Singapore Buses route 53M

Singapore Buses route 53M is a trunk service plying between Hougang Avenue 1 and looping at Serangoon Central, passing through Lorong Ah Soo, Upper Paya Lebar Road, Serangoon Central and Upper Serangoon Road. It is a route variant of Service 53, introduced under the Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP) and was launched on Sunday, 16 August 2015.

Service 53M is a supplementary trunk service of service 53, duplicating a short stretch of its parent service between Hougang Avenue 1 and Serangoon Central. It enhances bus connections for commuters along service 53's most crowded short stretches of route, and was launched on Sunday, 16 August 2015.

The service operates daily from 6.00am to 11.00pm, serving residential estates along Hougang Avenue 1 and Lorong Ah Soo with better access to the key transport node of Serangoon Central, where commuters can transfer to other bus services or the rail network. It serves amenities such as the market/food centre along Hougang Avenue 1 and Aljunied Community Club, as well as schools such as Paya Lebar Girls' School and Yuying Secondary School. The route relieves demand off services 45 and 53, which encounters very heavy loading along the sectors plied by 53M.

Shortworking trips 53A and 53B, which ply the Serangoon Central bound and Hougang Avenue 1 bound sectors during the AM and PM peak periods respectively, were withdrawn after the introduction of 53M due to duplicating sectors.

With no evident terminating point, service 53M buses turnaround at Hougang Street 21 vehicle park next to Blk 206, the site of the former Hougang South Bus Interchange (and current service 115 terminating point). However, no boarding and alighting is allowed outside the designated bus stops of the route. Buses officially park at Hougang Central Bus Interchange during their scheduled breaks.