More bus services, extended routes in northeast Singapore and Tengah by end-2025
The Land Transport Authority is also studying where additional bus lanes can be included for smoother, faster journeys.
Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow (centre) and MP for Chua Chu Kang GRC Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim (right) speak to the media at Choa Chu Kang bus interchange on Oct 12, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Wallace Woon)
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SINGAPORE: Commuters in northeast Singapore as well as Tengah and Brickland will have a total of 11 new bus services and two more bus route extensions by the end of 2025.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Sunday (Oct 12) also said it is identifying areas where additional bus lanes can be included to make journeys smoother and faster. Details will be announced at a later date.
In the northeast, there will be two new services and two route extensions:
- New service 104 starts Oct 26 between Punggol Coast and Woodleigh, connecting Sengkang, Buangkok and Serangoon en route
- New service 44 starts Nov 10 between Punggol and Changi Airport, operating only during peak periods
- Extension of service 114 from Buangkok to Yio Chu Kang bus interchange and MRT station
- Extension of service 146 from Bartley to Kovan MRT station
The northeast region will also get five new city direct services, with details to come. These are express bus services connecting residential estates with the central business district. They typically operate during weekday peak hours.
Residents in Tengah and Brickland will get four new services:
- New service 984 starts Oct 26 between Bukit Panjang and Jurong East, connecting Teck Whye and Brickland
- New service 451 starts Nov 17 between Brickland and Bukit Gombak MRT station
- New service 452 starts Nov 17 between Tengah and Beauty World MRT station
- New service 453 starts Nov 17 between Tengah and Bukit Batok bus interchange and MRT station
Services 451, 452 and 453 are limited-stop services providing direct connections to MRT stations for estates farther away from transport nodes.
Existing services 298X, 979X and 21X, which have a similar type of routing, will be renumbered as 454, 455 and 456, respectively.
The new connections were announced under the Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme, which was launched in July 2024.
LTA said that close to 200,000 commuters have benefited from the programme, which is expected to cost S$900 million (US$694 million) over eight years.
Since the programme started, 14 new services have started plying the roads and 52 existing services have been enhanced with additional capacity or expanded coverage.
Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow on Sunday said enhancing bus services helps to improve public transport journey times, which is one of his priorities as minister.
"This is specific to HDB residents who stay farther away from the city. Because when you take the train, actually the journey is quite fast. But if you have to take a feeder bus, it can take a bit of time," he said.
On bus enhancements in the northeast, Mr Siow noted that the North East Line is one of the more heavily used MRT lines in Singapore's rail network.
The new bus services will give commuters another public transport option, said the minister, who was speaking to reporters at Choa Chu Kang bus interchange.
Noting that an MRT train has a capacity of about 1,500 while a bus can hold 80 to 100 passengers, he added that buses will not be able to replace the North East Line, but will be a complement to it.
RECRUITING YOUNGER, LOCAL BUS CAPTAINS
Mr Siow, who is the Member of Parliament for the Tengah-Brickland ward in Chua Chu Kang Group Representation Constituency, said that retaining and recruiting bus captains is the hardest part of enhancing bus connectivity.
He said less than one-third of the country's bus captains are Singaporean, adding: "The job of a bus captain is very, very tough, and many Singaporeans don't really want to do the job."
"One of the things we have been doing is raising the salaries of bus captains over time. But we have to do this carefully and judiciously, because we don't want to raise the operating costs of the bus network too quickly," he said.
Mr Siow said the ministry was also working with bus operators to make the job more attractive.
These efforts include having more alternative work arrangements and shift work, to enable caregivers and those who want to work part-time to contribute to the bus network.
"Apart from the fact that the number of locals (is) not where we want it to be, we also have a bus driver workforce that is ageing, and we have to make some more efforts to recruit younger bus drivers," he said.
When asked about the desired number of Singaporean bus captains, Mr Siow said there was no set target and that "we are trying our best to recruit as many local drivers as we can".
