List of former bus stations in Singapore

This is a non-exhaustive listing of former bus interchanges or terminals that were once part of Singapore's bus system, and decommissioned due to geographical retention or the introduction of new town centres, or creation of consolidated transportation hubs.

Former bus interchanges

Woodlands

Woodlands Bus Interchange was established to serve the developing northern corridor of Singapore in the early-80s, and was strategically located next to the Woodlands Checkpoint & Customs, the gateway to Johor, Malaysia. The bus interchange was based along Woodlands Centre Road, the former town centre of the then newly created Woodlands New Town. Woodlands had since grew to become one of the most prosperous new towns and her parent GRC, Sembawang GRC, became the largest single GRC in Singapore.

The announcement to build the North-South Line MRT extension and the Woodlands MRT Station that was scheduled to complete and open on 10 February 1996, accelerated plans to relocate and develop an entirely new town centre for Woodlands New Town at Woodlands Square, the new regional centre for Woodlands or more precisely, the entire Sembawang GRC. In late-1996, electronic display boards of TIBS buses serving the Woodlands Bus Interchange began to display notices that the TIBS Woodlands' fleet would be moving to the new interchange at Woodlands Square, Singapore's first mass underground bus interchange – Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange, conveniently located under the Woodlands MRT Station, and is connected to Causeway Point Shopping Centre with escalators.

Hougang South

Former Hougang South Bus Interchange, now called Kovan Hub

Hougang South Bus Interchange was a bus interchange, located in Hougang Street 21, which ceased operations on 13 February 2004. The interchange's structure continues to stand pending a major redevelopment of the site, and is currently called Kovan Hub. In the meantime, the vacated building is used to host exhibitions and for commercial purposes, and the bus lots as parking space.

The Hougang South Bus Interchange started operations as Hougang Bus Interchange, serving Hougang New Town. The new town, at that time was just four neighbourhoods, with large tracts to the northwest of Upper Serangoon Road still undeveloped. The commercial centre at Hougang Street 21 thus served as a town centre. From the 1990s, however, the town was rapidly expanded with five more neighbourhoods constructed, and a new, permanent town centre further north was built. As is the case for all other bus interchanges (except the Eunos Bus Interchange) in which they are located in their respective town centres, the Hougang Bus Interchange was to be moved to the new town centre, while the existing facility will be demolished.

When this plan was publicised, it created an uproar amongst the local populance, particularly shopowners in Hougang Street 21. With the help of local politicians, the protests were made to the relevant authorities, resulting in a delay in the interchange's closure. The government was adamant on removing the interchange, however, as it insists it makes little sense to have two bus interchanges in one town, and the opening of the Kovan MRT Station on the North East MRT Line will help to continue bringing in the crowds. It proceeded to build a new, permanent interchange, known as the Hougang Central Bus Interchange, and renamed the existing interchange as the Hougang South Bus Interchange. Although it no longer operates as a bus interchange, locals can still alight and disembark there as a bus stop.

Kovan Hub also serves as a transit stop for coaches to and from Malaysia with popular destinations such as Genting Highlands and Kuala Lumpur, most of which are of the Super VIP type.

Jurong

Jurong Bus Interchange, after it ceased operations, functioned as a bus depot in the Western part of Singapore before it was demolished when SBS Transit built a new multi storey bus depot along Soon Lee Road in the Jurong Industrial Area.

Former bus terminals

Marine Parade

Marine Parade Bus Terminal was a bus terminal serving Marine Parade and East Coast areas. However it was not well utilized as many prefer to board buses more conveniently along Marine Parade Road instead. When the site was slated as the new site of Victoria School, the terminal was demolished to make way. Most services that used to terminate currently have to make a loop around the school site. Service 13 and 853C were extended to the then newly opened Upper East Coast Terminal. Service 196 was extended to Bedok Bus Interchange. In 2007, service 16 had also relocated to Bedok Bus Interchange instead of its normal loop to Bukit Merah Bus Interchange

Before the Terminal shifted to its former site in the 1980s, it was located at Marine Terrace within the Marine Parade housing estate. There were services 15, 16 and 211. Service 15 evolved into the current service 196, service 16 remains today with some changes, while service 211 was a feeder service to Katong which was withdrawn in the early 1980s.

Marsiling

Marsiling Bus Terminal was the original bus terminal serving the entire north of Singapore, which was predominantly undeveloped and neglected in the course of developing the country's suburb throughout the 1960s-1980s. Development of this area started to sprout when former-Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan became the MP for Sembawang, and pledged to develop Sembawang into a prosperous suburb. This allowed for the creation of the Woodlands New Town and the entire extension of Woodlands from the original old town centre at Woodlands Centre Road and the integration of Marsiling, a small estate of only around 20 4-storeys HDB blocks, into the new town.

Woodlands New Town was speedily developing in the mid-80s and first plans to build an entirely new bus interchange to replace the relatively small Marsiling Bus Terminal surfaces after Woodlands become part of the new Sembawang GRC in 1988. By mid-90s, the Woodlands Bus Interchange based at Woodlands Centre Road was fully functional. Marsiling Bus Terminal continued operations with services 950, 951, 952 - with 950 plying the route to Shenton Way, 951 to Boon Lay and 952 to Marina Centre, were periodically moved to the new bus interchange. The closure of the bus terminal comes as TIBS axed the 95x services, in favour of the new 96x services that served the downtown city areas.

Sin Ming Road

Sin Ming Road Bus Terminal was a bus terminal located along Sin Ming Road in Bishan New Town, Singapore. A victim of rapid urban development and shifting demographies, it was relegated from the main terminal serving the Sin Ming and Upper Thomson area, until the development of Bishan resulted in a reconfiguration of the urban makeup and shifted the population towards the east, where the Bishan Bus Interchange was built in the new town centre. Service 130, the only service operated by Singapore Bus Services which used to terminate at this terminal was amended to call at Ang Mo Kio Bus Interchange instead. The terminal was then handed over to the management of TIBS Holdings, which operates SSB's CSS 605 to the terminal.

However, when the terminal was under the management of SSB, SBS introduced a new feeder Service 353 (Sin Ming Rd - Bishan St 31) in 1988 to ply from Sin Ming Rd to the new satellite town of Bishan. In 1989, the service was re-routed to start from Bishan Bus Interchange and was renumbered as Service 57 and withdrawn subsequently.

The terminal was one of the few surviving terminals of the 1970s era in which it was common for terminals to built along the road side with only a small booth for drivers to report to when completing their runs.

Somapah

Somapah Bus Terminal was a bus terminal located near the present Singapore Expo Hall 7 carpark, at the junction of Upper Changi Road East and Simei Road. It was opened as Somapah Bus Interchange in 1982 and closed in 1989.

The terminal was originally a bus maintenance and refuelling depot owned by the then Associated Bus Company that ran two services, numbered 1 and 2, from Changi Point to the city.

Currently it is being used as a temporary storage depot for construction equipment and materials for the rapidly developing Changi Business Park, which was once Somapah Village.

Others

Site of former Jalan Kayu Bus Terminal

• Admiralty Road West: relocated to Sembawang Bus Interchange
• Bukit Panjang: relocated to Bukit Panjang Bus Interchange
• Chai Chee: relocated to Bedok Bus Interchange in 1985.
• Commonwealth Drive
• Crawford Street: relocated to Geylang Lorong 1 Bus Terminal in 1998.
• Delta Road
• Jalan Eunos
• Jalan Kayu: The main bus bay was closed and demolished in 2003.
• Labrador
• Lim Chu Kang Road End
• MacPherson
• NTI
• Old Upper Thomson: converted to public car park
• Potong Pasir
• Prince Edward Road
• Princess Elizabeth
• Punggol Road End: converted to a bus stop
• Redhill Close
• Rumah Tinggi
• Sembawang (Sembawang Road; junction of Mandai Road)
• Sembawang Road End: relocated to Sembawang Bus Interchange
• Sengkang: relocated to Sengkang Bus Interchange
• Serangoon Gardens: relocated to Serangoon Bus Interchange in 1987.
• Singapore Zoological Gardens: converted to a bus stop
• South Canal
• Tampines Avenue 5: relocated to Tampines Bus Interchange in 1987.
• Teban Gardens (old Jurong Depot, Penjuru Road)
• Tuas (Pioneer Road)
• Ulu Pandan: converted to Seafood Restaurant, original layout retained in 1988.
• Upper Changi
• Upper Serangoon Road End: relocated to Hougang Central Bus Interchange in 1994.

Integrated Transport Hubs

This idea was first conceived of in the 1990s by the Urban Redevelopment Authority. An integrated transport hub encompasses an air-conditioned bus interchange, a shopping mall and a MRT/LRT station which is either located inside the building if it is underground or adjacent to it if it is elevated. There are currently six such hubs, namely, the HDB Hub, Compass Point Shopping Centre, Ang Mo Kio Hub, Jurong Point Shopping Mall, nex and Clementi Mall. Transport Minister Raymond Lim said in a speech on 18 January 2008 that by 2018, five more such hubs will be constructed in Bedok, Jurong East, Bishan, Joo Koon, and Marina South to keep up with the developments in the surrounding areas.

See also

• Bus transport in Singapore

References

Land Transport Authority