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.

Carving out the North-South Corridor

The North-South Corridor, Singapore’s 11th expressway, is currently being built across the width of the island. There is a line of construction sites stretching 21 kilometres from Woodlands in the north to Marina Bay in the south, and it will take another four years before the expressway opens in 2026. It will be Singapore’s costliest expressway, with a price tag of up to $8 billion.

The expressway will be a crucial transport link connecting the towns of Woodlands, Sembawang, Yishun, Ang Mo Kio, Bishan, and Toa Payoh with the City. Hence, construction has to take place inside built-up areas. I am interested in the impact of expressway construction on these towns, and as it will take another four years, this period is a good chance to track changes in the suburban landscape.

The northern stretch covering Sembawang and Yishun will be an aboveground viaduct, which will transition to an underground tunnel as Yishun gives way to Ang Mo Kio.

I recently explored the construction sites running down the width of Ang Mo Kio town. Travelling south to north, I covered stretches of Marymount Road and Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6, from Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park to Yio Chu Kang MRT Station.

Below is a map of Ang Mo Kio town; the yellow line is the future North-South Corridor. Virtually the entire line is a continuous stretch of construction sites; I spent an afternoon travelling along the line, taking photos and notes.

Base picture credit: Streetdirectory.com.

Along Marymount Road.

Marymount Road, facing north, approaching the junction with Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1. The area adjoining the road is adorned by Singapore’s national bird, the (construction) crane.

The junction of Marymount Road and Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1, facing north. Marymount Road is temporarily curved because of construction. Residents living around this junction will have to endure this state of affairs for up to 2030 - after the North-South Corridor is done, Teck Ghee MRT Station of the Cross Island Line will have to be built.

Marymount Road, facing south, between Sin Ming Avenue (background) and Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 (foreground), from the 30th and top floor of Block 310A Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1. The curves in the once-straight road are apparent here.

The junction of Marymount Road and Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1, facing south. The flats of Bishan town lie in the background.

The junction of Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6 and Street 24, facing south, from the 11th and top floor of Block 203 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3. Here, piling and other work were going on right next to the block of flats; the cranes felt so close to me I could have touched them with a pole. I felt sorry for the residents trapped by the constant cacophony.

A colourful sound barrier in front of Block 119 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3.

Construction sites next to Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6, facing south, from the 25th and top floor of Block 700B Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6. At the bottom is the junction with Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3.

Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6, facing north, to the east of Ang Mo Kio Town Garden West. The construction has split in half the once-straight road.

The junction of Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6 and Avenue 5, facing south, from the 13th and top floor of Block 646 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6.

A sound barrier in front of Block 649 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5.

Many photos were made possible by common corridors of flats facing the main road. This is generally more common in older flats. Ang Mo Kio town is a relatively old town, so I am fortunate to be able to track the construction of the North-South Corridor from good vantage points.

Documenting Bishan Bus Interchange

The non-air-conditioned, open-air bus interchange in Singapore is an endangered species.

The current trend is to convert open-air bus interchanges into air-conditioned Integrated Transport Hubs (ITHs), which connect a bus interchange, MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) station, and shopping mall in one seamless space.

There are 10 ITHs in Singapore. Yishun Bus Interchange became Yishun ITH in 2019; Woodlands Bus Interchange became Woodlands ITH in 2021. The same year, work started on turning Jurong East Bus Interchange into Jurong East ITH.

So far, Bishan Bus Interchange remains an open-air bus interchange.

Not much about the bus interchange has changed since it opened on 30 April 1989. It was built to complement Bishan MRT Station, which had opened two years earlier to serve the up-and-coming New Town of Bishan.

Integrating bus interchanges in towns with MRT stations had been a policy since 1984, as town building proceeded at a brisk pace alongside the construction of Singapore’s MRT system.

The Business Times, 31 October 1984. Credit: SPH Media Trust.

Creativity was invested in the architecture of Bishan Bus Interchange, to give residents of fledgling Bishan New Town something to cheer about.

As The New Paper reported in November 1988, a few months before the opening of the bus interchange:

Credit: SPH Media Trust.

Is it a bus interchange? Or a piece of Disneyland in Bishan?

Now it’s just half ready. But the new bus interchange at Bishan New Town Street 13 is already an eye-catcher.

This colourful castle-like structure right in front of the interchange will soon be greeting passengers and drivers.

Next to the pink “castle” will be a children’s playground and a round-top building housing a fast food restaurant.

A HDB spokesman said: “We want each new town to have its own distinctive feature. With time, this interchange may even become the landmark for Bishan.”

The castle-like structure has survived to the present:

Credit: Google Maps.

When the bus interchange finally opened, it replaced a nearby temporary bus terminal. According to The Straits Times, it “had the facilities of a modern bus interchange, including a sheltered passenger concourse, colour-coded queuing system, coin-changing machines, information boards and a canteen”.

And then, 33 years passed.

Taking the escalator up to ground level from the Circle Line segment of Bishan MRT Interchange, I was greeted by a spacious, open-air concourse with a high ceiling. It was obvious SBS Transit ran the place - their livery coloured the pillars.

Like other bus interchanges, buses were parked in the open next to the alighting and boarding berths.

It was raining heavily, and there were strong winds, so it was cool in the open-air bus interchange.

A helpful map showing the layout of the bus interchange. In 1989, it served four trunk services; today, there are 11 services beginning from the bus interchange.

The alighting area.

Berth B3.

Berth B4.

The bus interchange was a constant hive of activity - buses ceaselessly moved in and out.

An iconic feature of open-air bus interchanges - the metal bars for waiting passengers.

Also, the coloured metal boards displaying service numbers.

And of course, the orange floor tiles.

I am not sure for how long Bishan Bus Interchange will remain as it is. It might be converted into an ITH when neighbouring Junction 8 is redeveloped. That doesn’t seem to be on the cards anytime soon, but who knows.