Soon Lee Bus Depot is a bus depot under SBS Transit’s West District. Located at Soon Lee Road within the Jurong Industrial Estate, it serves as a parking and maintenance facility for bus operations mainly around Jurong East, Boon Lay and Tuas.
Soon Lee Bus Depot will be handed over to SMRT Buses in September 2024, as the awarded operator of the Jurong West Bus Package (1st tendered term).
| General Information | |
| Name | Soon Lee Bus Depot / 顺利巴士车厂 |
| Address | 28 Soon Lee Road, Singapore 628083 |
| Depot Information | |
| BCMÂ Route Package | Jurong West Bus Package |
| Incumbent Operator | SBS Transit SMRT Buses (From Sep 2024) |
| Years In Operation | 2002–Present |
| Catchment | Jurong East, Boon Lay, Joo Koon, Tuas |
Soon Lee Bus Depot (also called Soon Lee Bus Park, or SLBP) is a multi-storey bus depot serving the far west of Singapore and provides maintenance and refuelling work for buses operating on routes serving the Jurong West area. It is located along Soon Lee Road, within the Jurong Industrial Estate, and covers an approximate land area of 26,670 square metres.
Soon Lee Bus Depot was the first multi-storey bus park for SBS Transit, and was built at a cost of $57 million. It replaced the former Jurong Depot located at 4 Penjuru Road, while also catering for the future expansion of its bus fleet. It was officially opened by Minister For Transport Mr Yeo Cheow Tong on 8 August 2002, and SBS Transit owns the leasehold title for the property, with a land tenure of 30 years starting from 1 April 2000.
Soon Lee Bus Depot is currently also SBS Transit’s only multi-storey bus depot, spanning three floors. The ground floor houses refuelling and washing facilities, as well as repair and maintenance facilities. The upper floors house more space for the parking of buses. The depot houses administrative offices to support day-to-day bus operations, as well as the Bus Operations Control Center (BOCC) for SBS Transit’s West District, covering Bukit Batok Depot, Ayer Rajah Bus Park and Hougang Depot buses.
The depot is also a route terminus for Bus Services 185, 502 and 502A.
Sale & Transfer of Soon Lee Bus Depot to LTA
On 13 June 2022, SBS Transit signed an agreement with the Land Transport Authority on the sale and transfer of Soon Lee Bus Depot in 2024. The bus depot would be sold at the carrying value upon transfer in 2024, subsequent to a series of renovations and maintenance works to be completed before the handover date in 2024.
This was reported in the SBS Transit Annual Report 2022, and is in line with the contract expiry of the Negotiated Contract term for the Jurong West Bus Package in August 2024. This transfer of the depot to LTA ownership would facilitate the LTA leasing out the bus depot to the successful tenderer of the first Tendered Package term (Contract PT218) for the Jurong West Bus Package.
In May 2023, LTA called a tender for the Condition Survey for Soon Lee Bus Depot (Contract BD101).
SMRT Buses will operate Soon Lee Bus Depot from September 2024 as the anchor operator with the award of the Jurong West Bus Package on 18 August 2023.
Anchor Operator History
- 8 Aug 2002 – 31 Aug 2024: SBS Transit Ltd
- 1 Sep 2024 onwards: SMRT Buses Ltd
Depot Fleet:
Soon Lee Bus Park currently houses the following models of buses:
Single Deck Buses
Double Decker Buses
Bus Services:
| Service | Destination | Remarks |
| 185 | Buona Vista | |
| 502 | ↺ Central Boulevard | Express Service |
| 502A | Central Boulevard (Downtown Stn Exit E) | Express Service / Short Trip Service |
Gallery (2017):
Gallery (2014):
External Links & References:
Back to Bus Depots and Bus Parks
Well, if they can build a new multistorey bus depot at Sengkang, I’m sure they can build a new multistorey bus depot at Jurong West, once the land lease of Soon Lee Bus Depot is up.
Using the existing Soon Lee Bus Depot was probably to optimize the existing resources.
After all, Soon Lee Bus Depot still has 6 years of useful life after 2024. Unlike the previous bus depots which are much older.
It will also set the precedent for any transfer of operator in the new LTA bus depots in the future.
Actually, I am personally predicting, a depot rotation may happen.
Bulim Bus Package: Bulim Bus Depot -> Tengah Bus Depot, when it is ready in 2027.
Jurong West Bus Package: Soon Lee Bus Depot -> Bulim Bus Depot.
This is because the Bulim Bus Depot was only recently commissioned in 2015 (8 years ago), and it is actually quite near to the Boon Lay Bus Interchange, and it is also quite accessible to the Tuas Bus Terminal and the Joo Koon Bus Interchange. It will still have 18 years of lifespan (assuming it’s 30 years) after 2027. So might as well use it for the Jurong West Bus Package, since building a bus depot requires a very substantial investment.
Furthermore, the Bulim Bus Depot is near to the surrounding HDB estates, so accommodation for the bus drivers won’t be a problem, unlike if the bus depot is located in a remote location like Tuas.
2027 would be around 3 years after 2024. It may even be a mid-term transfer of depot to the Bulim Bus Depot for the Jurong West Bus package, and a new-term transfer of depot to Tengah Bus Depot for the Bulim bus package.
Renaming of the Bulim Bus Depot (to Jurong West Bus Depot) and the Bulim Bus Package (to Tengah Bus Package) may even happen to avoid confusion.
That is, if the above-mentioned depot rotation would indeed happen for the Jurong West Bus Package.
Anyway, this rotation, even if happen, is definitely only one-time. One should not expect it to be a constant game of playing musical chair. LOL.