Singapore Public Bus Timeline (1996 – 2005)

Since the independence of Singapore in 1965, the public bus system serving the country had undergone multiple significant changes and evolved to become what it is today. In this article, we will take a walk down the memory lane and go through the bus service changes that had occurred over the decade between 1996 and 2005.

This article covers changes to public bus services between 1 Jan 1996 and 31 Dec 2005 only. If you are looking for bus service changes before 1996 and after 2005, please see the subsequent articles in this series (2006 – 2015 & 2016 – 2025).

Overview

For the operating period between 1 Jan 1996 and 31 Dec 2005, the public bus system in Singapore continued in its developments with more changes to its public bus services in tandem with new developments around the country.

3 major bus rationalisation exercises took place during the operating period in conjunction with the opening of the Woodlands MRT Extension, Bukit Panjang LRT and North East Line in 1996, 1999 and 2003 respectively. More bus services were introduced or amended during the operating period to cater to new developments in existing residential estates and new residential estates such as Sembawang, Sengkang and Punggol.

The first generation of Express bus services were introduced between 1997 and 2000 to provide alternative and quicker travel options in a bid to encourage the use of public transport in Singapore in conjunction with the implementation of the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system. In 2005, Fast Forward bus services were introduced by SBS Transit as limited-stop route variants of existing trunk bus services, which aims to reduce travel time for commuters during the peak hours.

With the evolving nightlife in the city centre of Singapore, night bus services were introduced between 2000 and 2001, providing late night travellers direct connections between the city centre and residential estates during midnight on Fridays, Saturdays and eves of major public holidays. As of 31 Dec 2005, SBS Transit operates 6 Nite Owl bus services, while SMRT Buses operates 7 NightRider bus services.

In addition, other types of non-basic bus services were introduced by SBS Transit between 2004 and 2005 to cater to niche segments of commuters. CityBuzz bus services aim at providing tourists with greater convenience to travel around different attractions in the city centre of Singapore. Chinatown Direct bus services were targeted at senior citizens who frequent the heritage district of Chinatown, providing them with a direct connection to Chinatown and popular residential estates. Parks bus services provide park-goers with convenient access to the most frequented major parks in Singapore. Last but not least, Stadium Direct bus services provide concert-goers and football fans with a direct bus ride home after major events in the Stadium vicinity.

New air-conditioned buses were purchased to replace the retiring non air-conditioned buses, allowing SBS to achieve a majority fleet of air-conditioned buses and TIBS to attain a fully air-conditioned bus fleet. The operation of more fully air-conditioned bus services is also made possible through the retrofitting of air-conditioning units on numerous existing single-deck buses.

To cater to the increasing passenger demands of public bus services, more high capacity buses were purchased during the operating period to provide more comfortable rides for commuters. Over 300 articulated buses are brought in by TIBS between 1996 and 2004 to cater to heavily utilised TIBS bus services, in contrast with the double-deck buses operated by SBS / SBS Transit.

The operating period also witnessed the formation of multi-modal public transport operators, which evolved from the standalone public bus operators at the beginning of the operating period. SBS became a rail operator upon clinching the operating license for the NEL, leading to its renaming to SBS Transit in 2001. TIBS was acquired as a subsidiary by existing rail operator SMRT in 2001 and subsequently merged with the organisation in 2004. A final round of operator transfers for bus services between SBS and TIBS was conducted between 1999 and 2000 as a result of SBS winning the NEL operating license.

Bus Service Index

Year 1996:

Year 1997:

See Page 2 for Years 1998 – 1999, Page 3 for Years 2000 – 2001, Page 4 for Years 2002 – 2003, Page 5 for Years 2004 – 2005