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Peak period bus services will also be introduced in Sengkang, Punggol, Hougang and Yishun.
Buses at Tampines North bus interchange on Feb 9, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Lim Li Ting)
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SINGAPORE: Commuters in Tampines will soon have a faster connection to Tampines MRT station, with a peak period bus service among seven new routes to be introduced in the coming months, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Monday (Feb 9).
Service 460 will help residents along Tampines Boulevard travel more quickly to Tampines MRT station during peak hours.
Speaking to the media at Tampines North Bus Interchange, Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow said the new service supports one of the newest Build-to-Order estates in the area, which has "big transportation plans".
This is especially so with the construction of the Tampines North Integrated Transport Hub, expected to be completed by 2030.
"Many residents are already moving in, and we are trying to build up the bus network so as to support the transport needs of the residents that are already here," Mr Siow said.
OTHER NEW SERVICES
Four other peak period services will also be rolled out.
Services 457, 458 and 459 will serve residents in Hougang, Sengkang and Punggol, respectively, providing direct connections to the Circle Line and the employment hub at Tai Seng. Service 461 will provide residents in Yishun East with faster access to Khatib MRT station.
A new city direct service, 648, will link Brickland and Bukit Batok West to the central business district, while a new feeder service, 831, will begin operations in Tengah on Mar 8.
Two existing services – 97 and 97e – will be extended from Jurong East to Tengah on Mar 8, with service 181 to follow in the coming months.
The new and extended services were announced under the Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme, which was launched in July 2024.
LTA said the improvements were made in consultation with grassroots advisers and community leaders, following a review of bus network coverage and ridership patterns.
Since the programme began, the authority has introduced 27 new and extended bus services and enhanced 62 existing services. These include express services to and from the city and limited-stop routes that take faster paths to MRT stations.
Close to 244,000 commuters have benefitted from the programme, which is expected to cost S$900 million (US$709 million) over eight years, LTA said.
The transport authority announced in October 2025 that commuters in the northeast as well as Tengah and Brickland would have a total of 11 new bus services and two more route extensions by the end of 2025. All 13 have since been implemented, Mr Siow said.
Minister of State for Transport Baey Yam Keng (left) and Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow speaking to the media at Tampines North bus interchange on Feb 9, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Lim Li Ting)
CHALLENGES EXPANDING BUS NETWORK
While announcing the new services, Mr Siow also addressed ongoing challenges in expanding Singapore's bus network, citing difficulties in recruiting local bus drivers as "the most difficult task".
"I would like to add as many buses as possible, more bus services as possible, but it's not easy," he said.
"We have been trying very hard to recruit our local Singaporean bus drivers. But despite our best efforts, it's not been easy. For every one local bus driver that we recruit, we usually lose about two due to resignations or retirement."
The median age of local bus drivers is 56 years old and continues to rise, Mr Siow noted. Although local bus drivers already receive a S$20,000 sign-on bonus, their starting salaries may have to be reviewed, he added.
Including overtime, the starting salary of a local bus driver is about S$3,600.
"That is comparable to earnings of a private hire car driver. But because the job is more difficult ... I can see why it's difficult to attract Singaporeans."
Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow (left) and Minister of State for Transport Baey Yam Keng (centre) meeting bus captains at Tampines North bus interchange on Feb 9, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Lim Li Ting)
Mr Siow also provided an update on the restoration of the Expected Time of Arrival (ETA) system, which has been malfunctioning since Jan 10. LTA said on Feb 7 that the system had been restored to more than 90 per cent.
He explained that firmware in affected buses had to be manually refreshed, which was "very intensive in terms of the resources that were needed".
"The good thing is that we brought the system back to where it should be and we continue to improve the availability and the accuracy of the system over time," he said.
The ETA system provides estimated bus arrival timings at bus stops and on transport applications. Technical issues had caused long wait times to be displayed. LTA said on Jan 22 that the system restoration would take four days, following a first reset on Jan 21.
"The most important thing to remember is that bus operations were not affected," Mr Siow said.
