3 new bus services in Toa Payoh, Tampines and Whampoa to be rolled out by June

Three new bus services that will ply the estates of Tampines, Whampoa and Toa Payoh, will be launched by June, under a bus service enhancement programme to better connect residents to transport nodes and key amenities.

These services are being rolled out under a $900 million initiative to improve public bus connectivity launched in July 2024.

Service 299 will operate daily between Tampines North Interchange and Tampines Street 96 from April 27, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said in a statement on April 7.

This will provide residents with a direct connection to the interchange and key amenities, such as Our Tampines Hub, and call at bus stops at Tampines MRT station, St Hilda's Secondary School and Temasek Polytechnic.

In a Facebook post on April 7, Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said the introduction of service 299 will benefit residents of the new housing developments in Tampines South, bringing them to the Tampines bus interchange and MRT station, and amenities within the town centre.

The other new service is 21X, which will operate between Whampoa and Novena from April 28. The service will provide a faster connection to Novena MRT station for residents in the Whampoa area, LTA said.

The loop service will start and end at St Michael's terminal, with stops along Jalan Bahagia, Kim Keat Road, Thomson Road - where Novena MRT station is located - and Jalan Tenteram.

It will supplement service 21 and serve selected stops, the authority added. Service 21X will operate on weekdays, excluding public holidays, during the morning and evening peak periods.

Both services 299 and 21X will be operated by SBS Transit.

The third new service - 230M - will serve residents of Kim Keat Avenue. The route will bring them to Toa Payoh Bus Interchange and MRT station, LTA said.

Mr Chee, an MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, said the introduction of service 230M will make it more convenient for Kim Keat Avenue residents to travel to Toa Payoh Bus Interchange and MRT station.

The launch of the service was based on feedback from residents and fellow Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC MP Saktiandi Supaat, Mr Chee said.

It also announced additional trips on City Direct service 671 between Sengkang and the CBD, and adjustments to an existing service, 292, to ply Tampines Street in both directions.

LTA said the adjustments to services 671 and 292 will be made by June 2025. Service 230M is expected to be rolled out at around the same time.

More details will be shared closer to the implementation of these changes, LTA added.

The authority said it would continue to spend its resources "prudently" as it continues to grow the bus network. "LTA will monitor travel patterns and feedback from the community and adjust bus services as needed to serve commuters across different parts of Singapore," it added.

So far, 11 new services have been launched under the Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme (BCEP) since July 2024 to improve connectivity to estates across the island, Mr Chee noted. A total of 43 existing services have also been enhanced, Mr Chee noted, by increasing the frequency of bus trips or expanding their coverage.