Singapore Buses route 531

Premium 531 is a Premium service operated by Greater Anglia between Simei Road and Shenton Way. The route passes through Simpang Bedok, Upper East Coast, ECP, Suntec City and Fullerton, operating city-bound trips in the morning and return trips in the evening.

Premium 531 serves housing board estates, private estates and condominiums around Simei and Upper East Coast with connections to Suntec City, Marina Centre and Shenton Way, eliminating the hassle of transferring between different modes of transport. At the same time, SBS Transit’s Fast Forward 10e also offers peak hour connections between Upper East Coast and Shenton Way at a cheaper price (~$2.21 adult card fare), but takes a longer journey by not plying along expressways.

Since its introduction in 2007, Premium 531 has experienced considerably high demand from the niche market, mostly from the private housing areas around Upper East Coast, where 531 is a the fastest bus route to the CBD despite its high fares. High capacity articulated buses were deployed on this service duing its initial days of service, when there were just 2 morning departures and buses were filled to the brim (despite the Premium no-standing regulation), and some buses (e.g. TIB1081S) were re-tuned for better climbing of Benjamin Shears Bridge. Articulated buses were eventually removed when more weekday peak hour trips were added.

Originally operating with 2 morning and 2 evening trips, Premium 531 now operates with 6 morning and 3 evening trips, making it among the most successful Premium routes around. Most trips today are still fully seated.

Transfer of Operator to Commute Solutions from 29 Aug 2016:
Under Commute Solutions, the cash fare for Premium 531 was raised from $4.80 to $5.00. EZ-Link fares remain at $4.80.

AM Departures were reduced from 6 AM trips to 5 AM trips, while PM Departures were also reduced from 3 PM trips to 2 PM trips.

History

 * 30 July 2007: Introduced as a Premium service from Simei to Shenton Way. Fare is at $3.50.
 * June 2008: Two evening peak trips introduced at 1810hrs and 1825hrs. Fare increased to $3.70.
 * October 2008: Fare increased to $4.00.
 * April 2009: Fare raised down to $3.80.
 * April 2010: Fare increased to $4.00.
 * 1 October 2011: Fare increased to $4.50.
 * 4 August 2014: Fare increased to $4.80.