SBS Transit Ltd (abbreviation: SBS or SBST) is a multi-modal public transport operator in Singapore operating bus and rail services. With a majority of its shares owned by Singaporean multinational transport conglomerate ComfortDelGro Corporation at 75%, it was formerly known as Singapore Bus Services before rebranding to SBS Transit on 1 November 2001.
It is the largest public bus operator in Singapore, as well as one of the two major operators of Singapore's rail services along with SMRT Corporation. It has a fleet of 3,329 buses and operates 196 routes, as of 2024.
History
Singapore Bus Services (19732001)
19731978
Singapore Bus Services Limited was established on 1 July 1973 when the regional bus companies Amalgamated Bus Company, Associated Bus Services and United Bus Company (which were in turn results of amalgamations of privately run Chinese bus companies of the 1960s in 1971) agreed to merge their operations with each taking shareholdings of 53%, 19% and 28% respectively in the new company. The government-sanctioned merger was undertaken to improve service standards of the bus transport system.
SBS inherited many problems from its Chinese predecessors, including use of 14 non-standard bus models that frequently broke down, poor standards among the staff and inadequate infrastructure. Hence, the government seconded a Government Team of Officials to SBS in 1974 to overhaul the management and culture. Under the supervision of the GTO, SBS completely overhauled their bus fleet with new buses of usually the Albion Viking or Mercedes-Benz OF1413 makes and introduced a rigorous maintenance regime, improving the reliability of their buses greatly whereas a new disciplinary code was introduced, reducing complaints by half from 1979 to 1983.
In 1977, SBS introduced into service its first double-decker buses, the Leyland Atlantean AN68 on route 86 between Tampines Way and Shenton Way.
In light of dissatisfaction over bus services in the Jurong area and requests for improved coverage, SBS started a reorganisation of bus services across the country, starting with Jurong. This consisted of a network of internal services serving a town, with external services terminating at a point in the town, along with bus interchanges to serve as such termini. Additional depots were also constructed, which SBS claimed gave them more control over bus operations.
19782001
The company was replaced by the Singapore Bus Service (1978) Limited on 17 February 1978. In May 1978, the company implemented a rule that car owners were not allowed to purchase any shares, resulting in more than 5,000 applicants being unsuccessful. The stock was oversubscribed by about 27 times, with received for 14 million shares at each. The company was listed on the Stock Exchange of Singapore (SES) on 26 June 1978.
In 1992, SBS were reorganised under a new subsidiary SBS Bus Services Pte Ltd.
SBS also operated taxis as SBS Taxis. SBS Taxis merged with Singapore Commuter and Singapore Airport Bus Services on 1 July 1995 to form CityCab, which remained part of DelGro Corporation.
SBS also operated Airbus in the past from 1995 to 1997 and Premium Bus Services, Sentosa Services and Jurong Island Services called "SBS Leisure" in 1995 to 2003. SBS had transferred Sentosa and Jurong Island Services in 2003, and Premium Bus Services (555 and 556) in December 2003 to private bus operators. 555 was a bus service from Watten Estate to Spottiswoode Park and 556 was a bus service from Sunset Way to Shenton Way, but it was totally withdrawn on 31 October 2004.
Route handovers
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Year
!Bus Package
!From
!To
!Reason
|-
|1983
|Sembawang/Yishun/Woodlands
|style="background-color:#FF0000; color: white"|Singapore Bus Services
|style="background-color:#FFFF00; color: black"|Trans-Island Bus Services
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |1995
|Bukit Panjang
| rowspan="2" style="background-color:#FF0000; color: white"|Singapore Bus Services
| rowspan="2" style="background-color:#FFFF00; color: black"|Trans-Island Bus Services
| rowspan="2" |Foster greater competition in the bus industry and to cushion the impact with the rationalisation of bus services caused by the opening of Woodlands MRT extension in 1996.
|-
|Sengkang/Punggol
|-
| rowspan="2" |1999
|Choa Chu Kang
|style="background-color:#FF0000; color: white"|Singapore Bus Services
|style="background-color:#FFFF00; color: black"|Trans-Island Bus Services
| rowspan="3" |The tender to operate the North East Line, Sengkang and Punggol LRT, and several bus services in the Sengkang and Punggol are awarded to SBS. In addition, bus tenders for Choa Chu Kang and Bukit Batok bus services are awarded to TIBS. This move is also to cushion the impact with the rationalisation of bus services caused by Bukit Panjang LRT in 1999, as well as to reduce congestion in depots (Bus 61, 67, 106 and 172).
|-
|Sengkang/Punggol
|style="background-color:#FFFF00; color: black"|Trans-Island Bus Services
|style="background-color:#FF0000; color: white"|Singapore Bus Services
|-
|2000
|Bukit Batok
|style="background-color:#FF0000; color: white"|Singapore Bus Services
|style="background-color:#FFFF00; color: black"|Trans-Island Bus Services
|-
| rowspan="2" |2016
|Jurong East
|style="background-color:#800080; color: white"|SBS Transit
|style="background-color:#008000; color: white"|Tower Transit Singapore
| rowspan="5" |Under the Bus Contracting Model from 2016 onwards.
|-
|Pasir Ris/Punggol
|style="background-color:#800080; color: white"|SBS Transit
|style="background-color:#FFA500; color: white"|Go-Ahead Singapore
|-
|2018
|Yishun (selected)
|style="background-color:#FF0000; color: white"|SMRT Buses
|style="background-color:#800080; color: white"|SBS Transit
|-
|2024
|Boon Lay/Joo Koon/Tuas
|style="background-color:#800080; color: white"|SBS Transit
|style="background-color:#FF0000; color: white"|SMRT Buses
|-
|2026
|Tampines
|style="background-color:#800080; color: white"|SBS Transit
|style="background-color:#FFA500; color: white"|Go-Ahead Singapore
|}
SBS Transit (2001–present)
On 1 November 2001, Singapore Bus Services was rebranded as SBS Transit to reflect it becoming a multi-modal transport operator with the impending opening of the Sengkang LRT line and North East MRT line. Refurbishment of the buses began on 1 November 2001 and completed on 14 February 2004. ComfortDelGro Corporation owns 75% of the shares in SBS Transit.
On 18 January 2003, SBS Transit commenced operating the Sengkang LRT, followed by the North East MRT line on 20 June the same year. SBS Transit commenced operating the Punggol LRT on 29 January 2005, followed by the Downtown MRT line on 22 December 2013.
Bus
Routes
SBS Transit operates the majority of bus routes across most of Singapore’s towns. Significant exceptions include Tuas, Joo Koon, Jurong West, Jurong East, Tengah, Bukit Batok, Choa Chu Kang, Bukit Panjang, Woodlands, Sembawang, Yishun, Punggol and Pasir Ris. In these areas, services are primarily managed by other operators under the Bus Contracting Model, specifically:
- SMRT Buses: Woodlands, Choa Chu Kang-Bukit Panjang, and Jurong West Bus Packages.
- Tower Transit: Bulim and Sembawang-Yishun Bus Packages.
- Go-Ahead: Loyang Bus Package.
As of April 2026, SBS Transit operates 210 wheelchair-accessible bus services.
SBS Transit later became the first local operator to win a tender under the BCM in April 2017, and began operating the Seletar Bus Package on 18 March 2018. It was announced in 2018 by LTA that SBS Transit had won the subsequent package, the Bukit Merah Bus Package.
In 2023, it was announced that SBS Transit retained the Bukit Merah Bus Package for its second term, but lost the bid for Jurong West Bus Package, which was awarded to SMRT Buses. In July 2024, it was announced that SBS Transit retained the Seletar Bus Package for its second term. In September 2025, it was announced that SBS Transit lost the bid for Tampines Bus Package, which was awarded to Go-Ahead.
New Express Feeder bus services 454 and 456 were launched. After service 454 was transferred to Go-Ahead Singapore in July 2026, service 456 became the only Express Feeder service under SBS Transit.
Vehicle fleet
thumb|right|A [[MAN NLxx3F|MAN A22 bus that was transferred to SBS Transit from SMRT Buses in 2018 as part of the Seletar Bus Package]]
thumb|The three-door and two-staircase concept bus MAN A95 (Gemilang Mk2) demonstrator, which was introduced in 2015 and is currently operated by SBS Transit since 2018
thumb|Linkker LM312
As of December 2019, SBS Transit operated more than 3,500 buses.
SBS Transit operates a mix of single decker, double decker and articulated buses.
Single deckers
- BYD GTK6127BEVB (BC12A04) (Zhuhai Guangtong)
- BYD K9 (Gemilang Coachworks)
- Linkker LM312 (Gemilang Coachworks)
- MAN NL323F Lion's City (A22) (Gemilang Coachworks)
- Mercedes-Benz O530 Citaro (Daimler Buses)
- Scania K230UB (Gemilang Coachworks)
- Volvo B5L Hybrid (MCV Evora)
- Zhongtong LCK6126EVG N12 (Integral)
Double deckers
- Alexander Dennis Enviro500 MMC (3-door variant)
- MAN ND323F Lion's City (A95) (Gemilang Coachworks)
- Scania K310UD (Gemilang Coachworks) demonstrator – used for driver training purposes
- Volvo B9TL (Gemilang Coachworks) demonstrator – used for driver training purposes
- Volvo B9TL (Wright Eclipse Gemini 2)
Articulated buses
- MAN NG363F Lion's City (A24) (Gemilang Coachworks)
Former vehicle fleet
- BYD B12A03 (integral) LTA trial specifications demonstrator
- BYD K9RC (Gemilang Coachworks) demonstrator
- Mercedes-Benz O530 Citaro C2 Hybrid demonstrator
- Volvo B8L (Wright Eclipse Gemini 3) demonstrator
- Volvo B9TL ComfortDelGro Engineering (CDGE)
- Volvo B10TL Super Olympian
- Volvo Olympian
- Leyland Olympian
- Mercedes-Benz O405 (including one demonstrator Volgren CR221-bodied O405G articulated vehicle)
- Volvo B10BLE
- Scania N113CRB
- Volvo B10M, it some two Volvo B10M Mark IV demonstrator vehicles
- Sunlong SLK6121UF14 Hybrid (Gemilang Coachworks) demonstrator
- Scania L94UB (Volgren) demonstrator
- MAN 18.240 HOCL-NL (A69) (Gemilang Coachworks) demonstrator
- Dennis Dart
- Dennis Trident 3 (Duple Metsec 5000)
- Volvo B7RLE (Soon Chow Workshop) demonstrator
- Mercedes-Benz 811D
- Mercedes-Benz O305
thumb|right|A 1989 [[Scania N113|Scania N113CRB still bearing the original SBS livery at Bedok Bus Interchange.]]
thumb|right|SBS Transit purchased 12 [[Volgren-bodied CNG Volvo B10BLE buses.]]
When SBS was first formed in 1973, it inherited a wide variety of buses of various makes from its Chinese predecessors. Examples of such buses included the Albion Viking, Mercedes-Benz LP1113 and OF1413 and Nissan Diesel RX102K3 with small numbers of Ford R192 and 226, Seddon, Fargo-Kew, Bedford and Austin. Most of these buses were bodied by local coachbuilder Soon Chow although some were bodied by other companies such as Supreme Star and Strachan. Subsequent models that were purchased by SBS included Berliet and Guy Victory in the 1970s and the Volvo B57 and Mercedes-Benz OF1417 in the 1980s, the latter which were bodied by foreign coachbuilders like New Zealand Motor Bodies and Hawke Coachwork. In 1984, SBS purchased another 200 Leyland Olympian and 200 Mercedes-Benz O305 double-decker buses. SBS also conducted trials of high capacity single decker buses, namely a superlong Volvo B10M Mark IV (SBS997A), an articulated Volvo B10MA (SBS998Y) and an articulated Mercedes-Benz O405G (SBS999U), in 1996 although the trial did not succeed.
In March 2024, several units of the Scania K230UB (Euro IV and V) buses were transferred to SMRT Buses from SBS Transit for some testings at Woodlands Depot before the Jurong West Bus Package begins operations in September that year.
In October 2021, Alexander Dennis Enviro500 MMC with 3-door and 2-staircase buses was usually enter service debut on bus 974. new bearing Enviro500 MkIV bodywork type and shares with the Enviro400 MMC exterior design, such as new feature for Hong Kong.
In 2025, All these electric buses were began operating service debuts to replace with the traditional diesel EEV buses.
Rail
Mass Rapid Transit (MRT)
SBS Transit operates two of Singapore's six MRT lines in the network, the North East Line (NEL) since its opening on 20 June 2003 and the Downtown Line (DTL) since its opening on 22 December 2013.
SBS Transit is also set to operate the Jurong Region Line (JRL) as a joint venture alongside French rail operator RATP Dev under the operator name Singapore One Rail when it opens in 2028.
The NEL currently spans 21.6 km and 17 stations, running from HarbourFront in the south-west to Punggol Coast in the north-east. As of 2023, the NEL uses a fleet composed of three very similar series of 49 Alstom Metropolis train-sets, namely the C751A, C751C and C851E. The operating license for the NEL was awarded to SBS Transit in order to foster competition with SMRT Trains and to create multi-modal public transport companies, each specialising in their own district. In 2018, it was confirmed that SBS Transit's contract for maintaining the NEL would last until 31 March 2033.
The NEL was Singapore's third metro line and the city's first automated and driverless system. At times, it has been referred to as "the first driverless heavy metro line in the world" or the "world's first fully automated and driverless high-capacity rapid transit line" by some. While driverless metro systems have existed long before (notably the Lille Metro since 1983, the Vancouver Skytrain since 1985 and the Kelana Jaya Line and Paris Métro Line 14 since 1998), the NEL is the first application of a fully automated and driverless metro system with heavy rail characteristics such as an overhead catenary (in contrast to earlier systems using third rail) and 1,435 mm standard-gauge (in contrast to earlier systems featuring smaller rail profiles). Till today, it is the only MRT line in Singapore using the overhead catenary electrical system while the rest of Singapore's MRT uses the third rail.
The DTL currently spans 41.9 km and 35 stations as of 2025, running from Bukit Panjang station in the north-west to Expo station in the east via the Central Area. The DTL is fully automated and driverless as well and consists of a fleet of 92 Bombardier Movia C951 trainsets.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! rowspan="2" | Name
! rowspan="2" | Image
! colspan="2" | Maximum speed (km/h)
! rowspan="2" | Trains built
! rowspan="2" | Cars built
! rowspan="2" | Cars per set
! rowspan="2" | Lines served
! rowspan="2" | Built
! rowspan="2" | Number in service
! rowspan="2" | Introduction
|-
! Design
! Service
|-
| C751A
| 100px
| rowspan="3" | 100
| rowspan="3" | 90
| 25
| 150
| rowspan="3" | 6
| rowspan="3" | North East Line
| 20002003<br />20192026
| 25
| 20 June 2003
|-
| C751C
|
| 18
| 108
| 20142016
| 18
| 1 October 2015
|-
| C851E
|
| 6
| 36
| 20202023
| 6
| 28 July 2023
|-
| C951(A)
| 100px
| 90
| 80
| 92
| 276
| rowspan="2" | 3
| Downtown Line
| 20112017
| 92
| 22 December 2013
|-
| J151
| 100px
| 70
|
| 62
| 186
| Jurong Region Line
| 20222026
| 0
| 2028
|}
- The trains are classified as contracts unlike other countries which use "class".
Light Rail Transit (LRT)
Out of three LRT lines in Singapore, two are operated and maintained by SBS Transit, namely the Sengkang LRT line and Punggol LRT line (SPLRT). These lines serve a total of 29 stations and provide feeder connections to Sengkang and Punggol stations. As of 2025, these lines use a fleet of 57 sets comprising two series of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Crystal Mover APMs (namely the C810 and C810A), a number expected to increase in the future with the introduction of C810D APMs. In 2018, it was confirmed that SBS Transit's contract for both LRT lines would run until 31 March 2033.
|222
|3,572
|78
|198
|-
|2022
|218
|3,562
|78
|192
|-
|2021
|228
|3,548
|78
|192
|-
|2020
|226
|3,531
|78
|192
|-
|2019
|223
|3,512
|78
|192
|-
|2018
|222
|3,471
|78
|192
|}
Bus Depot(s)
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Depot
!Area Served
!Status
|-
|Ang Mo Kio Bus Depot
|Central Region
|Closed on 3 January 2025
|-
|Ayer Rajah Bus Park
|NUS
|Closed in 2018 / Facility upkeep
|-
|Bedok North Bus Depot
|Eastern Region
|Opened
|-
|Braddell HQ Bus Park
|Central Region
|Opened
|-
|Bukit Batok Bus Depot
|Clementi
|Opened
|-
|Bulim Bus Depot
|Boon Lay
|Opened
|-
|Hougang Bus Depot
|Central & North East Region
|Opened
|-
|Seletar Bus Depot
|North East Region
|Opened on 4 January 2025
|-
|Soon Lee Bus Park
|Western Region
|Operations transferred to SMRT Buses in 2024
|-
|Ulu Pandan Bus Depot
|South & West Region
|Opened in 2018
|}
Train Depot(s)
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Depot
!Area Served
!Status
|-
|East Coast Integrated Depot
|Downtown Line
|U/C
|-
|Gali Batu Train Depot
|Downtown Line
|Opened
|-
|Sengkang Train Depot
|North East Line
Sengkang-Punggol LRT
|Opened
|-
|Tai Seng Facility Building
|Downtown Line
|Opened
|-
|Tengah Train Depot
|Jurong Region Line
|Testing Phase
|}
Notes
References
Further reading
- Ilsa Sharp, (2005), SNP:Editions, The Journey — Singapore's Land Transport Story.