Contract to run 26 bus services in Eunos and Serangoon up for bids

[SINGAPORE] Public transport operators have been invited to submit bids to run 26 public bus routes from June 2027 under the Serangoon-Eunos bus package.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) called a tender on Dec 19 for the operation of these bus services, which will be served by about 410 buses. The contract is expected to be awarded in the third quarter of 2026, and will take effect from June 2027.

The package includes bus services 53 – which shuttles between Bishan and Changi Airport – and 105, which runs between Serangoon and Jurong East.

At present, there are 27 routes under this package, which mostly operate out of the Hougang bus depot. Express bus service 506 – which serves passengers between Serangoon and Jurong East – is not in the list of routes for the new contract.

LTA said on Dec 23 the services and fleet size are not expected to change significantly under the new contract.

It added that the successful tenderer will operate these bus services from the new Kim Chuan bus depot, which is slated to be completed in 2026.

The incumbent operator, SBS Transit (SBST), has been running the Serangoon-Eunos bus package since 2016.

Following the Downtown Line’s transition to the new rail financing framework in 2022, SBST’s contract for the Serangoon-Eunos bus package was extended to June 2027.

SBST currently operates the Hougang bus depot, Serangoon bus interchange, Eunos bus interchange, Woodleigh bus interchange and Sims Place bus terminal under the Serangoon-Eunos bus package. If a new operator is awarded the contract, it will take over these bus interchanges and terminals from SBST.

Bus operators Tower Transit, SBST and SMRT told The Straits Times on Dec 22 that they will be participating in the tender for this package. ST has also asked Go-Ahead Singapore if it will bid for the contract.

According to government procurement portal GeBiz, this tender will close at 4pm on April 17, 2026.

The tender for the 27 public bus routes in Tampines – put up in December 2024 – had closed earlier in April 2025. The contract to run these services from July 2026 was then awarded to Go-Ahead Singapore about six months later in September 2025.

Another tender to operate 29 bus routes from the first quarter of 2025 under the Seletar bus package closed in March 2024, and the package was awarded about three months later to SBS Transit in July 2024.

Under the bus contracting model adopted by LTA in September 2016, bus services are bundled into 14 packages by geographic area, and operators are paid to run these bus services at standards that LTA sets through a competitive bidding process. The Government owns all operating assets and collects fares.

Contracts run for an initial five years, with an option for an extension of two to five years.

The completion date for the new Serangoon-Eunos bus package was listed as June 12, 2032, on GeBiz. THE STRAITS TIMES