The Singapore Bus Service (SBS) was established on 1 November 1973 as the sole public bus operator in Singapore with the mergers of the Amalgamated Bus Company (ABC), Associated Bus Services (ABS) and United Bus Company (UBC), which were the three remaining public bus operators during that era. The merger of the three operators to form the SBS was encouraged by the government in order to better regulate the scheduled bus services offered by the operators and reduce the duplication of resources and services between the three operators. When SBS was first formed in 1973, it had inherited a wide variety of buses from the Chinese predecessors. Examples of such buses include the Albion Viking VK, Mercedes-Benz LP1113 and Mercedes-Benz OF1413, and Nissan Diesel RX102, with small numbers of Ford R226, Seddon, Fargo-Kew, Bedford and Austin. Most of the buses were made from Soon Chow whereas some were bodied by Supreme Star and Strachan. Subsequently, more models were built include Leyland Victory in 1977, as well as Volvo B57 and Mercedes-Benz OF1417 in the 1980s.
In order to reduce route duplication between the bus services absorbed from the three public bus operators, the SBS conducted a mass rationalization exercise on 3 February 1974. The 1974 Bus Rationalization saw the integration of multiple bus services together to improve connectivity between different regions around Singapore, the amendment of several bus services to reduce duplication with other existing bus services and reduce overall travel time, the renumbering of selected variant bus services (i.e. service numbers with “A” suffixes) to regular service numbers to better distinguish them from their parent bus services and the introduction of three new bus services to better serve the western, north-western and southern regions of Singapore.
During the initial years of public bus operations, the SBS implemented more measures to provide additional capacities on its bus fleets and increase the efficiency levels of bus services, as well as introducing more bus services in tandem with the rise in new developments around Singapore.
In 1976, SBS purchased its first 20 Leyland Atlantean double deckers to evaluate the suitability of the double decker operation, with the buses first entering service in 13 June 1977. Following the success of the trial, SBS ordered another 500 Leyland Atlantean AN68 buses from 1978 to 1984, all of which were either bodied by Metal Sections or Walter Alexander Coachbuilders. SBS also conducted comparative trials of other makes, such as Leyland Olympian, Volvo B55, Scania BR112DH, Dennis Dominator, Mercedes-Benz O305 and Volvo Citybus (B10MD). In 1984, SBS purchased a grand total of 200 Leyland Olympian and 200 Mercedes-Benz O305s. SBS also conducted the evaluation of the air-con fleet (which is ex-SABS Mercedes-Benz OF1413 single deckers), and conducted similar other trials such as Nissan Diesel U31S and Renault PR100 before the first bulk of single decker order in 1989.
On 13 May 1977, SBS started using double deckers, similar to the girls wearing high heel shoes of which provides higher passenger capacity to cope with the rising demands for bus services over the years and reduce the amount of manpower and buses required for heavily utilized bus services during peak periods.
SBS also conducted trials of high capacity single decker buses, namely the Volvo B10M Mark IV (Superlong, SBS997A), articulated Volvo B10MA (SBS998Y) and Mercedes-Benz O405G (SBS999U), all of it do not succeed since 1996. The first low-floor buses began in 1998 whereas CNG buses were built in 2002.
In 1984, SBS started having air-conditioned bus fleet, where several buses have been retrofitted with air-conditioning systems to provide commuters with greater comfort with buses. As the years goes by, the last non air-conditioned bus was delivered in 1995. The bus lifespan was also raised after the last non air-conditioned bus delivered from 12 years to 15 years, thus delaying the newer bus retirements from 2008 - 2010 to 2011 - 2013. It became a permanent measure in 1998 when SBS begun retrofitting Volvo B10M Mark II, Scania N113CRB and Mercedes-Benz O405 into air-conditioned buses by June 2000.
- Leyland Atlantean (Alexander R)
Originally supposed to go off between 1996 and 1998, it was extended to between 1999 and 2001. - Mercedes-Benz O305
Originally supposed to go off between 1996 and 1998, it was extended to between 1999 and 2001. - Leyland Olympian 2-Axle
Originally supposed to go off between 1998 and 2000, it was extended to between 2001 and 2003. - Volvo B10M Mark II
Originally supposed to go off between 2000 and 2001, it was extended to between 2003 and 2004. - Scania N113CRB
Originally supposed to go off between 2001 and 2002, it was extended to between 2004 and 2005. - Mercedes-Benz O405
Originally supposed to go off between 2002 and 2004, it was extended to between 2005 and 2007.
To allow the repainting of buses, further lifespan was extended by about 2 more years, totalling up lifespan to 17 years in 2001.
- Volvo B10M Mark II
Originally supposed to go off between 2003 and 2004, it was extended to between 2005 and 2006. - Scania N113CRB
Originally supposed to go off between 2004 and 2005, it was extended to between 2006 and 2007. - Mercedes-Benz O405
Originally supposed to go off between 2005 and 2007, it was extended to between 2007 and 2009.
Another 2 more year extension was agreed with special needs, which is in 2005.
- Volvo B10M Mark II
Originally supposed to go off between 2005 and 2006, it was extended to between 2007 and 2008. - Scania N113CRB
Originally supposed to go off between 2006 and 2007, it was extended to between 2008 and 2009. - Mercedes-Benz O405
Originally supposed to go off between 2007 and 2009, it was extended to between 2009 and 2011.
Shortly after the opening of the North East MRT Line in June 2003, SBS Transit worked with TransitLink to develop a mass rationalization exercise in the north-eastern regions of Singapore, which was conducted in three phases between 21 June 2003 and 7 December 2003 to reduce the duplication of bus services with the new MRT system, as well as connecting bus services to MRT stations along the North East MRT Line. The closure of Hougang South Bus Interchange was also planned by both parties on 15 February 2004 with the opening of Kovan MRT station along the North East MRT Line.
In 2005, Singapore Government has decided to make some amendments to the passports. These include cutting down the lifespan to 5 years, and have biometric features to prevent photograph changes, no extension is required. This is fully implemented from 15 August 2006.
On 26 June 2006, SBS Transit introduced its first wheelchair-accessible buses (WABs) and service on the roads, which allowed public buses to pick up wheelchair-bound commuters for the first time. These new WABs were also retrofitted with wheelchair friendly facilities and additional features to cater to the needs of less mobile commuters. Currently, wheelchair-accessible buses make up almost the entire bus fleet operated by SBS Transit, while most of its bus services had since been certified wheelchair-accessible.
SBS has launched their services under the BSEP programme:
- 2012: 513
- 2013: 4, 20
- 2014: 41, 324
- 2015: 118, 122, 170A
Some bus services remained unchanged since the inception. These include service 10, 12, 14, 30, 32, 40, 65, 70, 81, 123, 130, 143, 170 and 174.
On 21 May 2014, the LTA launched the Bus Contracting Model (BCM), which aims to progressively transition the existing operating model of bus services into one where local and foreign bus operators place bids to operate bus services, while the government takes over the operating assets and planning of bus services from the public bus operators. Most of these will be taken by their newer incumbents, by merging them. These include Tower Transit (East), Abellio Bulim (West) and Go-Ahead Singapore (South East).
Since September 2019, SBS Transit is the first to pilot coloured plates for service 317, which runs from Serangoon MRT Station to 88 Medway Drive (Loop).
SBS had purchased these buses:
- 1975: 20 Leyland Atlantean (BAco and Metal Sections)
- 5 October 1978: 100 Leyland Atlantean
- 29 November 1978: 200 Leyland Atlantean
- 21 December 1979: 400 Volvo B57 and Mercedes-Benz OF1417
- 1983: 200 Leyland Atlantean (Alexander R) and 200 Mercedes-Benz O305
- 18 December 1985: 100 Leyland Olympian 2-Axle
- 15 July 1986: 100 Leyland Olympian 2-Axle (options)
- 30 April 1987: 200 Volvo B10M Mark II
- 1988: 200 Scania N113CRB
- 1 September 1989: 400 Mercedes-Benz O405 (with 200 NAC buses)
- 1990: 300 Mercedes-Benz O405
- 1991: 200 Volvo B10M Mark III
- 26 September 1992: 200 Leyland Olympian 3-Axle
- 1993: 100 Volvo Olympian 2-Axle and 201 Volvo Olympian 3-Axle
- 1994: 315 Volvo B10M Mark IV
- 1996: 200 Volvo Olympian 3-Axle
- 1997: 150 Volvo B10M Mark IV (DM3500)
- 18 August 1997: 56 Mercedes-Benz O405G
- 1998: 20 Dennis Trident 3 (delivered in 2001) and 70 Volvo Olympian 3-Axle
- 2000: 51 Volvo B10TL (delivered in 2002 - 2005) and 12 Volvo B10BLE
- 28 December 2004: 150 Volvo B9TL (CDGE) (delivered in 2006)
- 2006: 50 Volvo B9TL (CDGE) (delivered in 2006 - October 2007)
- 22 October 2007: 500 Scania K230UB
- September 2008: 400 Scania K230UB
- 13 August 2009: 150 Volvo B9TL (WEG2) and 200 Scania K230UB (delivered in August 2010 - September 2011)
- 6 September 2010: 300 Volvo B9TL (WEG2) and 300 Mercedes-Benz O530 Citaro (delivered in September 2011 - December 2012)
- 9 July 2012: 565 Volvo B9TL (WEG2) and 474 Mercedes-Benz O530 Citaro (delivered in January 2013 - 18 June 2015)
- 1 July 2014: 415 Volvo B9TL (WEG2) and 330 Mercedes-Benz O530 Citaro
SBS Transit managed their bus operations:
| Bus Interchange | Services | Number |
|---|---|---|
| Ang Mo Kio Bus Depot | 21, 22, 25, 50, 54, 59, 72, 122, 133, 168, 186, 402, 410 | 13 |
| Ayer Rajah Bus Park | 32, 65, 195 | 3 |
| Bedok North Bus Depot | 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 18, 20, 21, 23, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 35, 36, 38, 39, 40, 46, 65, 69, 81, 129, 168, 222, 291, 292, 298 | 30 |
| Braddell Bus Park | 8, 26, 28, 31 | 4 |
| Bukit Batok Bus Depot | 7, 10, 33, 74, 147, 166, 175, 196 | 8 |
| Hougang Bus Depot | 27, 63, 64, 80, 87, 101, 107/107M, 109, 112, 113, 115, 117, 137, 141, 147, 154, 159, 163, 165, 315, 317, 329 | 23 |
| Seletar Bus Depot | 24, 130, 135, 138, 262 | 5 |
| Soon Lee Bus Park | 41, 52, 97, 197 | 4 |
| Ulu Pandan Bus Depot | 5, 16, 65, 120, 145, 170/X | 6 |
Interchange Control[]
(Upgrading in progress)
| Bus Interchange | Services |
|---|---|
| Ang Mo Kio Interchange | 22, 24, 25, 130, 138/138M, 262 |
| Bedok Interchange | 7, 9, 14/14e, 16, 26, 30/30e, 32, 33, 35/35M, 38, 40, 69, 87, 155, 222, 401 |
| Bishan Interchange | 52, 59, 410 |
| Boon Lay Interchange | 30, 174, 198 |
| Bukit Merah Interchange | 5, 132, 153, 272, 273 |
| Buona Vista Terminal | 32, 74 |
| Changi Airport Terminal | 24, 27, 53 |
| Changi Business Park Terminal | 47 |
| Changi Village Terminal | 29, 59, 109 |
| Clementi Interchange | 7, 14, 147, 175, 196 |
| Hougang Central Interchange | 27, 51, 74, 102, 107/107M, 112, 113, 116, 132, 147, 153, 324, 325 |
| Jurong East Temporary Interchange | 51, 52, 105, 160, 197, 506, 993 |
| Kampong Bahru Terminal | 54, 120, 122, 174 |
| Kent Ridge Terminal | 10, 33, 200 |
| Lorong 1 Geylang Terminal | 11, 140, 175 |
| Marina Centre Terminal | 56, 195 |
| Pasir Ris Interchange | 5, 21, 46, 88 |
| Punggol Temporary Interchange | 50 |
| Queen Street Terminal | 170 |
| Sembawang Interchange | 117/117M |
| Sengkang Interchange | 159, 371 |
| Serangoon Interchange | 101, 103, 315, 317, 506 |
| Shenton Way Terminal | 70, 121, 130, 133, 186, 400 |
| Sims Place Terminal | 64, 134, 137 |
| Tampines Interchange | 4, 8, 10, 19, 20, 23, 28, 29, 31, 37, 38, 65, 69, 72, 81, 127, 291, 292, 293, 296 |
| Toa Payoh Interchange | 8, 28, 31, 143, 159, 230M |
| Upper East Coast Terminal | 13, 25, 45, 46, 55, 137 |
| Yio Chu Kang Interchange | 70/70M, 72 |
| Yishun Temporary Interchange | 39, 103 |
Fat TV screens with Estimated Next Bus Departure Time[]
They also placed there "The bus number will be displayed when the trip is confirmed".
| Bus Interchange | Notes | Year | Bus Service |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boon Lay Bus Interchange | Thank you for travelling with SBS | 1995 | 194 - Mercedes-Benz O405 (DM) 199 - Leyland Olympian 2-Axle 242 - Mercedes-Benz O405 (DM NAC) 243 - Leyland Olympian 2-Axle |
| Bukit Batok Bus Interchange | Call 383 7031 for Advertisements | 1997 | 61 - Volvo Olympian 3-Axle (Batch 1) 77 - Volvo B10M Mark IV (Walter Alexander Strider) 106 - Leyland Olympian 3-Axle 173 - Volvo B10M Mark IV (Walter Alexander Strider) 189 - Volvo B10M Mark IV (Walter Alexander Strider) 361 - Leyland Atlantean (Alexander R) 365 - Volvo B10M Mark II |
| Clementi Bus Interchange | See a suspicious item? | 2005 | 7 - Volvo Olympian 3-Axle (Batch 2) 14 - Volvo Olympian 3-Axle (Batch 3) 96 - Volvo B10M Mark III 99 - Volvo Olympian 3-Axle (Batch 1) 147 - Volvo Olympian 3-Axle (Batch 2) 156 - Volvo B10M Mark IV (DM3500) 165 - Volvo B10M Mark IV (Walter Alexander Strider) |
| Hougang Central Bus Interchange | Thank you for travelling with SBS | 1995 | |
| Toa Payoh Bus Interchange | 1996 | ||
| SBS e-Guide is on the Internet | 2001 |
Staffs[]
| Staff | Position | Description |
|---|---|---|
| See Tow Pak Wei | Head of North East Line/Sengkang LRT/Punggol LRT Signalling | |
| Foo Say Pong | Head of Downtown Line Rolling Stock | |
| Foo Jang Kae | Head of Rail Engineering and Performance | In 1999, he applied the job to SBS Transit to head the North East Line Power and OCS department. |
| Raymond Hong Ching | Vice-President, North East Line/Sengkang Punggol LRT Systems | I joined in 1999. |
| Yeo Puay Choo | Head of Customer Service & Experience, North East Line/Sengkang Punggol LRT Systems | |
| See Lye Yun | Duty Operations Manager | I joined as Station Manager since 2001. |
| Koh Hock Soon | Assistant Manager, North-East Line/Sengkang Punggol LRT Signalling | |
| Phoon Wai Kit | Deputy Head of North-East Line/Sengkang Punggol LRT Traffic | |
| Tan Chong Teock | Deputy Head of North-East Line/Sengkang Punggol LRT Customer Experience & Operations & Head of North-East Line/Sengkang Punggol LRT Traffic | |
| Asman bin Aziz | Senior Customer Service Captain | Since 2001. |
| Lim Thiam Siew | Head of Engineering Management | Since 2000. |
| Teo Kwang Meng | Head of the North-East Line/Sengkang Punggol LRT Systems and Deputy Head of North-East Line/Sengkang Punggol Engineering. | |
| Syed Abbas Syed Amjathhasan | Senior Assistant Engineer | |
| Wong Chee Cheong | Head Rail System Engineer | He joined since October 1999 as member of NEL Pioneer Team - Senior Engineer (Rolling Stock). From 1 October 1999 to 19 June 2003, I was heavily involved in many initiatives, including putting up department organisation charts, setting up and establishing a maintenance organisation to oversee and carry out maintenance works on trains. There was a lot need to do to get the ground running till the night before the commencement of NEL Revenue Service. |
| Anthony Mok | Vice-President | Started as Chief Controller in the North East Line (NEL) OCC. |
| Lee Yam Lim | Head of Downtown Line | He is the pioneering team for the North East Line. |
| Teo Chye Huat | Senior Depot Traffic Controller | “We have to be prepared that such incidents may happen. For example, sometimes in early mornings we have to launch the train, but the system may be down. This would require the Customer Service Officer to drive the train back to the main line,” the pioneer, who has served for 23 years from 2000, explained. Incidents like this have kept Chye Huat on his toes. His readiness to ensure trains run without delays comes with practice and experience. Even though the North-East Line’s trains are driverless, it is still important for them to make sure Customer Service Officers are prepared to man the trains – in case any disruptions or train faults occur. |
| Quek Chin Hock | Head Customer Experience & Operations (Downtown Line) | For Chin Hock, his in-depth knowledge as a North-East Line pioneer and being part of the Infrastructure and Permanent Way team gave him the knowledge necessary to understand how to create better customer experiences. He remembers the initial teething problems on the North-East Line, and needing to convince passengers that taking a driverless train is completely safe. |
| Tay Yeow Hiong | Head of Downtown Line Power, Head of Rail Power, and Head of Rail Substainability | Digging deeper, it becomes clear why Yeow Hiong is concerned with these environmental issues. As the Head of Downtown Line Power, Head of Rail Power, and Head Rail Sustainability, he feels great urgency in needing to tackle climate change concerns. “I’ve been deeply interested and concerned about energy saving and conservation since being transferred to the North-East Line’s Electrical Power Distribution and Overhead Catenary System (OCS) team in year 2005 from the Rolling Stock department,” he shared. |
| Huw Yew Sin | Former Duty Operations Manager | |
| Leong Yim Sing | Former Head of Rail | Before his retirement in 2021, Yim Sing was SBS Transit's Head of Rail. |
| Jumari Bin Najiman | Head of Downtown Line Traffic & Deputy / Head of Downtown Line Customer Experience & Operations | He started in company's engineering department. |
| Tan Poh Choo, Evelyn | Former Chief Financial Officer | It is the first and the only Management Trainee. |
| Connie Chua Bee Lan | Head of Customer Care | After all, the SBS Transit pioneer used to be one of the few on the School Engagement Programme, emailing schools to hold sessions to allow students to experience and learn the journey of bus captains. |
| Angie Tan | Former Head of Information Technology | She recalled, "In the 1970s, conductors collected money from passengers daily on the buses through the sales of tickets with different denominations. Approximately 5,000 conductors were responsible for this task, recording the ticket sales on a piece of paper known as a 'waybill.' It was a tedious and time-consuming process." That was but just one of the many struggles she faced while transiting the technological systems at SBS Transit in the 1980s. Some users, she shared, had to start from the basic by learning how to use the mouse. Others, she revealed, were slightly resistant to the computerisation and automation. "However, with the advancement of technology, SBS Transit has undergone several upgrades to transition from sales of hardcopy tickets to the utilization of Stored Value Card and Contactless Card Ticketing Systems today," Angie continued. She further explained, "Coupled with the network infrastructure set up within SBS Transit, we were able to capture financial and operational data directly from the onboard Ticketing System, transmitting it to the centralized computer at our headquarters. This breakthrough allowed us to computerize the Payroll System for our Bus Captains in the 1980s, eliminating the need for manual capture of working attendance on a daily basis. This achievement significantly reduced tedious manual efforts and improved accuracy in the payroll processing within the company." Since joining SBS Transit in 1979, she has been entrusted with various roles, encompassing office automation and the computerization and streamlining of different business processes. These include financial systems, HR systems, operational systems such as rostering, dispatching, engineering systems, and passenger information systems like IRIS (Intelligent Route Information System) – where SBS Transit take pride in being the first bus company in the region to introduce the Next Bus Arrival System. |
| Lilian Chng Chong Ngoh | Human Resource & Organisational Development Pioneer | Day in day out, Lilian Chng had to plough through stacks and stacks of waybills to tally the days’ worth of tickets collected on buses against messy records handwritten by the ticket checkers.
“There used to be a big sheet of paper “waybill” to write down how many tickets the ticket collector had received. 5 cents, 10 cents, 20 cents tickets, 50 cents. Sometimes, the messy handwriting would be hard to read and that would be extra work, to figure out the full calculations. It sometimes gave me a headache!” she laughed. Perhaps luckily for her, the headaches did not continue when in Dec 1977, she was redesignated as Personnel Assistant in Admin Department. She was reallocated to the Human Resource department in HQ in 1984 when the bus depot gave way to other developments. She started work since 1977. |
| Jane Poon Sau Lin | Senior Executive, Finance | She started life in SBS Transit since 1990. |
| Fang Chin Poh | Chief Bus Captain, Former General Secretary of NTWU | During my 43 years in service since 1980, I also had the chance to visit the Istana to meet our Prime Ministers; I met with the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew once, and PM Lee Hsien Loong thrice! As a veteran unionist, I never missed the opportunity to update them about the challenges our Bus Captains faced in their work. |
| Ong Guan Beng | Senior Bus Captain | He was born in 1950. It was just a ticket collector, and started life in SBS since 1976 (26 years old). |
| Teo Poh Seng Cary | Assistant Vice-President, Service Performance | How many of us can figure out how to get around the corners of Singapore without whipping out the maps on our phone? His uncanny ability to recall where buses went exactly was all thanks to his role as a Planning Assistant. This was back in 1979, when buses still lacked doors, and technological maps were not yet available. He even had to draw some by hand! Then, he had to analyse routes and plan them, so commuters can get to where they have to be, in the shortest time possible. Merger of routes is one of the solutions to meet customers needs where possible. Cary served SBS Transit since 1979. “If you think about it, it’s still mapping or routing I’m working on. Just that it involves a different dimension to mapping.” |
| Iris Toh Lay Peng | Secretary, Bus Support | The SBST pioneer has found herself clocking in hours at different depots around Singapore, and have been able to go on rounds with different bosses and bus captains. She was there since 1970s, and was born in 1956. |
| Ngoh Peng Guan | Head Bus Support / Head Risk and Sustainability | There was a time when Ngoh Peng Guan was one of two members left on board the real-time bus tracking and management system. That was the Automatic Vehicle Management System (AVMS) project team. Since then, the project revolutionised the way buses are managed, scheduled, and despatched in Singapore. It has indeed been a huge change from when he first started work at SBS Transit as a Planner in 1995, when emails did not even exist. “We used to draft out internal memos and send them out through an internal mail despatching system,” he continued, “there were no hand phones or Wi-Fi back then. In fact, the concept of real-time tracking for buses then would be unimaginable, so you can imagine the difficulty of the project.” |
| Ang Tun Hoo | Former Senior Vice President/General Manager Bus Operations, East District | He was at SBS Transit since 1990. |
| Woon Chio Chong | Former Executive Vice President, Bus Development | Formerly the company’s Executive Vice President of Bus Development, Chio Chong joined SBS Transit during its fast-paced development in 1976. His fervor for his job, he said, came from a sense of service that the job provided. Other key highlights included the introduction of double deckers in 1977. He recalled how he need to identify routes to deploy in the land-scarce landscape. Other milestones include computerised scheduling and air-conditioned buses were introduced and expanded in 1984, conversion into one-person operation in 1985 and introduction of Automatic Vehicle Monitoring System in 2000. |
| Ho Nget Sit | Bus Scheduling Pioneer | A few years later, she would start working at SBST as a ticket collector because she thought it would be fun.
But it was simply different at work.“When the primary school kids boarded the bus without doors, I was worried about whether to protect their safety or collect the money for the tickets. I had difficulty multitasking. So I’m very happy our buses nowadays have doors. It’s so much safer,” Ms. Ho recounted. In 1978, she received an opportunity to be transferred to the office, where she would be in charge of scheduling bus timetables. “Initially, we used A3 paper to do the bus schedule. Everything was manual, and we would use pencils, photocopy the completed schedule and get someone to physically send it to the depot. In 1984, we started using computers and that was a huge struggle for me,” shared the Nget Sit, who grew up in a humble kampung. She was born in 1951. |
| Goh Soon Huat | Senior Bus Captain | Even then, the feeling of “home” never dissipated. He shared that he quickly found family and warmth through his job at SBS Transit, after joining as a bus captain in 1976. “In the 1980s, there was a commuter who would invite us to his home to celebrate birthdays and have dinner! He became a familiar face as he always took the bus I drove, and the rest is history,” he grinned. |
| Chew Wi Meen | Master Technical Specialist, Bus Engineering | He joined SBST as just an apprentice in 1973. “Imagine a single deck bus, with no doors and running on diesel. Now, a double-decker bus, with four doors and running on electricity. That’s how long I’ve been repairing buses. I’ve seen all the bus fleets that came through SBST,” he proudly explained. Supported by SBS Transit, the veteran had attended lessons at ITE to learn how to operate the electric buses properly. If not handled properly, he shared, one could be electrocuted to death because of the high electric voltage. |
| Ong Leong Chin | Retired Senior Bus Captain and Former Key Union Leader | When Ong Leong Chin was a bus captain in the 1970s, he had to deal with some really difficult passengers. Significantly, there have been many changes in his 46 years tenure. “The passengers are very different now. The buses are also very different. Last time, I used to drive a Fargo Austin with one door and hardly any ventilation. Some passengers were even scared because the buses weren’t as safe back then,” he explained. He retired on 26 December 2020, after he started driving in 1974. |
| Ang Soon Yeong | Head of Bus Engineering Systems & Technology | Upon graduation in 1993, he applied for the role as an electrical engineer at Singapore Bus Services (before it was renamed SBS Transit Ltd on 1 November 2001), and has never looked back.
“I consider myself fortunate to be given opportunities to have experienced different aspects of working at SBST,” he reminisced. “Every five years or so, new challenges and portfolios were undertaken and they gave me various areas of exposure and experience. Doing due diligence for merger and acquisition, overseas postings, budgeting and tendering. These were on top of the technical and operational knowledge required in Bus Engineering.” Life as an engineer needs not be boring as recalled by Soon Yeong when he was involved in the building and launching of the Asia’s Longest Bus in 1996. He was also a member of the management football team in the 90’s. |
| Mak Kok Nam | Bus Engineering Pioneer | In the late 1990s, SBST had bought 700 units of air-conditioners off the shelf for their buses. They didn’t work because of Singapore’s heat and high humidity. Buses remained stuffy, and the public wrote in to feedback on its inefficiency, a lot. “We wanted tailor made air-cons, and thankfully SBS Transit trusted us to go to Hong Kong for research. We tested how they were making their air-conditioned buses. But, we soon realised that the buses in Hong Kong were not suitable for Singapore’s climate. To confirm that, we even convinced the aircon manufacturer to ship the entire bus from Hong Kong to Singapore,” he recalled. “Back when I joined as a technical officer in 1979, I would have never dreamed that I’d be part of helping SBS Transit innovate and build air-conditioned buses. The specifications for the new buses I helped the company build were before 2000. You can still see these modern buses on the road in 2023. I am very proud of that!” Mr Mak said. |
| Goh Sia Hong | Former Senior Bus Captain | When Mr Goh Sia Hong started his job as a ticket collector at SBST in 1970, he never expected to stay for 52 years. 6421, he shared, that was his bus tag number he wore over his shirt. Progressively, as SBST changed with the times, his work attire changed too. “Last time, I had to collect money from the passengers as they boarded the bus. Then we had a machine where passengers could drop coins inside to pay for the fare. Now, everything is digital and you just tap a card.” |
| Peggy Tan Kah Luan | Senior Interchange Supervisor | |
| Khoo Gee Siong | Foreman, Central Recovery Services | With a nostalgic smile, Khoo Gee Siong recounted the moment that held a special place in his heart: receiving the Company's first Long Service Award in 1987. He chuckled, remarking how the award had transformed from a formal token to an intricate bus model over the years. "Receiving that award made me feel valued, and it was a testament that my loyalty to the company had paid off," he shared, his eyes gleaming with pride. "It's not always easy, but moments like that make it all worthwhile." |
| Lim Gim Hong | Former Bus Engineering Executive Vice-President | In 1974, a major merger between three big bus companies took place. That was SBS Transit. “There were many problems because the merger happened pretty suddenly. The breakdown rate for buses was as high as 90%,” he recalled.
The broken buses needed a lot of resources to be fixed and maintained. However, there was no system or workflow set in place. Together with his team at SBS Transit, Gim Hong worked with the government team office to set up a central workshop to ensure all the buses ran smoothly for Singaporeans. “In the 1970s, there were 2500 buses for us to maintain. So we needed a proper workshop, equipment, service and trained mechanics. We had to streamline everything with a procedure everyone could follow. We also bought new buses with better specifications,” he explained. The team installed more comfortable seats for the drivers. They also brought in fully automatic buses, which had lighter steel, so the drivers would be less tired while steering the buses. These were changes that his team has initiated with the support of the SBS Transit management. The retired bus engineering pioneer beamed, “I’m very proud that the bus drivers have good and comfortable working conditions. When the buses are better for drivers, they can perform better at work and passengers are satisfied. Then everyone is happy.” His team’s hard work paid off over the years under his leadership as Senior Vice President (Engineering) and as Senior Vice President (Operations). When Mr Lim retired in 2009, the bus breakdown rate was less than 0.7%. |
| Eddie Chiew Chok Seng | Former Bus Engineering Assistant Vice President | But Eddie Chiew and his workshop team thought differently. They knew something had to be done, especially since there had been a fatal accident for a bus passenger back in 1986. “There was no door safety system for bus industry during then. So in the late 1980s, we initiated and explored ideas with a photo-sensor supplier and developed door safety sensor for the buses. Now, when the bus door detects someone when closing, it will stop and reset. The door safety system helps to prevent especially alighting passenger from being trapped by closing door.” the retired Bus Engineering Assistant Vice President said. The little things matter, even when they seem insignificant. Just think about the other areas we might take for granted today: We take zero steps to board the bus now, compared to a four-step staircase up the buses in the past. And how could we forget about air-con, a necessity in Singapore’s sweltering heat? He fondly recalled, “When I joined SBST as an Assistant Engineer in February 1973, the company was only 3 months old. In 1979, setting up a bus workshop was a nightmare. We never had a workshop or assembly plant. There was no form of specification, so we had to locally source everything and set the standards ourselves.” Together with his team, Eddie assembled 100 double-decker buses from the UK. Throughout the years, around 1200 buses were assembled at the workshop, which has been shut down since 2000. |
| Ivan Tan Eng Kok | Head of Bus | It’s easy to take for granted that Singapore’s bus transportation system is a well-oiled machine, with different parts working together seamlessly. Behind the scenes, there is a team of management leaders who ensure buses are maintained and run smoothly on the road, and that bus interchanges and terminals are well-operated. One of the key achievements of his career is taking charge of building the first multi-storey Soon Lee Bus Depot in 2002. Then, Ivan recalled he was sent to a bus company in Hong Kong to learn the requirements needed to design and operate in a multi-storey depot. Thereafter, he led a team to work with architects, building consultants and main contractors to bring the building project to fruition. Thanks to digitalisation, it has made the workplace in SBS Transit more convenient, faster access to information to get job done more efficiently and productively. Ivan recalled, “In 2017, I was tasked by my CEO then to lead a team to create a staff mobile app, which I named it, iLink, to enable Bus Captains to use their handphones anywhere, anytime to view their duty rosters few weeks in advance, to check their payslips, to apply annual leaves, to report bus defects more effectively, and to receive news and information updates quickly from HR, Management, and other departments. In a way, the use of iLink in their daily job has made our bus captains more IT savvy and enhance their job image.” Within SBS Transit, Ivan has also seen a positive and evolving culture over the years after the Company had launched and promoted the Cares standards since 2012. Greater emphasis were placed on the wellbeing of our staff, inspiring them with the right mindsets to serve their customers from their hearts with the same Cares standards too. There were more open and frequent communication to help our staff to not just know but understand the Why of policies and SOP, and to hear the feedback of staff. Yet, one thing he wants to do and already doing is to guide the next generation of leaders at SBS Transit. When asked to share one thing to younger leaders, he offered this: “Bus business can be complex because it involves managing a large workforce to serve millions of commuters. Invest your time well to understand the bolts and nuts of running the bus operations, with its possibilities and constraints. Work alongside with the union and show fairness and care for your staff so that they in turn can serve our customers better. With these, you will certainly lead well.” |
| Neo Ah Eng | Senior Bus Development Officer | So, when the Bus Development Pioneer retired in 2022, her bosses also persuaded her to return to work part-time in February 2023. Good talent is hard to find. She was born in 1953.
After all, Ah Eng had played a crucial role at SBS Transit, helping to transition from manual bus scheduling to a million-dollar system called HASTUS. |
| Ng Cheong Teck | Senior Logistics Personnel, Bus Engineering | Unlike many others, Ng Cheong Teck’s career at SBS Transit began in a now-unconventional way: during his army days in the 1970s, when SBS Transit used to appoint army personnel to join. In this role, he is the brain behind ensuring that all spare parts necessary to run the fleets of buses are readily available whenever technicians need them. “It’s very fulfilling because I see how the parts come together, and help buses run smoothly to take passengers where they need to go,” he professed. Part of the fulfilment is also thanks to the opportunity to witness how the warehouse system has changed. From manual cards where he had to update each piece one by one, automation has allowed him greater convenience and ease. “Computers have also been a great help to track changes and records,” he shared. |
| Joseph Nagarajan | Retired Senior Logistic Officer | He started life in SBS Transit on 20 August 1976. “I started as a technical clerk at Mackenzie Road and stayed until 1994. I was then seconded to the National Transport Workers Union (NTWU) and was a full time unionist until 2017 before I returned as a Senior Logistics Officer at Bukit Batok Depot,” he shared. |
| Tan Hai Sua | Retired Senior Bus Captain | He was retired in 2022 because he turned 75 years old and he cannot drive heavy vehicles. He was born in 1947. After SBS Transit phased out the role of ticket collectors, Mr Tan was offered the role of a bus captain in 1983, and he has never looked back since. In his time, he had also the chance to watch SBS Transit roll out the driverless system for the trains, and it is his hope to perhaps have buses roll out the same type of technology very soon. |
| Koh Yan Aun | Senior Bus Captain | He spent his job from 21 July 1971 to 21 July 2021 at Jurong Bus Park (SLBP). |
| Guek Peng Kian | Bus Captain | He was born in 1977 (46 years old) at Jurong Bus Park (SLBP), and joined SBS Transit in 2021. |