City Direct Services

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A Coach on City Direct Service 669 (Withdrawn)
A Double-decker bus on City Direct Service 653

Introduction

City Direct Services (CDS) are express bus routes between housing estates and the Central Business District (CBD), operating during the weekday peak hours in single directions. They were introduced under the Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP), offering an alternative travel option for residents travelling to the city. This initiative was in line with the Ministry of Transport’s announcement at the Committee of Supply 2013 to tap on the resources of private bus operators to run more city direct services to augment the resources of the public transport operators (PTOs).[1] Four other Express services 513, 850E, 951E and 982E are operated by PTOs that run parallel to train lines between estates and the city.

With limited stops and usage of expressways, commuters using these services would have comparable journey time to taking a connecting bus or Light Rapid Transit (LRT) service and transferring to the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) into the city. They are scheduled to have at least two one-way departures from the housing estates and city during weekday mornings and evenings respectively. Fares are currently charged based on distance-based fares for express bus services.

All services were initially operated by private bus operators using coaches, providing commuters with a comfortable and direct journey to their destinations. Today, all City Direct services are operated by PTOs using single-deckers and double-deckers.

History

On 21st November 2012, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) called a tender for the provision of payment system to support fare collection for CDS private bus operators.[2]

On 6th February 2013, a tender was called (VT371) to invite private bus operators to submit their cost proposals to operate the first CDS 651 between Jurong West estate and the CBD. The service was expected to launch in the third quarter of 2013.[3]

On 13th June 2013, another tender was called (VT387) for nine CDS 652, 653, 654, 655, 656, 657, 658, 659 and 660 between Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Bukit Batok, Eunos, Hougang, Jurong East, Sembawang, Sengkang and West Coast estates to CBD. These services were slated to launch progressively in the first half of 2014. Contract for CDS 651 (VT371) was awarded to the lowest bidder ComfortDelGro Bus Pte Ltd at about $1.1 million over a two-year period, to be introduced in September 2013.[4]

On 30th August 2013, implementation date for CDS 651 was announced.[5] Fares were charged based on the maximum distance-based fare scheme for express bus services.

On 9th November 2013, contracts were awarded (VT387) to five private bus operators with a total value of about $7.16 million to operate six CDS 652, 653, 654, 655, 656, 657. CDS 658, 659 and 660 were not awarded as submitted bids were not compliant with the tender requirements or not competitively priced.[6]

  • Ren Quan Transport: 652 ($1.13 million) & 654 ($1.28 million)
  • ComfortDelGro Bus Pte Ltd: 653 ($0.9 million)
  • Loh Gim Chong Transport: 656 ($1.16 million)
  • Transtar Travel Pte Ltd: 657 ($1.45 million)
  • Woodlands Transport Service Pte Ltd: 655 ($1.23 million)

On 26th November 2013, tender was called (PT162) for CDS 658, 659 and 660.[7]

On 27th December 2013, implementation dates for CDS 652, 653 and 654 were announced. CDS 655, 656 and 657 were expected to begin operations in February 2014.[8] Fares were charged based on the maximum distance-based fare scheme for express bus services.

On 3rd February 2014, contracts were awarded (PT162) to Aedge Holdings Pte Ltd with a total value of about $3.4 million to operate three CDS 658, 659 and 660. These services were slated to launch progressively in the third quarter of 2014.[9]

On 10th February 2014, implementation dates for CDS 655, 656 and 657 were announced.[10] Fares were charged based on the maximum distance-based fare scheme for express bus services.

On 12th May 2014, implementation dates for CDS 658, 659 and 660 were announced.[11] Fares were charged based on the maximum distance-based fare scheme for express bus services.

On 9th February 2015, a tender was called (PT221) under the expanded BSEP for CDS 661, 662, 663, 664 and 665 between Pasir Ris, Marsiling, Simei, Tampines East, Woodlands, Yew Tee and Yishun estates to the CBD. These services were slated to launch progressively in the second quarter of 2015.[12]

On 21st July 2015, contracts were awarded (PT221) to two private bus operators with a total value of about $8.55 million to operate five CDS 661, 662, 663, 664 and 665.[13]

  • Aedge Holdings Pte Ltd: 661, 662 & 664 ($5.41 million)
  • Bus Hub Service Pte Ltd: 663 & 665 ($3.14 million)

LTA also announced that five more CDS 666, 667, 668, 669 and 670 would be put up for tender and progressively implemented from the fourth quarter of 2015, benefitting residents in Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Clementi, Dover, Punggol, and Yishun. The tender was called (PT233) on 5th August 2015.

On 15th September 2015, implementation dates for CDS 661, 662, 663, 664 and 665 were announced. Fares are charged based on distance fares structure for express bus services. It has been said that fares for CDS 651 to 660 will be converted to distance fares progressively from the fourth quarter of 2015. The transition was expected to be completed by mid-2016.[14]

On 14th December 2015, contracts were awarded (PT233) to two private bus operators with a total value of about $5.87 million to operate five CDS 666, 667, 668, 669 and 670. These services were slated to launch progressively from February 2016.[15]

  • Tong Tar Transport Service Pte Ltd: 667, 669 and 670 ($3.41 million)
  • BT&TAN Transport Pte Ltd: 666 & 668 ($2.46 million)

On 18th January 2016, contracts for CDS 651 to 657 were extended for 1 year.[16]

On 22nd February 2016, implementation dates for CDS 666, 667, 668, 669 and 670 were announced.[17]

On 15th April 2016, tender was called (PT270) for CDS 671 and 672 between Buangkok, Hougang and Sengkang estates to the CBD. CDS 651 was included as contract was expiring in August that year.[18]

On 29th July 2016, contracts were awarded (PT270) to Rui Feng Chartered with a total value of about $2.87 million to operate CDS 651, 671 and 672. CDS 671 and 672 were slated to launch progressively from the fourth quarter of 2016. Tender for CDS 652 to 657 were called (PT288) on 1st August 2016 as contracts were expiring between January and February 2017.[19]

On 3rd October 2016, implementation dates for CDS 671 and 672 were announced. CDS 651 operations were transferred to Rui Feng Chartered on the same day.[20]

On 14th November 2016, contract was awarded (PT288) for CDS 654. CDS 653, 655, 656 & 657 were not awarded.

On 1st April 2017, SMRT Buses announced that they will operate CDS 653, 656 & 657 from 13th, 17th and 24th April 2017 respectively.[21]

On 3rd April 2017, SBS Transit announced that they will operate CDS 655 from 17th April 2017.[22]

On 12th May 2017, tender was called (PT309) for CDS 658 to 660.

On 22nd June 2017, tender was called (PT321) for CDS 661 to 665.

On 3rd July 2017, contract was not awarded (PT309) for CDS 658 to 660.

On 31st August 2017, contract was not awarded (PT321) for CDS 661 to 665.

On 15th September 2017, Tower Transit announced that they will operate CDS 663 from 28th September 2017.[23]

On 12th October 2017, Tower Transit announced that they will operate CDS 665.[24]

On 17th December 2018, CDS 658, 659, 662 and 664 were withdrawn, replaced by Premium services 784, 785, 786 and 787 respectively.

On 19th December 2018, Go-Ahead announced that they will operate CDS 661 from 2nd January 2019.[25]

On 20th December 2018, SBS Transit announced that they will operate CDS 660 from 2nd January 2019.[26]

On 3rd June 2019, CDS 669 was withdrawn and replaced by Premium service 584.

On 8th July 2019, SBS Transit announced that they will operate CDS 654 from 22nd July 2019.[27]

On 30th December 2019, SMRT Buses announced that they will operate CDS 652 from 6th January 2020.[28] SBS Transit also announced that they will operate CDS 671 and 672 from 13th January 2020.[29]

On 6th January 2020, Tower Transit announced that they will operate CDS 651 from 13th January 2020.[30]

On 17th February 2020, Go-Ahead announced that they will operate CDS 666 from 2nd March 2020.[31]

On 25th February 2020, SBS Transit announced that they will operate CDS 667 from 9th March 2020.[32]

On 12th March 2020, SMRT Buses announced that they will operate CDS 670 from 30th March 2020.[33]

On 3rd December 2020, SBS Transit announced that they will operate CDS 668 from 14th December 2020.[34]

On 10th May 2021, SMRT Buses announced that they will operate CDS 665 from 31st May 2021.[35] Tower Transit Singapore also announced that they will operate CDS 653 and 657 on the same day as well.[36][37]

On 23rd August 2021, SBS Transit announced that they will operate CDS 652 from 6th September 2021. [38]

On 25th August 2021, Tower Transit announced that they will operate CDS 670 from 5th September 2021, and CDS 656 from 3rd October 2021. [39]

Route information

Service Route Operator Introduction date Withdrawal date
AM Peak PM Peak
651 Jurong West Avenue 3 → Marina Boulevard Central Boulevard → Jurong West Avenue 3 Tower Transit 2 Sep 2013 N/A
652 Upper Thomson Road → Shenton Way Anson Road → Upper Thomson Road SBS Transit 6 Jan 2014
653 Hume Avenue → Marina Boulevard Central Boulevard → Hillview Avenue Tower Transit 13 Jan 2014
654 Anchorvale Street → Shenton Way Anson Road → Anchorvale Street SBS Transit 20 Jan 2014
655 West Coast Road → Marina Boulevard Central Boulevard → West Coast Road SBS Transit 17 Feb 2014
656 Canberra Road → Shenton Way Anson Road → Canberra Road SMRT Buses 17 Feb 2014
657 Jurong West Avenue 1 → Marina Boulevard Central Boulevard → Jurong West Avenue 1 Tower Transit 24 Feb 2014
658 Bedok Reservoir Road → Shenton Way Anson Road → Kaki Bukit Avenue 1 Aedge Holdings 19 May 2014 17 Dec 2018
659 Bedok South Road → Shenton Way Anson Road → Bedok South Road Aedge Holdings 9 Jun 2014 17 Dec 2018
660 Buangkok Green → Shenton Way Anson Road → Buangkok Green SBS Transit 23 Jun 2014 N/A
661 Pasir Ris Drive 3 → Marina Boulevard Central Boulevard → Pasir Ris Drive 3 Go-Ahead 22 Sep 2015
662 Choa Chu Kang North 7 → Marina Boulevard Central Boulevard → Choa Chu Kang North 7 Aedge Holdings 22 Sep 2015 17 Dec 2018
663 Yishun Avenue 6 → Shenton Way Anson Road → Yishun Avenue 6 Tower Transit 28 Sep 2015 N/A
664 Tampines Street 41 → Marina Boulevard Central Boulevard → Tampines Street 41 Aedge Holdings 6 Oct 2015 17 Dec 2018
665 Marsiling Drive → Shenton Way Anson Road → Marsiling Drive SMRT Buses 12 Oct 2015 N/A
666 Punggol Drive → Marina Boulevard Central Boulevard → Punggol Drive Go-Ahead 29 Feb 2016
667 Clementi Avenue 4 → Marina Boulevard Central Boulevard → Clementi Avenue 4 SBS Transit 8 Mar 2016
668 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5 → Marina Boulevard Central Boulevard → Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5 SBS Transit 15 Mar 2016
669 Bedok North Road → Marina Boulevard Central Boulevard → Bedok North Road Tong Tar Transport Service 22 Mar 2016 3 Jun 2019
670 Yishun Avenue 7 → Marina Boulevard Central Boulevard → Yishun Avenue 7 Tower Transit 29 Mar 2016 N/A
671 Punggol Road → Marina Boulevard Central Boulevard → Punggol Road SBS Transit 17 Oct 2016
672 Hougang Street 51 → Marina Boulevard Central Boulevard → Hougang Street 51 SBS Transit 7 Nov 2016

References

  1. ↑ "COS 2013 - Speech by Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew on Enhancing Public Transport". Ministry of Transport (13 March 2013). Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  2. ↑ "New City Direct Bus Service for Jurong West commuters in third quarter 2013". Land Transport Authority (21 November 2012). Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  3. ↑ "New City Direct (Jurong West) Bus Service in Third Quarter 2013". Land Transport Authority (6 February 2013). Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  4. ↑ "Nine New City Direct Bus Services to Improve Connectivity from January 2014". Land Transport Authority (13 June 2013). Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  5. ↑ "The new City Direct service 651 starts from next Monday, 2 September". Land Transport Authority (30 August 2013). Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  6. ↑ "LTA Awards Contracts for Six New City Direct Bus Services". Land Transport Authority (9 November 2013). Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  7. ↑ "CONTRACT PT162, LAND TRANSPORT AUTHORITY, SCHEDULE OF TENDERS RECEIVED". Land Transport Authority (26 November 2013). Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  8. ↑ "Six New City Direct Bus Services Starting from January 2014". Land Transport Authority (27 December 2013). Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  9. ↑ "LTA Awards Contracts for Three New City Direct Bus Services". Land Transport Authority (4 February 2014). Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  10. ↑ "Three More New City Direct Bus Services Starting February 2014". Land Transport Authority (10 February 2014). Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  11. ↑ "Three New City Direct Bus Services in May and June 2014". Land Transport Authority (12 May 2014). Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  12. ↑ "More City Direct Services to Improve Connectivity to the City". Land Transport Authority (9 February 2015). Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  13. ↑ "More City Direct Services, More Connections to the City". Land Transport Authority (21 July 2015). Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  14. ↑ "Five More City Direct Services Offer More Commute Options to the CBD". Land Transport Authority (15 September 2015). Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  15. ↑ "More City Direct Services, Direct Connections to the City". Land Transport Authority (14 December 2015). Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  16. ↑ "7 City Direct bus services extended for another year". The Straits Times (18 January 2016). Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  17. ↑ "More Travel Options with Five New City Direct Services". Land Transport Authority (22 February 2016) Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  18. ↑ "Two More City Direct Services to Improve Connectivity to the City". Land Transport Authority (15 April 2016). Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  19. ↑ "More City Direct Services to Enhance Direct Connections to the City". Land Transport Authority (1 August 2016). Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  20. ↑ "More travel options with two new City Direct Services". Land Transport Authority (3 October 2016) Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  21. ↑ "SMRT to Operate City Direct Services 653, 656 and 657 from April 2017". SMRT Corporation (1 April 2017) Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  22. ↑ "SBS Transit to operate City Direct Service 655 from Monday, 17 April 2017". SBS Transit (3 April 2017) Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  23. ↑ "Change In Operator: CDS 663". Tower Transit Singapore (15 September 2017) Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  24. ↑ "Change In Operator: CDS 665". Tower Transit Singapore (12 October 2017) Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  25. ↑ "Change in Operator - City Direct Service 661". Go-Ahead Singapore (19 December 2018) Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  26. ↑ "SBS Transit To Operate City Direct Service 660". SBS Transit (20 December 2018) Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  27. ↑ "City Direct Service 654 To Be Operated By SBS Transit From 22 July 2019". SBS Transit (8 July 2019) Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  28. ↑ "SMRT to operate City Direct Service 652 from 6 January 2020". SMRT Corporation (30 December 2019) Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  29. ↑ "SBS Transit To Operate City Direct Services 671 And 672 From 13 January 2020". SBS Transit (30 December 2019) Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  30. ↑ "LTA Change In Operator for Bus Service 651". Tower Transit Singapore (6 January 2020) Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  31. ↑ "Change in Operator - City Direct Service 666". Go-Ahead Singapore (17 February 2020) Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  32. ↑ "SBS Transit to operate City Direct Service 667 from 9 March 2020". SBS Transit (25 February 2020) Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  33. ↑ "Change in operator for City Direct service 670 from 30 March 2020 onwards". SMRT Corporation (12 March 2020) Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  34. ↑ "SBS Transit to operate City Direct Service 668 from 14 December 2020". SBS Transit (3 December 2020) Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  35. ↑ "Change in operator for City Direct service 665 from 31 May 2021" SMRT (10 May 2021) Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  36. ↑ "Change in Operator: 653 - Tower Transit Singapore" Tower Transit Singapore (10 May 2021) Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  37. ↑ "Change in Operator: 657 - Tower Transit Singapore" Tower Transit Singapore (10 May 2021) Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  38. ↑ "City Direct Service 652 To Be Operated By SBS Transit From Monday, 6 September 2021" SBS Transit (23 August 2021). Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  39. ↑ "Sembawang- Yishun Bus Package" Tower Transit Singapore (25 August 2021) Retrieved 25 August 2021.

See also

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