Lorong 1 Geylang Bus Terminal

In Singapore, there are three types of public transport facilities that serve as the start and end points of bus routes: Integrated Transport Hubs (ITHs), bus interchanges, and bus terminals.

Integrated Transport Hubs, as the name suggests, integrate bus interchanges, MRT stations, and commercial and residential facilities. All are fully air-conditioned and connected seamlessly to one another. There are 11 ITHs in Singapore, the newest being Yishun (opened 2019) and Woodlands (opened 2021).

Bus interchanges are relatively large facilities handling many bus routes, usually located near or next to MRT stations, allowing for convenient bus-rail transfers. Excluding ITHs, there are 17 bus interchanges in Singapore.

Bus terminals are relatively smaller facilities with fewer bus routes. While some are near MRT stations, others are not, and may serve just a small area of the island. In terms of infrastructure, they are more spartan and basic than bus interchanges. There are 18 bus terminals in Singapore, of which 16 are on the main island, while two are in Sentosa.

The historical trend is for bus terminals to be closed and replaced by bus interchanges, and bus interchanges to be upgraded to ITHs. Over time, I expect the number of bus terminals to drop, and the number of ITHs to grow.

I recently checked out the Lorong 1 Geylang Bus Terminal, an example of a bus terminal which could be closed and replaced by a nearby bus interchange in the future.

Lorong 1 Geylang Bus Terminal occupies the rough quadrilateral bounded by Lorong 1 Geylang, Sims Avenue, the Kallang River, and Geylang Road (below).

Credit: Singapore Land Authority.

The bus terminal is next to a historic bridge over the Kallang River, which was first completed in 1842. The bridge enabled a country road to be extended eastward from the Town of Singapore, across the river, to the eastern end of the island.

The country road was named Kallang Road and Geylang Road on either side of the bridge, and ended as Changi Road at Changi Village 13 miles away.

The bridge was later named Sir Arthur’s Bridge after Sir Arthur Young, Governor of the Straits Settlements from 1911 to 1920 (below).

Sir Arthur’s Bridge in 1987. Credit: Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore,

In the early 1970s, Sims Avenue was extended westward to Geylang Road, to ease congestion on the busy Kallang-Geylang artery connecting the City to the eastern suburbs. This formed the plot of land on which Lorong 1 Geylang Bus Terminal currently sits. At the end of the decade, Sims Avenue was further realigned westward to join Kallang Road via a bridge over the Kallang River.

The area in 1975. The extension of Sims Avenue is in green; Lorong 1 Geylang Bus Terminal was eventually built on the blue area.

The year 1975 was notable for the launch of two major transport schemes in Singapore.

The Park and Ride scheme was introduced to encourage motorists to park their cars at the fringe of the Central Business District (CBD), and finish their journeys into the CBD by bus. Meanwhile, the Area Licensing Scheme (ALS) was also rolled out, charging motorists for driving into the CBD. The authorities hoped these two schemes would reduce peak-hour road congestion in and around the CBD.

An ALS gantry over Bencoolen Street. Credit: Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.

For the Park and Ride scheme, car parks were needed ringing the fringe of the CBD. The quadrilateral plot by the Kallang River was chosen for one such car park, named the Geylang Fringe Car Park, or Fringe Car Park A, which opened in 1975.

Next to the car park, shuttle buses took motorists to Shenton Way, Bras Basah Road, and Orchard Road. These buses were part of the City Shuttle Service (CSS), operated by Singapore Shuttle Bus Pte. Ltd (SSB). SSB was acquired by Trans-Island Bus Services (TIBS) in 1987, itself acquired by SMRT in 2001.

The bus station for the CSS in Geylang Fringe Car Park, in 1975. In the background, to the right, was Block 6 Upper Boon Keng Road, which was demolished in 2009. Credit: SPH Media Trust.

A CSS bus in 1975. Credit: Ministry of Information and the Arts Collection, courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.

In 1977, the Singapore Bus Service (SBS) moved from the nearby Lorong 5 Geylang Bus Terminal into the Geylang Fringe Car Park. The latter was henceforth known as the Lorong 1 Geylang Bus Terminal. SBS was eventually rebranded as SBS Transit in 2001.

The Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) was rolled out from 1987. Kallang MRT Station opened across Sims Avenue from the bus terminal on 4 November 1989, allowing a bus-rail connection.

Park and Ride, and the City Shuttle Service, never really took off. The latter was withdrawn in 2007, and the facilities abandoned. Sadly, they were demolished between 2011 and 2014 for the widening of Sims Avenue from four to six lanes.

In 2011, the CSS bus station was still at the junction of Lorong 1 Geylang and Sims Avenue. Credit: Google Maps.

The bus station disappeared by 2014. Credit: Google Maps.

After the Bus Contracting Model was introduced in 2014, Lorong 1 Geylang Bus Terminal was placed under the Sembawang-Yishun Bus Package, as several of its bus services started in Woodlands and Yishun.

SMRT managed the bus terminal from 2016 to 2021, thereafter handing it over to Tower Transit Singapore, after it won the tender to operate the Sembawang-Yishun Bus Package to 2026.

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Like other bus terminals, Lorong 1 Geylang Bus Terminal has simple facilities. There are two container offices, one for SBS Transit, one for Tower Transit, both painted in the respective companies’ liveries.

Kallang MRT Station can be seen in the background.

There is one bus stop which serves as the start point for nine bus services.

SMRT Bus 961M picking up passengers at the bus stop. It ends at Woodlands Temporary Bus Interchange.

Buses parked at the terminal.

Tucked away next to the Tower Transit office is the bus terminal shrine. I wonder how long it has been there.

The shrine has a Tua Pek Kong, curiously shielded - has someone tried to steal him before?

Tua Pek Kong may not be here forever - he may have to move with the bus terminal, perhaps in a few years, when a BTO project next to Kallang MRT Station is completed. Kallang Horizon is estimated to be completed in 2028, and it will come with a bus interchange, which should take the place of the bus terminal.

Until then, Lorong 1 Geylang Bus Terminal lives on as a stop for transport history.

The lost houses of Merpati Road

Along Merpati Road, a stone’s throw from Mattar MRT Station, there exists the remains of civilisation.

A row of terraced houses used to face the road.

Credit: Google Maps.

However, they were acquired by the State in 2010, and were demolished by 2019. Today, they have been replaced by an open field.

The junction of Jalan Anggerek and Merpati Road, where the open field is.

Merpati Road is to the right. Driveways over the open drain survive as vestiges of what was once there.

The area around Mattar MRT Station is awaiting redevelopment; the terraced houses were the last of a series of housing units to gradually disappear from the area.

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After World War II ended in 1945, the northern part of the area bounded by MacPherson Road, Aljunied Road, and Paya Lebar Road was largely open ground, with scattered tree cultivation.

Credit: Singapore Land Authority.

The first private housing estate came up in the area by the early 1950s. Named Playfair Estate, it was served by roads named after animals and plants. They included Jalan Anggerek (Malay for a type of orchid), Jalan Belangkas (Horseshoe Crab), and Jalan Chengkek (Clove).

The 1954 street directory.

Interestingly, Playfair Road was on the other side of MacPherson, a short distance to the east; Playfair Road was nowhere inside Playfair Estate.

By 1961, high-rise housing blocks arose in the area south of Playfair Estate. In all, 14 blocks were constructed - Blocks 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 10 to 18 Jalan Merpati (Malay for Pigeon). Jalan Merpati was laid down off Aljunied Road, and joined Mattar Road.

This was the rise of MacPherson (Road Housing) Estate (even though MacPherson Road was some distance away, like how Playfair Road was some distance from Playfair Estate).

The 1963 street directory.

By the early 1970s, more housing blocks were built to the east of Jalan Merpati’s dwellings. More roads were laid down to serve these blocks - Persiaran Keliling, Jalan Balam, and Jalan Pipit. “Persiaran” is Malay for “Promenade”, and “Keliling” means “To Go Around”, and the road was named as such because it was horseshoe-shaped.

The 1966 street directory.

Soon after, though, the three roads were respectively renamed Circuit Road, Balam Road, and Pipit Road. Jalan Merpati was also renamed Merpati Road.

The 1984 street directory reveals the individual blocks of MacPherson Estate.

Redevelopment came soon. Between 1991 and 1993, most of the oldest blocks at Merpati Road were torn down. Blocks 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 15 to 18, and a food centre - all south of Merpati Road - were demolished, leaving Blocks 12 to 14 in a row north of Merpati Road. All that was left were two car parks that once served the flats.

The 1993 street directory.

Between 1993 and 1995, two short roads at the southern end of Playfair Estate - Jalan Bunga Mas and Jalan Teratai, both off Jalan Raya - were expunged. The buildings that lined the roads were torn down too. They included workshops along Jalan Teratai, and a Monkey God temple at Jalan Bunga Mas.

A 1984 Singapore Monitor advertisement for a car workshop along Jalan Teratai. Credit: SPH Media Trust.

Sixteen years later, the corner of Merpati Road and Mattar Road - where Blocks 8, 11, 15, and the food centre once stood - was dug up for the construction of Mattar MRT Station of the Downtown Line. The station opened in 2017.

Today, traces of Jalan Bunga Mas and Jalan Teratai remain.

The remains of Jalan Bunga Mas.

The remains of Jalan Teratai.

The area around Mattar MRT Station is ready for the next chapter of history.

As for Blocks 12, 13, and 14 Merpati Road, they are on borrowed time.

Jurong Road in purgatory

Eighteen months ago, I visited Jurong Road just before it closed for good on 27 September 2020; subsequently, I wrote about it here.

Recently, I decided to revisit the area. Lo and behold, Jurong Road was still there. The plan was to redevelop it, but work had not begun.

I had the honour of checking out a road which had been abandoned for 18 months, and I could observe how the wilderness was slowly taking it all back.

My visit came at the right time - dusk. The angle of the setting sun was just right.

It was apt, because the sun was setting on a piece of transport history.