Toa Payoh Bus Interchange

Toa Payoh Bus Interchange is an Integrated Transport Hub (ITH) located at Toa Payoh Town Centre, serving the town of Toa Payoh and Braddell. It is the first air-conditioned bus interchange in Singapore, integrated within the Toa Payoh HDB Hub and built on top of Toa Payoh MRT Station.

Details:

Name Toa Payoh Bus Interchange  |  大巴窑巴士转换站
Address 530 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh, Singapore 310530
BCM Route Package Bishan-Toa Payoh Bus Package
Anchor Operator SBS Transit Ltd
Bus Routes 20 (SBS Transit)
1 (Tower Transit)
Berths 4 sawtooth, 14 end-on
Rail Connection  NS19   Toa Payoh

The Interchange:

Toa Payoh Bus Interchange is a bus station located in the residential town of Toa Payoh. Connecting with Toa Payoh MRT Station along the North-South Line, the interchange is a transport node for commuters heading in and out of town, allowing for convenient transfers between the rail network and the many bus services at the interchange.

Toa Payoh Interchange - Central Concourse
Toa Payoh Interchange – Central Concourse

Opened in May 2002, Toa Payoh Bus Interchange was the first air-conditioned bus interchange to be opened in Singapore, as well as the first Integrated Transport Hub (ITH). The interchange is integrated within the retail portion of Toa Payoh HDB Hub, which also houses commercial offices and residential developments under one roof.

The facility is built on top of the underground Toa Payoh MRT Station, which adds to the convenience of transferring between buses and trains. The interchange design is a unique mix of end-on berths on the western side, and sawtooth berths on the eastern side.

History:

  • 1971: Toa Payoh Central Bus Terminal begins operations
  • 1983: Toa Payoh Bus Interchange is built
  • 1998: Interchange demolished, shifted to a temporary site
  • 2002: New Toa Payoh Interchange opens.

Toa Payoh New Town was developed in the mid-1960s, and by the late 1960s, there were still no proper facilities for buses at Toa Payoh. The roadside bus terminal along Lorong 1 Toa Payoh was a constant source of traffic jams, and other roadside terminals along Lorong 6 Toa Payoh and Kim Keat Avenue existed back then. After much public appeal, the Housing and and Development Board (HDB) constructed a new bus terminal the junction of Lorong 2 Toa Payoh and Lorong 4 Toa Payoh. Opened in August 1971, the Toa Payoh Central Bus Terminal, otherwise also known as Toa Payoh Town Centre Bus Terminal, was able to accommodate 130 buses. The terminal would cease operations in the 1980s.

Layout of Toa Payoh Interchange in 1983
Layout of Toa Payoh Interchange in 1983

On 26 December 1983, Toa Payoh Bus Interchange was opened. Constructed over the existing site, it contained many new facilities such as coin-changing machines and information counters. That same day, the Toa Payoh Bus Plan was initiated, which reorganized the bus routes within Toa Payoh and with it, the introduction of six new Feeder bus routes.

On 31 May 1998, operations were shifted to the Toa Payoh Temporary Bus Interchange across Lorong 6 Toa Payoh, where Toa Payoh Town Park currently sits now. The old interchange site was demolished to make way for the construction of HDB Hub, the new headquarters of the Housing and Development Board (HDB).

On 19 May 2002, the current Toa Payoh Bus Interchange was officially opened by then-Minister for Transport, Yeo Cheow Tong. Integrated within the HDB Hub, the facility is directly connected to Toa Payoh MRT Station and offers retail, commercial and residential developments under one roof. It is notably the first Integrated Transport Hub (ITH) in Singapore and the first air-conditioned bus interchange.

Feeder bus services:

Toa Payoh Interchange has housed seven feeder services:

  • Service 230: Looped at Lorong 8 Toa Payoh. Withdrawn. Reintroduced in 2023; looping at Kim Keat Ave
  • Service 231: Looped at Braddel via Lorong 1, 4 and 6. Green/White plate designations were used for clockwise and anticlockwise loops respectively. Merged into a single Service 231 when it was amended to loop at Toa Payoh Lorong 5 in 2012.
  • Service 232: Looped at Lorong 2 Toa Payoh, using Green/White plate. Amended to Lorong 4 and TPY Central in 1993, and merged with 237 to loop at Lorong 7.
  • Service 235: Looped at Lorong 3 Toa Payoh. Amended to Toa Payoh East in 2010, and extended to Toa Payoh Rise (Caldecott MRT) in 2012 via Lorong 3, 2 and 1.
  • Service 237: Looped at Lorong 7 Toa Payoh, via Lorong 6 and Toa Payoh East. Merged with 232 and withdrawn in 2002.
  • Service 238: Looped at Lorong 8 Toa Payoh, no route change.
  • Service 239: Looped at Kim Keat Avenue, withdrawn in 1985 after road realignment works to accommodate the slip road to PIE.

Interchange facilities:

  • Interchange offices (SBS Transit)
  • Top Up Kiosks
  • SimplyGo Ticket Office
  • Drivers lounge
  • NTWU Canteen
  • Boarding and alighting berths
  • Information boards & Bus arrival displays
  • Service guide racks
  • Retail outlets
  • Toilets

Bus Services:

Service Berth Destination Remarks
8 A7 Tampines
26 A12 Bedok
28 A13 Tampines
31 A5 Tampines
73 B3 Ang Mo Kio Looping Point
88 A9 Pasir Ris
90 A6 ↺ Airport Road
90A A6 Airport Road (Paya Lebar Air Base) Short Trip Service
139 A3 Bukit Merah
139A A3 Jalan Bahagia (Bet Blks 33/34) Short Trip Service
141 B3 Lorong 1 Geylang
142 B2 ↺ Potong Pasir Avenue 1
142A B2 Upper Serangoon Road (Sant Ritz) Short Trip Service
143 A2 Jurong East
145 A4 Buona Vista
155 A14 Bedok
157 B4 Boon Lay
159 B4 Sengkang
163 B3 Sengkang
230 B4 ↺ Toa Payoh East
231 B1 ↺ Lorong 5 Toa Payoh
232 B2 ↺ Toa Payoh East
235 B2 ↺ Toa Payoh Link
238 B1 ↺ Lorong 8 Toa Payoh
Berth Allocation:

In Toa Payoh Interchange, A-prefixes are used for end-on berths while B-prefixes are used for sawtooth berths. Unused queuing berths are often used as additional parking space for other services.

Berth Type Services
A1 End-on
A2 End-on 143
A3 End-on 139/139A
A4 End-on 145
A5 End-on 31
A6 End-on 90/90A
A7 End-on 8
A8 End-on
A9 End-on 88
A10 End-on
A11 End-on
A12 End-on 26
A13 End-on 28
A14 End-on 155
Alighting Linear For alighting only
B1 Sawtooth 231, 238
B2 Sawtooth 142/142A, 232, 235
B3 Sawtooth 73, 141, 163
B4 Sawtooth 157, 159, 230

Gallery (Sawtooth Berths):

Gallery (End-on berths):

Station Entrances:


External Links & References:

Back to Bus Interchanges and Terminals
Back to Bus Articles

23 thoughts on “Toa Payoh Bus Interchange

  • 10 May 2024 at 7:17 AM
    Permalink

    Toa Payoh could have been like this like the temporary interchange.

    7- end-on berths on the western side, 7-end on berths and 5 sawtooth berths on the eastern side.
    Overall, there will be 31 end-on parking lots (3 end-on berths will have 3 parking lots and 11 will have 2 parking lots each). For the sawtooth, there will be 31 parking lots too.

    Reply
  • 12 April 2024 at 7:33 AM
    Permalink

    Toa Payoh ITH could have been a little bigger in my opinion.

    Reply
  • 14 February 2024 at 11:19 AM
    Permalink

    Toa Payoh should have been a bit bigger with 17 end-on berths & 5 sawtooth berths with 5 alighting berths.

    12 end-on berths on the western side, 5 end-on and 5 sawtooth berths on the eastern side.

    35 end-on parking lots for the end-on berths & 27 parking lots for the sawtooth berths

    Reply
  • 8 February 2024 at 12:24 PM
    Permalink

    SBS Transit Should introduce Feeder 237 between Toa Payoh & Toa Payoh Link (Loop)
    Route of Feeder 237: Toa Payoh Int, Lor 1 Toa Payoh, Toa Payoh Rise, Toa Payoh Link (Loop), Toa Payoh Rise, Lor 1 Toa Payoh, Toa Payoh Int

    Faster route between Toa Payoh & Caldecott. Supplements Svc 235

    Reply
    • 16 July 2024 at 2:33 PM
      Permalink

      Then make 235 loop at its pre-2010 route? No Way!

      Reply
      • 9 August 2024 at 10:24 PM
        Permalink

        I mean he said like one route to serve Lor 1 Toa Payoh and Toa Payoh Rise duplicating Svc 141’s sector

        Reply

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