SMRT Buses is the second largest bus operator in Singapore. A subsidiary of SMRT Corporation, it traded as Trans Island Bus Services until 10 May 2004.
History Trans-Island Bus Services (1983–2004) In April 1981, Communications & Labour Minister Ong Teng Cheong announced the government would grant a license to an operator that was willing to compete with Singapore Bus Service (SBS), that had operated all services in Singapore since 1973, with the aim of improving service levels.Speech by Ong Teng Cheong at the Inauguration of Trans Island Bus Services Information Division 9 April 1983 In January 1982, City Shuttle Service operator Singapore Shuttle Bus (SSB) lodged applications with the Ministry of Communications to establish a second bus operator and the Registry Of Vehicles for four bus depots. The applications were approved on 12 March that year, with SSB to take over 11 services in Woodlands and Sembawang from SBS.
A new company, Trans-Island Bus Services, was founded on 31 May 1982, ordering a fleet of 250 buses including 90 Hinos."Trans-Island buy first fleet of buses" Business Times 10 July 1982 page 6"Trans Island buses gear up for operation" Singapore Monitor 23 March 1983 page 4 Operations commenced on 3 April 1983 with 40 buses.1983 Land Transport Authority
On 12 March 1987, TIBS purchased its former parent company SSB. On 27 April, TIBS was listed on SESDAQ, although Ng Ser Miang retained a majority shareholding."Entrepreneur with a zest for buses and the sea" The Straits Times 17 March 1987 page 21"Company briefs" The Straits Times 27 April 1987 page 15"Tibs" The Straits Times 19 August 1988 page 32 By this stage it operated 361 buses."Trans-Island share prospectus out today" Business Times 25 March 1987 page 1
As part of the government's plan to make the local bus system more competitive and to cushion TIBS from the impact of its bus services being axed or truncated due to the Woodlands MRT Line, 16 SBS services in Bukit Panjang and Jalan Kayu were handed over to TIBS in 1995. TIBS was also allocated to operate bus services in the then upcoming new towns of Sembawang, Simpang, Sengkang and Punggol.TIBS to take over in Bt Panjang, Jalan Kayu The Straits Times 26 June 1995
In 1996, TIBS began operations at the Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange, Singapore's first underground bus interchange. It was also the first bus interchange designed to accommodate articulated buses. some of which were designed by world-renowned designer, Pininfarina and was known as the Habit articulated buses, on a large scale in its fleet, in contrast to the double-deckers used by SBS."Designer look for bendy buses" The Straits Times 13 June 2000"Tibs buys 56 articulated buses, SBS says 'No' to extra-long buses" The Straits Times 18 August 1997
In 1999, SBS Transit was awarded both bus and train services in the entire north-east corridor with the North East line, Sengkang LRT and Punggol LRT by the Land Transport Authority, both based in Sengkang.Bus operators share metro Railway Gazette International July 1999 Eight bus routes affected in the bus tender of Sengkang and Punggol were transferred to SBS Transit. In return, TIBS was awarded to operate 17 routes in the north-west corridor towns of Choa Chu Kang and Bukit Batok, where the handover was done in stages together with the opening of Bukit Panjang LRT."Tibs and SBS in routes swap"] 15 July 1999 page 16 Buses 61, 106 and 173 were the last services to be handed over mainly due to extra time involved.
In February 2001, TIBS joined with RATP Group in an unsuccessful bid to operate the Marina MRT line (now known as Circle line)."Tibs inks deal with French metro operator" Business Times 13 February 2001 page 7"Tibs' big move" The New Paper 13 February 2001 page 7SMRT wins Marina line Railway Gazette International October 2001
SMRT Buses (2004–present) In 1999, TIBS and SMRT engaged in merger talks which failed."No merger" The New Paper 19 October 1999 page 6"Tibs nosedives" The New Paper 20 October 1999 page 7 In July 2001, SMRT launched a takeover bid for TIBS that was accepted."Who gains in MRT-bus merger" The Straits Times 11 July 2001"SMRT Looks to Expand Rail with Takeover Bid for TIBS" Wall Street Journal 30 July 2001 The transaction was completed in December 2001, with TIBS being operated as a wholly owned subsidiary."TIBS shares to be Delisted Today" The Straits Times 12 December 2001 page 10Annual report for year ended 30 December 2001 SMRT Corporation As part of a corporate rebranding programme, TIBS was rebranded as SMRT Buses in May 2004.
In 2008, SMRT's first new bus after rebranding, the Mercedes-Benz OC500LE, entered service. It is its first wheelchair-accessible bus and first in Southeast Asia to meet Euro V emission standard.
On 26 November 2012, 170 bus drivers (all of whom were foreign nationals from China), refused to leave their living quarters for work. This reduced bus services to 90% of normal levels. The Ministry of Manpower considered it an illegal strike since the group failed to give a 14 days notice prior to disrupting an essential public service, as is required by the local laws. As a result, five of the strikers were jailed for instigating the strike, and another 29 were deported.
On 26 December 2012, SMRT relocated Bukit Panjang Interchange to Bukit Panjang Temporary Bus Park.
In 2014, SMRT bought its first double-decker buses, the Alexander Dennis Enviro500 MMC was made revenue service debut on bus 972. Fleet restrictions were gradually eased at -
Hillview Road (2014, Service 176 & 963) Henderson Road (November 2014, Service 176) Bukit Timah Road (February 2015, Service 67 & 960) Yishun Bus Interchange (March 2015) Ang Mo Kio Bus Depot (October 2015, Service 854)
On 13 March 2016, SMRT relocated Woodlands Regional Interchange to Woodlands Temporary Interchange. On 29 May, SMRT handed over management of Bukit Batok Interchange and Bukit Batok services under Bulim package to Tower Transit Singapore.
On 4 September 2017, SMRT opened its first integrated transport hub, Bukit Panjang.
On 18 and 25 March 2018, SMRT handed over Yishun services under Seletar package to SBS Transit. On 16 December, SMRT relocated Choa Chu Kang Interchange.
On 8 September 2019, SMRT opened its second integrated transport hub, Yishun.
In November 2020, SMRT laid up its last non-wheelchair accessible bus, the Mercedes-Benz O405G Hispano Habit. 1 unit is currently preserved at Woodlands depot.
On 23 January 2021, SMRT relocated Bukit Panjang Temporary Bus Park to Gali Batu Terminal. On 13 June, SMRT opened its third and also largest integrated transport hub in Singapore, Woodlands. From 5 September to 3 October, SMRT handed over management of Yishun Integrated Transport Hub & Sembawang Interchange and Yishun, Woodlands & Sembawang / Yio Chu Kang services under Sembawang-Yishun package to Tower Transit Singapore in 3 separate tranches. As a result; SMRT discontinued NightRider NR1, NR2 and Express 963R at the expiry of Mandai Package contract on 3 October 2021 and in February 2022, SMRT closed its Ang Mo Kio depot.
SMRT discontinued three more NightRider (NR3, NR5, NR6 and NR8), Resorts World (188R) and Zoo (926) on 30 June 2022. These services were suspended since 8 April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore.
On 18 August 2023, the Land Transport Authority announced that SMRT had won the bid for the Jurong West Bus Package.
On 1 and 15 September 2024, SMRT took over management of Soon Lee Depot, Boon Lay and Joo Koon Integrated Transport Hub and Tuas Terminal and Boon Lay, Joo Koon / Tuas / Soon Lee services under Jurong West package from SBS Transit.
On 12 and 13 January 2025, Bus 912M was withdrawn and Bus 967 from Woodlands Temp Interchange was introduced.
Route handovers YearBus PackageFromToReason1983Sembawang/Yishun/WoodlandsSingapore Bus ServicesTrans-Island Bus Services1995Bukit PanjangSingapore Bus ServicesTrans-Island Bus ServicesFoster greater competition in the bus industry and to cushion the impact with the rationalisation of bus services caused by the opening of Woodlands MRT extension in 1996.Sengkang/Punggol1999Choa Chu KangSingapore Bus ServicesTrans-Island Bus ServicesThe tender to operate the North East Line, Sengkang and Punggol LRT, and several bus services in the Sengkang and Punggol are awarded to SBS. In addition, bus tenders for Choa Chu Kang and Bukit Batok bus services are awarded to TIBS. This move is also to cushion the impact with the rationalisation of bus services caused by Bukit Panjang LRT in 1999, as well as to reduce congestion in depots (Bus 61, 67, 106 and 172).Sengkang/PunggolTrans-Island Bus ServicesSingapore Bus Services2000Bukit BatokSingapore Bus ServicesTrans-Island Bus Services2016Bulim (Bukit Batok)SMRT BusesTower Transit SingaporeUnder the Bus Contracting Model from 2016 onwards.2018SeletarSMRT BusesSBS Transit2021Sembawang-YishunSMRT BusesTower Transit Singapore2024Jurong WestSBS TransitSMRT Buses2027Serangoon-EunosSBS TransitSMRT Buses
Routes
SMRT Buses primarily operates services originating from Woodlands, Bukit Panjang, Choa Chu Kang, Bukit Batok, Jurong West, Joo Koon and Tuas, and from July 2027, Serangoon, Eunos, Woodleigh, Sims Place and Lorong 1 Geylang.Singapore transitions as bus contracting completes Coach & Bus Week 15 August 2016
In September 2024, SMRT took over the Jurong West Bus Package from SBS Transit to operate their routes spanning from Joo Koon and Boon Lay Bus Interchanges, as well as Tuas Bus Terminal respectively.
In addition, SMRT Corporation has a minibus subsidiary Bus-Plus Services (now trading as Strides) which provides some premium, free shuttle, chartered, and peak-hour peak period bus services throughout Singapore.Home Strides
Fleet
As of 2024, SMRT Buses operates more than 1,450 buses.SMRT Group Review SMRT Corporation 2017
It was the only operator of articulated buses in Singapore until 2018, when the Seletar Package transitioned to a Tendered Contract (TC). SMRT Buses also introduced their first double-decker buses in 2014.SMRT orders Enviro500s Bus & Coach Professional 7 April 2014SMRT to launch double deckers for 10 bus services Today 6 July 2014 It was the first operator to introduce electronic destination signage (EDS) on its buses since 1990, which is now standard equipment on all new buses introduced to Singapore. Some of these recently acquired buses are used for Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP) since 2012.
SMRT Buses also had inherited buses from SBS Transit due to the Bus Contracting Model. These buses are Volvo B9TL (Wright Eclipse Gemini 2), Scania K230UB, and Mercedes-Benz O530 Citaro, all originally built to SBS Transit technical and interior specifications.
Historical In the 1980s, TIBS operated buses that were mostly of Japanese build such as Hino (such as the initial RK176 and the later HT238K) and Nissan Diesel (mostly the U31 series)
Current fleet Information Kit SMRT Corporation
Single deck MAN NL323F Lion's City (A22) (Gemilang Coachworks)200 MAN lowfloor citybuses for SMRT Coach & Bus Week 13 September 2011 Mercedes-Benz O530 Citaro (Daimler Buses) Mercedes-Benz OC500LE (Gemilang-Thonburi) Volvo B5L Hybrid (MCV Evora) Yutong ZK6128BEVG E12 Linkker LM312 (Gemilang Coachworks) BYD GTK6127BEVB (BC12A04) (Zhuhai Guangtong) Zhongtong LCK6126EVG N12 (Integral)
Double decker Alexander Dennis Enviro500 MMC MAN ND323F Lion's City (A95) (Gemilang Coachworks) Volvo B9TL (Wright Eclipse Gemini 2) Yutong ZK6125BEVGS E12DD
Articulated MAN NG363F Lion's City (A24) (Gemilang Coachworks)
Former vehicle fleet
Mercedes-Benz O405/O405G Dennis Lance(Duple Metsec) DAF SB220 referred to as the Single-deck Vehicle, 220 hp (SV220) Scania L113CRL Hino HS3KRK Yutong ZK6126HGC (integral) demonstrator Zhongtong LCK6121GHEV Hybrid (integral) demonstrator Scania K230UB (Gemilang Coachworks) BYD C6 (Now in Tower Transit service)
Depots SMRT Buses currently operates three bus depots.