(Defunct) Yishun Temporary Bus Interchange

Yishun Temporary Bus Interchange is a former bus interchange located at the Yishun Town Centre.

The interchange served commuters from 14 March 2015 to 7 September 2019, replacing the former Yishun Bus Interchange that was demolished to make way for Northpoint City’s South Wing, an integrated retail, housing and transport project that included the replacement bus interchange: Yishun Integrated Transport Hub.

The interchange was also used for the overnight parking of buses right up till 2021, relieving space constraints at SMRT Ang Mo Kio Depot.


Details:

Name Yishun Temporary Bus Interchange | 义顺临时巴士转换站
Address 20A Yishun Central 1, Singapore 768830
BCM Route Package Sembawang–Yishun Bus Package
Anchor Operator (till Sep 2021) SMRT Buses Ltd
Anchor Operator (from Sep 2021) Tower Transit Singapore Pte Ltd
Bus Routes (As of Sep 2019)
8 (SMRT), 14 (SBST), 1 (GAS), 1 (AC)
Berths 8 sawtooth (inclusive of 5 bendy-friendly sawtooth berths), 4 alighting
Rail Connection
NS13  Yishun

Yishun Temporary Bus Interchange was a former bus interchange located in the residential town of Yishun. Connecting with Yishun MRT station along the North South MRT Line, the interchange was 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.

The pedestrian route from the interchange to Yishun MRT station was via a sheltered walkway across Yishun Central 1, connecting with Northpoint Shopping Centre, where an existing basement underpass connected to the MRT station. Nearby public amenities included Golden Village Yishun, Nee Soon Sports Centre, Yishun Polyclinic and Yishun Pond Park.

The interchange opened on 14 March 2015, intended as a temporary facility while the former Yishun Bus Interchange was demolished to make way for the Northpoint City integrated development. It houses an air-conditioned Integrated Transport Hub (ITH), comprising a shopping mall, offices and residential developments, hence combining residential, retail and commercial developments under one roof.

Yishun Temporary Bus Interchange has a single vehicular concourse area with two ingress/egress points: one along Yishun Central 1, and the other at the junction of Yishun Central / Yishun Avenue 9, both of which are signalised junctions.

Inside, the interchange features 27 rigid/double-decker bus parking bays and 21 bendy bus parking bays as specified by the original design by the Land Transport Authority. 33 more parking bays were added by SMRT to provide additional space for overnight bus parking at Yishun Temp Int in lieu of the lack of parking lots at Ang Mo Kio Depot (AMDEP).

The passenger concourse is a sheltered bus waiting area with commuter facilities such as queue lines at every berth, bus departure timing screens, and retail outlets. A sheltered linkway across Yishun Central 1 connects to Yishun MRT Station via Northpoint Shopping Centre.


Historical Background:

Before the construction of the Yishun Bus Interchange, Yishun had two roadside bus termini; one at Yishun Avenue 5 and the other at Yishun Central. The former handled feeder services like 800 and 801, while trunk routes like 850 and 851 called at the Yishun Central Terminal. In the 1980s, the rising development of Yishun New Town called for a more permanent facility for buses. HDB, who was in-charge of public works, designed and built a permanent facility between Yishun Avenue 2 and Yishun Central 1.

Yishun Bus Interchange opened on 18th January 1987 with five trunk and four feeder bus services, gradually expanding to around 20 services today. In 2003, SBS Transit introduced Service 39 to Yishun, followed by Service 85 in 2006. In December 2010, private operator Advance Coaches introduced AC7, a cross border bus route to Johor Bahru. Two SMRT bus services, 803 and 860, were also introduced under the Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP) in February 2014 and October 2012 respectively.

The shift to Yishun Temporary Interchange:

On 14 March 2015, Yishun Bus Interchange was relocated to a temporary facility along Yishun Central 1, while the former interchange was demolished to make way for a future integrated development. By 2019, Yishun will house an air-conditioned Integrated Public Transport Hub (ITH), comprising a shopping mall, offices and residential developments.

The temporary interchange was already used as a bus park to relieve the parking space crunch at AMDEP months before the opening of the temporary interchange. 4 parking lots were allocated to SBS Transit for Services 39 & 85, 1 lot to Advance Coach AC7 and 1 lot to the KTPH Shuttle. With the opening of the temporary interchange, height restrictions were lifted for bus services previously using the end-on berths (39, 85, 852, 855 & 857), allowing double-deck buses to be deployed.

Volunteer Service Ambassadors (from Friends Of SMRT) were stationed on 14 Mar 2015, from 8am to 5pm, at the temporary interchange and the vicinity to guide commuters. The metal berth queues, information panels, berth display signs in Yishun Temp Int were reused from Bedok Temp Int by the construction contractor.

Prior to the official opening in March 2015, the temporary interchange was used as a bus park to relieve the parking space crunch at Ang Mo Kio Depot (AMDEP).


Post-closure:

Shifting to Yishun Integrated Transport Hub

The temporary interchange ceased operations on 8 September 2019 with the opening of Yishun Integrated Transport Hub located within Northpoint City. SMRT Buses commemorated the last day of operations from Yishun Temporary Bus Interchange with a Last SMRT Bus Ride from Yishun Temporary Bus Interchange at 2349hrs on Bus Service 859 (SG3000T).

After closing to the public, the sheltered pedestrian crossing across Yishun Central 1 was later removed, but the concourse and bus park areas remained intact. SMRT Buses would continue to use the temporary interchange for the overnight parking of buses until 5 September 2021, relieving space constraints at SMRT Ang Mo Kio Depot.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the interchange concourse was used as a testing centre. It started off as a quick test centre (QTC) in June 2021, but was later upgraded to a Regional Screening Centre.

Premise Upkeep

Upkeep of the premises (including the provision of cleaners in the facility) is undertaken by Tower Transit as part of the Sembawang-Yishun Bus Package from 5 Sep 2021, although no bus services are being operated from Yishun Temporary Bus Interchange.


Interchange facilities:

  • Interchange offices (SMRT & SBS Transit)
  • Drivers lounge
  • NTWU Canteen
  • Boarding and alighting berths
  • Information boards
  • Bus arrival displays
  • Retail outlets
  • Toilets

Bus Services:

Service Berth Destination Remarks
39 B1 Tampines Concourse
85 B1 Punggol
85A B1 Sengkang East Road (Sengkang Community Hub) Short Trip Service
103 B1 Serangoon
171 B3 Marina Centre
800 B7 ↺ Sembawang Road
803 B7 ↺ Yishun Avenue 6
804 B8 ↺ Yishun Avenue 11
805 B5 ↺ Yishun Avenue 1
806 B5 ↺ Yishun Avenue 6
807 B6 ↺ Yishun Street 71
807A B6 Yishun Ring Road (Khatib Stn Exit D) Short Trip Service
811 B7 ↺ Yishun Avenue 5
811A B7 Yishun Avenue 5 (Opp Yishun Stn Exit B) Short Trip Service
812 B5 ↺ Yishun Avenue 4
851 B6 Bukit Merah
851e B6 New Bridge Road (Aft Duxton Plain Pk)
Express Service
852 B7 Bukit Batok
853 B2 Lorong 1 Geylang Weekdays & Saturdays
853# B2 Upper East Coast Sundays / Public Holidays
854 B4 Bedok
854e B4 Bedok Express Service / Weekdays Morning Peak
855 B2 HarbourFront
856 B4 Woodlands
857 B2 ↺ Temasek Avenue
857A B2 Yio Chu Kang Road (Opp Sunrise Gdns) Short Trip Service
859 B3 Sembawang
860 B8 ↺ Yio Chu Kang
AC7 B8 JB CIQ Cross-Border route via Causeway
KTPH B6 Khoo Teck Puat Hospital Shuttle Service

Berth Allocation:

Yishun Temporary Bus Interchange has 8 sawtooth berths (B-suffixed).
* Berths B3, B4, B5, B7 & B8 are bendy-friendly berths with longer boarding area suitable for bendy buses as well as rigid and double decker buses.

Berth Services
B1 39, 85/85A, 103
B2 853/853#, 855, 857/857A
B3* 171, 852, 859
B4* 854, 854e, 856
North-South Line MRT Bridging Service towards Marina South Pier
B5* 806, 812 (Ave 4), 805
B6 807/807A, 851, 851e, KTPH
B7* 800, 803, 811 (Ave 2)/811A
North-South Line MRT Bridging Service towards Jurong East
B8* AC7, 804, 860
Bus Stop 59161
(Near B7)
811 (Ave 1), 812 (Ave 3)

 

Gallery: 

 

Route Amendments from Yishun Bus Interchange to Yishun Temporary Bus Interchange (Click to expand)

Route Amendments from Yishun Bus Interchange to Yishun Temporary Bus Interchange————————————————————————————————————————————

Click on the following services below to view the individual route poster to Yishun Temp Int

Services Old Route New Route
39, 85, 811 (Ave 1), 811P, 851, 852, 854 Yishun Ave 2 > Yishun Int Yishun Ave 2 > Yishun Central > Yishun Temp Int
855, 857 Yishun Ave 2 > Yishun Int Yishun Ave 2 > Yishun Central 1 > Yishun Temp Int
171, 856, 859 Yishun Ave 5 > Yishun Ave 2 > Yishun Int Yishun Ave 5 > Yishun Central > Yishun Temp Int
800, 803, 860 Yishun Ave 9 > Yishun Ctrl > Yishun Ave 2 > Yishun Int Yishun Ave 9 > Yishun Temp Int
811 (Ave 2) Yishun Ave 9 > Yishun Ctrl > Yishun Ave 2 > Yishun Int Yishun Ave 9 > Yishun Central > Yishun Ave 2 * Board at BS59161
806 Yishun Central > Yishun Ave 2 > Yishun Int Yishun Central > Yishun Temp Int
812 (Ave 4) Yishun Central > Yishun Ave 2 > Yishun Int Yishun Central > Yishun Ave 2 * Board at BS59161
804, 812 (Ave 3), 812P Yishun Ring Rd > Yishun Ave 2 > Yishun Int Yishun Ring Rd > Yishun Ave 2 > Yishun Central > Yishun Temp Int
853, 853# Yishun Central 1 > Yishun Central > Yishun Ave 2 > Yishun Int Yishun Central 1 > Yishun Temp Int

————————————————————————————————————————————

Bus Stop changes to facilitate Yishun Temporary Interchange

To cater the bus services shifting from the old Interchange to the Temporary Interchange, 4 new bus stops have been constructed, one at Yishun Ave 2 (G), one at Yishun Central (H) and two at Yishun Central 1 (F1 & F2)

Bus stops along Yishun Ave 2, (A1) Northpoint Shopping Ctr and (A2) Aft Northpoint Shopping Ctr, were once final bus stops before Yishun Bus Interchange for many bus services. These two bus stops connected passengers closer to Northpoint Shopping Centre, saving walking time and distance from the bus interchange to the shopping mall.

Intratown Services 811 (To Yishun Ave 1), 812 (To Yishun Ave 3) & Peak Period Short Services 811P & 812P will not call at Yishun Temp Int. Instead, the first stop will be at bus stop B2, BS59161 directly outside the Temp Int.

Bus stop (A1) now serves as an intermediate stop for the Yishun Ave 1 loop for service 811, as well as for trunk services 851 and 852.

(A1) Yishun Ave 2 – BS59072 Northpoint Shopping Ctr
Before Yishun Temp Int Amendment After Yishun Temp Int Amendment
Service Origin Destination Service Origin Destination
171 Marina Centre Ter Yishun Int 811 Yishun Temp Int ↺ Yishun Avenue 1
800 ↺ Sembawang Road Yishun Int 811P Yishun Temp Int ↺ Yishun Avenue 1
803 ↺ Yishun Street 31 Yishun Int 851 Yishun Temp Int Bukit Merah Int
811 ↺ Yishun Avenue 2 Yishun Int 852 Yishun Temp Int Bukit Batok Int
812 ↺ Yishun Avenue 4 Yishun Int  —  —
860 ↺ Yishun Avenue 3 Yishun Int  —  —

Bus stop (A2) continues to serve its purpose as an major interchange bus stop for passing bus services from Woodlands. It is joined by services 39, 85, 854, 854E, which will use this bus stop as an intermediate stop.

(A2) Yishun Ave 2 – BS59073 Aft Northpoint Shopping Ctr
Before Yishun Temp Int Amendment After Yishun Temp Int Amendment
Service Origin Destination Service Origin Destination
169 Woodlands Reg Int Ang Mo Kio Int 169 Woodlands Reg Int Ang Mo Kio Int
804 ↺ Yishun Street 41 Yishun Int  —  —
806 ↺ Yishun Ring Road Yishun Int 39 Yishun Temp Int Tampines Int
853 Lor 1 Geylang Ter Yishun Int 85 Yishun Temp Int Punggol Temp Int
853C Upp East Coast Ter Yishun Int 854 Yishun Temp Int Bedok Int
856 Woodlands Reg Int Yishun Int 854E Yishun Temp Int Bedok Int
858 Woodlands Reg Int ↺ Changi Airport PTB 2 858 Woodlands Reg Int ↺ Changi Airport PTB 2
859 Sembawang Int Yishun Int  —  —
965 Woodlands Reg Int Sengkang Int 965 Woodlands Reg Int Sengkang Int
969 Woodlands Reg Int Tampines Int 969 Woodlands Reg Int Tampines Int

Bus stop (B1) was once an intermediate bus stop for Yishun feeder and intratown bus services. With the shifted position of the bus interchange, the bus services’ original route from Yishun Central 1 is truncated and no longer call at this bus stop. This bus stop will remain unused until the interchange shifts back to its original position in 2019.

(B1) Yishun Central – BS59169 Bet Blks 201/202
Before Yishun Temp Int Amendment After Yishun Temp Int Amendment
Service Origin Destination Service Origin Destination
800 Yishun Int ↺ Sembawang Road  —  —
803 Yishun Int ↺ Yishun Street 31  —  —
806 Yishun Int ↺ Yishun Ring Rd  —  —
811 Yishun Int ↺ Yishun Avenue 2  —  —
812 Yishun Int ↺ Yishun Avenue 4  —  —
860 Yishun Int ↺ Yishun Avenue 3  —  —

Bus stop (B2), which is opposite the road from (B1), is also part of the truncated sector for Yishun feeder and intratown bus services. This bus stop serves as an intermediate stop for the Yishun Ave 1 loop of Yishun Intratown 811 and Peak Period Short Service 811P. The Yishun Ave 5 loop of service 811 will not stop at this bus stop.

(B2) Yishun Central – BS59161 Opp Blk 201
Before Yishun Temp Int Amendment After Yishun Temp Int Amendment
Service Origin Destination Service Origin Destination
800 ↺ Sembawang Road Yishun Int 811 Yishun Temp Int ↺ Yishun Avenue 1
803 ↺ Yishun Street 31 Yishun Int 811P Yishun Temp Int ↺ Yishun Avenue 1
806 ↺ Yishun Ring Rd Yishun Int 812 Yishun Temp Int ↺ Yishun Avenue 3
811 ↺ Yishun Avenue 2 Yishun Int 812P Yishun Temp Int ↺ Yishun Avenue 3
812 ↺ Yishun Avenue 4 Yishun Int
860 ↺ Yishun Avenue 3 Yishun Int

Bus stop (C) was the looping point bus stop of the Yishun Ave 5 loop of Intratown service 811. It is joined by services 171, 856 and 859, which formerly skipped this bus stop to facilitate the right turn into Yishun Ave 2. These three bus services now travel straight from Yishun Ave 5 to Yishun Central.

(C) Yishun Ave 5 – BS59159 Blk 151
Before Yishun Temp Int Amendment After Yishun Temp Int Amendment
Service Origin Destination Service Origin Destination
811 ↺ Yishun Avenue 5 Yishun Int 811 ↺ Yishun Avenue 5 Yishun Temp Int
 —  —  — 171 Marina Centre Ter Yishun Temp Int
 —  —  — 856 Woodlands Reg Int Yishun Temp Int
 —  —  — 859 Sembawang Int Yishun Temp Int

Bus stop (D) sees no changes and is used as an interchange bus stop for passing services travelling to Woodlands.

(D) Yishun Ave 2 – BS59079 Yishun Stn
Before Yishun Temp Int Amendment After Yishun Temp Int Amendment
Service Origin Destination Service Origin Destination
169 Ang Mo Kio Int Woodlands Reg Int 169 Ang Mo Kio Int Woodlands Reg Int
858 ↺ Changi Airport PTB 2 Woodlands Reg Int 858 ↺ Changi Airport PTB 2 Woodlands Reg Int
965 Sengkang Int Woodlands Reg Int 965 Sengkang Int Woodlands Reg Int
969 Tampines Int Woodlands Reg Int 969 Tampines Int Woodlands Reg Int
(E1) Yishun Central 1 – BS59661 Opp Yishun Polyclinic
Before Yishun Temp Int Amendment After Yishun Temp Int Amendment
Service Origin Destination Service Origin Destination
853 Lor 1 Geylang Ter Yishun Int 853 Lor 1 Geylang Ter Yishun Temp Int
853C Upp East Coast Ter Yishun Int 853C Upp East Coast Ter Yishun Temp Int
 —  — 855 Harbourfront Int Yishun Temp Int
 —  — 857 ↺ Temasek Avenue Yishun Temp Int
(E2) Yishun Central 1 – BS59669 Yishun Polyclinic
Before Yishun Temp Int Amendment After Yishun Temp Int Amendment
Service Origin Destination Service Origin Destination
853 Yishun Int Lor 1 Geylang Ter 853 Yishun Temp Int Lor 1 Geylang Ter
853C Yishun Int Upp East Coast Ter 853C Yishun Temp Int Upp East Coast Ter
855 Yishun Temp Int Harbourfront Int
857 Yishun Temp Int ↺ Temasek Avenue

Bus services that travel from Lentor Ave through Yishun Ave 2 and terminate at Yishun Bus Interchange stop at three new bus stops, (F1), (F2) and (G), which were built to facilitate the route changes for Yishun Temporary Interchange. Services 855 and 857 deviate from the rest of the bus services as they will enter Yishun Temporary Interchange through Yishun Central 1 instead of Yishun Central, serving bus stops (F1) and (F2). This arrangement will ease bus traffic flow entering the bus interchange from Yishun Central.

(F1) Yishun Central 1 – BS59691 Bef Blk 935
Before Yishun Temp Int Amendment After Yishun Temp Int Amendment
Service Origin Destination Service Origin Destination
 —  — 855 Harbourfront Int Yishun Temp Int
 —  — 857 ↺ Temasek Avenue Yishun Temp Int
(F2) Yishun Central 1 – BS59699 Opp Blk 935
Before Yishun Temp Int Amendment After Yishun Temp Int Amendment
Service Origin Destination Service Origin Destination
855 Yishun Temp Int Harbourfront Int
857 Yishun Temp Int ↺ Temasek Avenue

Bus stop (G) serves as an alighting bus stop for bus services turning into Yishun Temporary Interchange, allowing for a quicker connection to the MRT Station.

(G) Yishun Ave 2 – BS59671 Bef Yishun Stn
Before Yishun Temp Int Amendment After Yishun Temp Int Amendment
Service Origin Destination Service Origin Destination
 — 39 Tampines Int Yishun Temp Int
 —  — 85 Punggol Temp Int Yishun Temp Int
 —  — 811 ↺ Yishun Avenue 1 Yishun Temp Int
 —  — 811P ↺ Yishun Avenue 1 Yishun Temp Int
 —  — 851 Bukit Merah Int Yishun Temp Int
 —  — 852 Bukit Batok Int Yishun Temp Int
 —  — 854 Bedok Int Yishun Temp Int
(H) Yishun Central – BS59689 Blk 203
Before Yishun Temp Int Amendment After Yishun Temp Int Amendment
Service Origin Destination Service Origin Destination
 —  — 804 ↺ Yishun Street 41 Yishun Temp Int
 —  — 812 ↺ Yishun Avenue 3 Yishun Temp Int
 —  — 812P ↺ Yishun Avenue 3 Yishun Temp Int

————————————————————————————————————————————

Intratown Services 811, 812 & Peak Period Short Services 811P & 812P

With the temporary interchange, the 2nd loops of Intratown 811 & 812 will not pick up passengers from the interchange boarding berths. Instead, this will be done at Bus Stop (B2) 59161 Yishun Central – Opp Blk 201, which is connected via shelter to the temporary interchange near Berth 7. Commuters taking 811 to Yishun Ave 1, Yishun Ave 3, Yishun Ave 4 & Yishun St 81 as well as 812 to Yishun Ave 2, Yishun Ave 3, Yishun Ring Rd (Khatib Stn loop) should board the respective buses there. This is similar to the concept of Intratown 307, where commuters to the 2nd loop board from the bus stop outside Choa Chu Kang Interchange and commuters from the 1st loop who wish to go to the Interchange will alight.

Peak Period Short Services 811P & 812P will also pick passengers from this bus stop as the first stop.

Services 811, 811P, 812 & 812P will alight passengers at the Temporary Interchange alighting berth after completing the 2nd loop.

Follow the signs for to bus stop 59161.
Follow the signs for to bus stop 59161.

Gallery:

Yishun Feeder Map, retrieved from SMRT Bus and Train Services Guide
Yishun Feeder Map, retrieved from SMRT Bus and Train Services Guide
Malay & Tamil Poster for the shift to Yishun Temp Int

External Links & References:

Back to Bus Interchanges and Terminals
Back to Bus Articles

7 thoughts on “(Defunct) Yishun Temporary Bus Interchange

  • 6 December 2021 at 11:23 AM
    Permalink

    Can be called Yishun Bus Depot/Yishun Bus Terminal or an extension to the Yishun ITH (called Yishun concourse INT or Nee Soon Int) Then can amend bus 85 and 850E to start here

    Reply
  • 10 September 2019 at 4:52 AM
    Permalink

    SMRT use for ONP until they move to Mandai

    About 110 buses park tonight.

    Reply

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