This article only covers premium bus services previously operated by SBS Transit and SMRT Buses before the Bus Contracting Model (BCM) from 2007 to 2017. For premium bus services run by private operators, as well as Bus Services LCS1 & LCS2 that serve the industrial developments in Loyang/Changi, click on the respective links to their articles.

Background:

In 2007, Singapore’s 2 main public bus operators then – SBS Transit and SMRT Buses – launched a series of premium services that mostly connected various residential areas around the island with the Central Business District (CBD) during peak hours on weekdays.

While premium services had mainly been offered by private bus operators in Singapore to complement direct links to educational institutions, factories, offices and private residential estates since the 1990s, the Public Transport Council (PTC) had opened up the premium bus market to the public bus operators in 2007, allowing them to offer similar services to better serve commuters.

During a time when there were only 3 MRT lines in Singapore, and non air-con buses were still operated by SBS Transit, premium bus services were marketed by both operators for commuters who are willing to pay slightly higher fares for comfortable, air-conditioned bus rides with guaranteed seating, as standing was prohibited on Premium services. These services would also make extensive use of expressways, providing faster peak hour journeys for commuters from the residential areas to the CBD.

Operational Details:

On Monday, 16 July 2007, SBS Transit introduced its 1st tranche of Premium services, consisting of 13 routes numbered between 532 and 545 (except 541) which connected the residential estates of Clementi, West Coast, Serangoon, Toa Payoh, Jurong West, Pasir Ris, Taman Jurong, Jurong East and Bedok with the offices in Robinson Road and Raffles Place. Fares for the 13 premium services were capped between $2.70 and $3.00, operating a single uni-directional trip from their respective residential estates to the CBD during morning peak hours on weekdays.

2 weeks later on Monday, 30 July 2007, SMRT Buses introduced its 1st 2 Premium services (530 & 531), which connected the private residential estates in River Valley and East Coast, as well as the public housing estate of Simei, to the offices in Raffles Place and Shenton Way.

Subsequently, SBS Transit rolled out 20 more Premium services in 3 tranches between Feb and Jun 2008, while SMRT Buses introduced 9 additional Premium services between Apr and Sep 2008. Due to the overwhelming demand for Premium Bus Service 531, SMRT Buses also added return trips from Anson Road to Simei Road during the evening peak period from Jun 2008.

In addition, SBS Transit also launched eight CityShopper services in Dec 2007, which provided direct links between residential estates and the shopping belt of Orchard Road/Marina Centre daily. Refer to our article on CityShopper services for more details on these routes.

Rationalisation & Discontinuation of SBST/SMRT Premium Bus Services:

In Jul 2008, 2 Premium services (537 & 540) serving the Jurong West and Taman Jurong areas, as well as 4 CityShopper services (551, 575, 577 & 580) serving Hougang, Bedok, Ang Mo Kio and West Coast were discontinued by SBS Transit due to persistent low ridership on these routes.

SMRT Buses also discontinued 2 Premium services (586 & 597) in 2009, citing low passenger demand and the availability of alternative travel routes.

In 2011, Premium Bus Service 549 was split into 2 routes by SBS Transit, following the launch of Premium Bus Service 761, providing faster journeys for residents along Ang Mo Kio Ave 1 to the CBD, while adding new links for residents along Ang Mo Kio Ave 2 and Ang Mo Kio Ave 3.

With the announcement of the Bus Contracting Model (BCM) by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in early 2014, SBS Transit handed over the operations of 8 of its premium bus services to private operators between Aug 2014 and Jul 2015, marking the start of the end of public bus operators’ involvement in the operations of Premium services, since these routes would not be run by them under the BCM. The mass handover of Premium services to private operators would continue into 2016 & 2017, with the last Premium bus service under SBS Transit discontinued after Friday, 31 Mar 2017.

Route Information:

Service	Route	Launch Date	*Withdrawal / Handover Date**	Remarks
529	Yio Chu Kang ↺ Lentor Loop	1 Jun 2009	3 Jan 2017	Operated an identical route to Bus Service 825 on Saturday afternoons
530	River Valley Rd → Shenton Way	30 Jul 2007	29 Aug 2016*
531	Simei Rd → Shenton Way (AM)	30 Jul 2007	29 Aug 2016*	Replaced by City Direct 664 (in Simei only)
531	Anson Rd → Simei Rd (PM)	23 Jun 2008	29 Aug 2016*	Replaced by City Direct 664 (in Simei only)
532	Clementi Ave 4 → Fullerton Rd	16 Jul 2007	11 Aug 2014*	Partially replaced by City Direct 667
533	Teban Gdns Rd → Fullerton Rd	16 Jul 2007	15 Aug 2016*	Partially replaced by City Direct 655
534	Yio Chu Kang Rd → Fullerton Rd	16 Jul 2007	29 Aug 2016*
535	Lor 8 Toa Payoh → Fullerton Rd	16 Jul 2007	28 Nov 2016
536	Jurong West St 91 → Fullerton Rd	16 Jul 2007	15 Aug 2016*
537	Jurong West Ave 5 → Fullerton Rd	16 Jul 2007	21 Jul 2008
538	Pasir Ris Dr 3 → Fullerton Rd	16 Jul 2007	15 Aug 2016*
539	Pasir Ris Dr 4 → Fullerton Rd	16 Jul 2007	26 Sep 2016*
540	Yuan Ching Rd → Fullerton Rd	16 Jul 2007	21 Jul 2008
542	Jurong West Ave 1 → Fullerton Rd	16 Jul 2007	22 Feb 2016*	Replaced by City Direct 657
543	Jurong East Ave 1 → Fullerton Rd	16 Jul 2007	29 Feb 2016*	Replaced by City Direct 657
544	Bedok Nth Rd → Fullerton Rd	16 Jul 2007	3 Jan 2017*	Partially replaced by City Direct 659
545	Bedok Nth Ave 4 → Fullerton Rd	16 Jul 2007	3 Jan 2017*	Partially replaced by City Direct 659
546	Geylang Bahru → Shenton Way	4 Apr 2008	29 Aug 2016
548	Ang Mo Kio Ave 5 → Fullerton Rd	25 Feb 2008	13 Jul 2015*	Partially replaced by City Direct 668
549	Ang Mo Kio St 61 → Fullerton Rd	25 Feb 2008	3 Oct 2016*	Partially replaced by City Direct 652
550	Rivervale Dr → Fullerton Rd	25 Feb 2008	13 Jul 2015*	Partially replaced by City Direct 654
552	Tampines St 45 → Fullerton Rd	21 Apr 2008	3 Jan 2017*	Partially replaced by City Direct 664
553	Tampines Ave 9 → Fullerton Rd	21 Apr 2008	3 Jan 2017*	Partially replaced by City Direct 664
554	Tampines Ave 4 → Fullerton Rd	21 Apr 2008	29 Aug 2016*	Partially replaced by Express 513
555	Bt Panjang Ring Rd → Fullerton Rd	25 Feb 2008	3 Apr 2017
556	Choa Chu Kang Nth 7 → Fullerton Rd	25 Feb 2008	15 Sep 2014*	Partially replaced by City Direct 662
557	Choa Chu Kang Ave 3 → Fullerton Rd	25 Feb 2008	15 Sep 2014*	Partially replaced by Express 982E
558	Yishun Ring Rd → Fullerton Rd	21 Apr 2008	25 Aug 2014*	Partially replaced by City Direct 670
559	Yishun Ave 11 → Fullerton Rd	21 Apr 2008	1 Sep 2014*	Partially replaced by City Direct 663 & Express 850E
560	Pandan Valley → Fullerton Rd	30 Jun 2008	26 Sep 2016*
561	Upp Aljunied Rd → Fullerton Rd	30 Jun 2008	14 Nov 2016
563	Bt Timah Rd → Fullerton Rd	30 Jun 2008	29 Aug 2016
564	Farrer Rd → Fullerton Rd	30 Jun 2008	15 Aug 2016*
565	Ah Hood Rd → Fullerton Rd	30 Jun 2008	29 Aug 2016*
566	Meyer Rd → Fullerton Rd	30 Jun 2008	4 Aug 2014*
569	Punggol Ctrl → Fullerton Rd	25 Feb 2008	18 Jan 2016*	Partially replaced by City Direct 666
585	Bedok Reservoir Rd → Fullerton Rd	21 Apr 2008	3 Jan 2017*	Partially replaced by City Direct 658
586	Bt Panjang Ring Rd → Jurong East	8 Sep 2008	6 Feb 2009
587	Woodlands Ring Rd → Shenton Way	30 Jun 2008	28 Nov 2016	Partially replaced by City Direct 665 & Express 951E
588	Sin Ming Ave → Shenton Way	30 Jun 2008	29 Aug 2016*
589	Sunset Way → Fullerton Rd	8 Sep 2008	1 Mar 2017
590	Choa Chu Kang Cres → Shenton Way	8 Sep 2008	3 Jan 2017*	Partially replaced by City Direct 662
597	Lor 2 Toa Payoh → Shenton Way	8 Sep 2008	16 Nov 2009
598	Petir Rd → Shenton Way	8 Sep 2008	19 Dec 2016
599	Hougang St 51 → Shenton Way	8 Sep 2008	29 Aug 2016*	Partially replaced by City Direct 672
761	Ang Mo Kio Ave 2 → Fullerton Rd	17 Jan 2011	3 Oct 2016*

*Operations transferred to private bus operators on the indicated dates

History of Premium Bus Services under SBST/SMRT:

2007 (16 Jul): Launch of 13 Premium Services (532, 533, 534, 535, 536, 537, 538, 539, 540, 542, 543, 544 & 545) by SBS Transit
2007 (30 Jul): Launch of Premium Services 530 & 531 by SMRT Buses
2008 (25 Feb): Launch of 7 Premium Services (548, 549, 550, 555, 556, 557 & 569) by SBS Transit
2008 (4 Apr): Launch of Premium Service 546 by SMRT Buses
2008 (21 Apr): Launch of 6 Premium Services (552, 553, 554, 558, 559 & 585) by SBS Transit
2008 (23 Jun): Implementation of evening peak trips on Premium Service 531
2008 (30 Jun):
- Launch of 6 Premium Services (560, 561, 563, 564, 565 & 566) by SBS Transit
- Launch of Premium Services 587 & 588 by SMRT Buses
2008 (21 Jul): Discontinuation of Premium Services 537 & 540 by SBS Transit
2008 (8 Sep): Launch of 8 Premium Services (586, 587, 588, 589, 590, 597, 598 & 599) by SMRT Buses
2009 (6 Feb): Discontinuation of Premium Service 586 by SMRT Buses
2009 (1 Jun): Launch of Premium Service 529 by SMRT Buses, serving Lentor estate after the operations of Service 825 on Saturdays
2009 (5 Oct): Route amendment for 21 Premium Services (532, 533, 534, 535, 536, 542, 543, 548, 549, 550, 555, 556, 557, 558, 559, 560, 561, 563, 564, 565 & 569) to Cecil St instead of Robinson Rd
2009 (16 Nov): Discontinuation of Premium Service 597 by SMRT Buses
2011 (17 Jan):
- Launch of Premium Service 761 by SBS Transit
- Route amendment for Premium Service 549 to Ang Mo Kio Ave 3 instead of Ang Mo Kio Ave 1
2014 (4 Aug): Handover of Premium Service 566 to Commute Solutions
2014 (11 Aug): Handover of Premium Service 532 to Commute Solutions
2014 (25 Aug): Handover of Premium Service 558 to Commute Solutions
2014 (1 Sep): Handover of Premium Service 559 to Commute Solutions
2014 (15 Sep): Handover of Premium Services 556 & 557 to Commute Solutions
2015 (13 Jul):
- Handover of Premium Service 548 to Aedge Holdings
- Handover of Premium Service 550 to City Bus Services
2016 (18 Jan): Handover of Premium Service 569 to Aedge Holdings
2016 (22 Feb): Handover of Premium Service 542 to Aedge Holdings
2016 (29 Feb): Handover of Premium Service 543 to Aedge Holdings
2016 (15 Aug):
- Handover of Premium Services 533 & 536 to Aedge Holdings
- Handover of Premium Service 564 to Commute Solutions
2016 (29 Aug):
- Handover of Premium Service 530 to EML Transport
- Handover of Premium Services 531 & 588 to Commute Solutions
- Handover of Premium Services 534 & 565 to City Transit
- Handover of Premium Service 538 to Aedge Holdings
- Discontinuation of Premium Service 546 by SMRT Buses
- Handover of Premium Service 554 to Tan Bus Transport
- Discontinuation of Premium Service 563 by SBS Transit
- Handover of Premium Service 599 to Xing Sheng Transport Service
2016 (26 Sep): Handover of Premium Services 539 & 560 to Commute Solutions
2016 (3 Oct): Handover of Premium Services 549 & 761 to Commute Solutions
2016 (14 Nov): Discontinuation of Premium Service 561 by SBS Transit
2016 (28 Nov):
- Discontinuation of Premium Service 535 by SBS Transit
- Discontinuation of Premium Service 587 by SMRT Buses
2016 (19 Dec): Discontinuation of Premium Service 598 by SMRT Buses
2017 (3 Jan):
- Discontinuation of Premium Service 529 by SMRT Buses
- Handover of Premium Services 544, 552, 585 & 590 to Commute Solutions
- Handover of Premium Services 545 & 553 to APT Travel
2017 (1 Mar): Discontinuation of Premium Service 589 by SMRT Buses
2017 (3 Apr): Discontinuation of Premium Service 555 by SBS Transit