Soon Lee Bus Depot

Soon Lee Bus Depot (also called Soon Lee Bus Park by SBS Transit) is a multi-storey bus depot in Singapore’s Jurong Industrial Estate. It previously served as SBS Transit’s primary hub for bus maintenance, refuelling, and operations in the Jurong West region.

In September 2024, Soon Lee Bus Depot was handed over to the Land Transport Authority and leased to SMRT Buses, as the awarded operator of the Jurong West Bus Package (1st tendered term) under Contract PT218B.

Soon Lee Bus Depot, also known as Soon Lee Bus Park or SLBP by SBS Transit, is a multi-storey facility located in the far west of Singapore. It serves as a hub for the maintenance and refuelling of buses operating in the Jurong West area. Situated along Soon Lee Road within the Jurong Industrial Estate, the depot spans approximately 26,670 square metres.

As Singapore’s first multi-storey bus park, the depot was constructed by SBS Transit at a cost of $57 million, replacing the former Jurong Depot at 4 Penjuru Road, while also being designed to accommodate future expansions of the bus fleet. It was officially opened on 8 August 2002 by Minister for Transport, Mr. Yeo Cheow Tong. SBS Transit owned the leasehold title for the property, with a land tenure of 30 years starting from 1 April 2000.

The facility spans three floors, with the ground floor dedicated to refuelling, washing, and maintenance activities, while the upper floors provide bus parking space.

SBS Transit Tenure

During SBS Transit’s occupancy period from 2002 to 2024, Soon Lee Bus Depot remained the company’s only multi-storey bus depot. The depot also includes administrative offices and the Bus Operations Control Center (BOCC) for SBS Transit’s West District, which oversaw buses from Bukit Batok Depot, Ayer Rajah Bus Park, and Hougang Depot.

The depot is also a route terminus for Bus Services 185, 502 and 502A. Service 185 between Soon Lee Depot and Buona Vista was introduced in December 2006, while Express 502/A was extended from Pioneer Rd North to Soon Lee Depot in February 2009.

Unique Fleet

Soon Lee Bus Depot garaged 12 Volvo B10BLE CNG buses for most of their lifespan, commonly deploying them on Services 66, 105, 143, 157, 183, and 243G/W. These buses were refuelled at commercial CNG stations located at Jurong Island and Toh Tuck. In late February 2017, all the buses were transferred to Bukit Batok Bus Depot, where they remained until their retirement in 2019.

Soon Lee was also formerly home to Volvo B10M Mark IV (PSV Soon Chow) buses from 2004 to 2011. Ten of these buses were transferred from SBS Leisure, where they had previously operated on Sentosa bus routes. While two of the buses were converted into training vehicles for Hougang Depot, the remaining eight were garaged at Soon Lee Depot and deployed on Service 78 until they reached the end of their lifespan.

Another unique bus model associated with Soon Lee was the Volvo Olympian 2-Axle. In the mid-2000s, as non-air-conditioned (NAC) buses were being phased out across Singapore, the last remaining NAC buses—Volvo Olympian 2-Axles—were transferred to Soon Lee Bus Park. These buses were deployed on Jurong Industrial Services until they reached the end of their lifespan in 2011. Some of these buses were granted a two-year lifespan extension and were retired in 2013.

Soon Lee Bus Park also garaged several demonstrator buses, such as the Volvo B7RLE (SBS8030L) between 2007 and 2016, the Sunlong SLK6121UF14H hybrid buses (SBS8000Z & SBS8001X) between 2010 and 2012, and the Volvo B5RLE Hybrid (SBS8002T) during its 2015 trial period. It would also take in the Scania K230UB demonstrator unit SBS8033D.

Sale & Transfer of Soon Lee Bus Depot to LTA

The SBS Transit Annual Report 2022 disclosed that on 13 June 2022, SBS Transit signed an agreement with the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to sell and transfer Soon Lee Bus Depot in 2024. The depot will be sold at its carrying value at the time of transfer, following a series of renovations and maintenance works to be completed before the handover in 2024.

This timeline aligns with the expiry of the Negotiated Contract term for the Jurong West Bus Package in August 2024. The transfer of Soon Lee Depot to LTA ownership facilitates the shift from a Negotiated Contract to a Tendered Contract, under which LTA will lease the depot to a bus operator selected through a competitive tender process.

In May 2023, LTA called a tender for the Condition Survey for Soon Lee Bus Depot (Contract BD101).

PT218B – Jurong West Bus Package (1st Tendered Term: Sep 2024 to 2029):

The first tendered term for the Jurong West Bus Package was offered on 23 November 2022, as part of a joint tender with the Bukit Merah Bus Package under Contract PT218: Bus Contracting – Bukit Merah and Jurong West Bus Packages.

On 18 August 2023, the Jurong West Bus Package was awarded to SMRT Buses Ltd, and SMRT Buses took over depot operations from SBS Transit on 1 September 2024.

Despite the transfer of the anchor operator, SBS Transit maintains a small presence at Soon Lee as a tenant operator. Bus services such as 30, 99, 174, and 198 continue to be housed at Soon Lee.

Anchor Operator History

• 8 Aug 2002 – 31 Aug 2024: SBS Transit Ltd
• 1 Sep 2024 – Present: SMRT Buses Ltd

Depot Fleet:

Soon Lee Bus Depot currently houses the following models of buses under SMRT Buses:

Single Deck Buses

• MAN A22
• Mercedes-Benz Citaro
• Scania K230UB

Double-Deck Buses

• Alexander Dennis Enviro500 (3 Door)
• MAN A95
• MAN A95 (3-Door)
• Volvo B9TL

The tenant operator, SBS Transit, also parks buses at Soon Lee Bus Depot.

Bus Services:

Gallery (2017):

Gallery (2014):

External Links & References:

• Speech by Minister Yeo Cheow Tong, at the DELGRO/NTWU National Day Observance Ceremony Cum Official Opening of Soon Lee Bus Depot, 08 August 2002, 10.30 am (nas.gov.sg)

Back to Bus Depots and Bus Parks