Tower Transit Singapore has been awarded a contract by Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) to operate bus services and maintain vehicles on Sentosa Island. The award marks Tower Transit’s entry into private bus operations, having previously operated public bus services for the Land Transport Authority (LTA) under the Bus Contracting Model.
The contract was awarded on 29 May 2025, with a base 5-year term, and an option to extend for an additional five years. Tower Transit will operate three guest bus services and SDC employee bus services starting from 1 October 2025, and the Sentosa Beach Shuttle from 1 January 2026.
With this award, Tower Transit will succeed ComfortDelGro Bus, which has operated the island’s shuttle buses under the previous term contract from 1 July 2020. Tower Transit will be responsible for not only operating the shuttle services but also maintaining the fleet of vehicles owned by SDC, the statutory body responsible for the management and development of Sentosa Island.
Current Operations & Vehicle Fleet
ComfortDelGro Bus (CDG Bus) has been operating Sentosa’s bus services from 1 July 2020, having been awarded the previous contract by SDC. The contract start date was clarified by a SDC spokesperson to The Straits Times.
The current fleet includes a combination of CDG-owned buses and those owned by SDC. Notable vehicles in the fleet as of May 2025 include:
| CDG-owned Buses | SDC-owned Buses |
CDG Bus also introduced additional bus assets owned by them to enhance the fleet, including two Volvo B8RLE single-deck buses with SC Auto bodywork in December 2020, Zhongtong N12 buses in November 2022 and Volvo B9L buses in February 2023.
Electrification of Sentosa Bus Fleet
Under Sentosa’s sustainability roadmap outlined in 2021, the island aims to electrify 100% of intra-island public transportation by 2025. This initiative includes replacing diesel buses with electric alternatives. CDG Bus has supported this transition by regularly deploying the Zhongtong N12 electric buses on Sentosa Bus A since November 2022. A trial of the BYD C8 electric coach was also conducted in 2021.
According to Kelsian Group in a filing to the Australian Securities Exchange (dated 30 May 2025), it expects to maintain 14 electric buses for SDC. The model of electric bus being procured by SDC has yet to be announced.
Bus Services:
These bus services, currently operated by CDG Bus for SDC, will be taken over by Tower Transit under this new contract from 1 October 2025:
| Guest Shuttles | Employee Shuttles |
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In addition to these bus services, Tower Transit will also operate the Sentosa Beach Shuttle, which is served by electric road trams and supplemented by minibuses during peak times from 1 January 2026.
Other shuttle bus services on Sentosa Island (i.e. Resorts World Sentosa) are not covered under this contract. Operations for Sentosa Cove Shuttle Services are not included in this contract.
Fleet Maintenance
According to a SDC spokesperson to The Straits Times, its fleet of vehicles are currently maintained by Strides Premier Automotive Services.
Under this term contract from 1 October 2025, Tower Transit would also take over the maintenance of over 40 vehicles in Sentosa.
SDC Tender
The contract issued by Sentosa Development Corporation on 26 August 2024, SDC/21.30.192(24-29), called for a Term Contract To Operate Transportation Services And Maintenance Of Vehicles For Sentosa Development Corporation For A Period Of 5 Years With An Option To Extend For Another 5 Years.
As part of this contract, Tower Transit will maintain over 40 vehicles on behalf of SDC, including 14 electric buses and 10 electric trams. The fleet, maintenance and garaging facilities are owned and provided by SDC.
The contract award is valued at approximately $22.5 million for the initial five years, with an option to extend for another five years valued at $31.5 million. Bus and maintenance services are expected to commence on 1 October 2025, and Sentosa Beach Shuttle services on 1 January 2026, for the initial five-year term.
The contract structure mirrors the Bus Contracting Model (BCM), wherein public transport operators compete under an open tender to secure term contracts for bus operations from the Land Transport Authority. Like the BCM, SDC owns bus assets and contracts out operations and maintenance to the operator.
With success in operating BCM contracts such as the Bulim Bus Package & Sembawang-Yishun Bus Package, Tower Transit Singapore is expected to tap on its experience to manage the SDC operations. Tower Transit Singapore was also granted a contract extension of 2 years by the Land Transport Authority in May 2025.
Tower Transit’s bid won out over other participating tenderers, namely ComfortDelGro Bus, Strides Mobility, Tong Tar Transport, and Woodlands Transport. A list of bid prices is enclosed below.
Bid Prices:
| No. | Company | Bid Price: (Base Year 1 to 5) |
Bid Price: (Option Year 1 to 5) |
Bid Price: (Total) |
| 1 | ComfortDelGro Bus Pte. Ltd. | $27,067,592 | $36,030,104 | $63,097,696 |
| 2 | Strides Mobility Pte. Ltd. | $29,143,713 | $35,354,591 | $64,498,304 |
| 3 | Tong Tar Transport Service Pte Ltd | $20,010,629 | $26,805,392 | $46,816,021 |
| 4 | Tower Transit Singapore Pte. Ltd. | $22,553,015 | $31,502,454 | $54,055,469 |
| 5 | Woodlands Transport Service Pte Ltd | $30,736,886 | $42,408,910 | $73,145,796 |
GeBIZ reflects the awarded contract sum as $54,055,469, which is a sum of Base and Option prices. The initial contract is however only for the Base 5-year term, with the 5-year extension subject to SDC exercising the option.
See Also:
External Links & References:
- GeBIZ
- Kelsian subsidiary Tower Transit Singapore awarded bus contract | Capital Brief
- Award New Singapore Bus Services Contract – Kelsian Group
- Tower Transit to run bus services, beach shuttle on Sentosa for 5 years – The Straits Times
Back to Sentosa Bus Services
comfortdelgro shld operate RWS 8.
I hope tower transit gets to operate Mandai Shuttle Buses and RWS 8 also.
Only time will tell.. RWS8 is under RWS not SDC.
I wonder which of the 2 will control the Sentosa buses, Bulim or Mandai? Also, I guess there will be cameo appearances of A22s, Citaros and OC500LE on the Sentosa services?
I don’t think public buses will be use instead they will lease low floor Ev buses from Yutong Zhongtong or BYD.Managemet wise I think a mix of old and new staffs from both depots.
No chances of any public bus appearance? Would it have a depot of its own for Sentosa buses? Or buses will carry out maintenance at either Bulim or Mandai?
SDC got their own garage internal,Now got 10 charging facilities and adding more.Got their own pump island and 2 bus wash.Got around 35 bus lots and they will upgrade more.I hope SDC can consider EV bendy for guest svc can deploy during holidays and weekends.