PT218B): Sep 2024 – 2029 |
| Awarded Operator |
SMRT Buses Ltd |
| Bus Services |
179/179A, 181/181M, 182/182M, 185, 192, 193, 194, 199, 240/240M, 241, 242, 243G/243W, 246, 247, 248/248M, 249, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255, 257, 258, 405, 502/502A & 974 (26 bus routes) |
| Handover Date | From Sep 2024 |
| Bus Depot | Soon Lee Bus Depot |
| Bus Interchanges | Boon Lay, Joo Koon |
| Bus Terminals | Tuas |
Reasons for the award to SMRT Buses were provided by LTA:
- Highest total score for Jurong West Bus Package, taking into account both price and quality factors
- Displayed an excellent understanding of the operational considerations for the Jurong West Bus Package
- Compelling value-added proposals to improve service delivery, and environmental sustainability and promote public transport usage such as:
- Proposal to deploy an AI-enabled CCTV system to identify commuters who need help
- Leverage its WINK + application to promote the use of public transport and incentivise off-peak travel
The loss of Soon Lee Bus Depot for SBS Transit will also necessitate some restructuring of its operations in the Jurong West region as its bus services can no longer be garaged there. The depot currently supports partial operations of several bus services allocated to other bus packages, such as Bus Service 198 (Bukit Merah Bus Package) and 30 (Bedok Bus Package).
Transition of impacted workers
Current SBST employees from the Jurong West bus package will be protected by the Guidelines on Good Employment Practices in the Public Bus Industry and must be offered a job by SMRT, the incoming operator, at employment terms that are no worse off compared to current employment terms.
Fleet – Jurong West Bus Package
SBS Transit currently operates a fleet of the following bus models under the Jurong West Bus Package:
- Scania K230UB
- Mercedes-Benz Citaro
- MAN A22
- Volvo B9TL (Wright)
- MAN A95
- MAN A95 (Euro 6; 3-doors)
- Alexander Dennis Enviro500 (3-door)
Bid Prices
Bus operators were invited to submit bids for the two bus packages individually and/or a combined bid for both. Awarded tenderers and their respective contract sums are highlighted in red. Both winning bids were also the lowest-priced bids submitted in their respective categories.
| No. | Company | Bukit Merah only: Bid Price (5 years) |
Jurong West only: Bid Price (5 years) |
Bukit Merah + Jurong West: Bid Price (5 years) |
| 1 | SBS Transit Ltd (Alt)* | $476,457,752.81 | $420,902,393.84 | $895,778,967.55 |
| 2 | SBS Transit Ltd (Base) | $491,641,316.29 | $429,656,171.78 | $910,628,272.60 |
| 3 | SMRT Buses Ltd | $496,358,548.80 | $411,533,323.80 | $919,753,252.66 |
| 4 | Tower Transit Singapore Pte Ltd (Alt)* | $532,673,769.20 | $426,965,612.42 | $955,593,032.56 |
| 5 | Tower Transit Singapore Pte Ltd (Base) | $544,073,539.20 | $443,481,072.00 | $986,960,705.20 |
| 6 | The Go-Ahead Group Ltd (Alt)* | $576,133,505.00 | $479,010,698.00 | $1,040,081,690.00 |
| 7 | The Go-Ahead Group Ltd (Base) | $580,122,714.00 | $485,927,362.00 | $1,050,987,563.00 |
| 8 | Transdev Group S.A. (Alt) | $597,463,961.99 | NA | $1,073,700,749.93 |
| 9 | Transdev Group S.A. (Base) | $598,810,542.79 | $518,571,774.82 | $1,075,030,145.48 |
| 10 | National Express Group PLC | $563,008,737.00 | $536,058,617.00 | $1,063,822,760.00 |
According to LTA, the tender submissions were evaluated based on a two-envelope process which looked at both quality and price factors. The price submissions were only opened after the quality evaluation was completed. This two-envelope process ensures that LTA gets the best value-for-money proposal without compromising on quality.
The total price of the two individual winning bids was also more attractive when compared to the bid prices received for the combined package.
Tender Extension
LTA has the option to extend each contract by between two and five years at the end of the five-year term. This is in contrast to previous BCM terms, which were offered with extensions of up to two years only.
See Also:
- Tower Transit awarded Bulim and Sembawang-Yishun Bus Packages
- Bulim Bus Package
- Sembawang-Yishun Bus Package
- Bus Contracting Model
Observations as at 15 July 2024:
1. Just saw one SMRT Scania K230UB doing test drive at Boon Lay Bus Interchange, today 15 July 2024, at about 2pm, calling at bus 192 berth for a short while. This could mean that the 10 units are probably all for the industrial bus services, which just nice have 10 Scania K230UB slots at the moment (according to sgwiki).
2. Still got many Volvo B9TL buses and Mercedes-Benz Citaro buses in the SBS Transit livery.
3. Recently saw one SMRT Volvo B9TL bus doing route familiarization on 243G. If I remember correctly, it was last week.
4. I remember I overheard a bus driver conversation, at Boon Lay Bus Interchange, saying that when the handover comes, they aiming for about 25% in lush green livery. The other 75% will be repainted or replaced (in the case of Scania K230UB) in the next few years.
In summary, route familiarization already happening (for new drivers and probably also for planning purpose).
As a longtime resident at Jurong West, with 243G/W, 179 and 258 near my house, SMRT entry into regular bus service in Jurong West seems to offer a refreshed experience that would be different than SBS Transit.
Just from the way they drive the buses slowly and carefully already mean they are aiming for a certain level of hospitality.
And with the Bus Contracting Model tender structure, Jurong West residents can really expect significant improvement in the service standards.
Looking forward to the commencement of SMRT buses at the Jurong West Bus Package bus services.