1.
Three new City Direct bus services, linking the heartlands to the
Central Business District (CBD), will begin operations in February
2014. The three services are:
a. 17 February
2014 : West Coast City Direct Service 655;
b. 17 February
2014 : Sembawang City Direct Service 656; and
c. 24 February
2014 : Jurong East City Direct Service
657.
2.
These bus services will start with two one-way trips to the CBD on
weekday mornings and two one-way return trips in the evenings,
excluding public holidays. More trips may be added depending on the
demand for the services. With fewer stops and the use of
expressways, journey times will be comparable to that of taking a
bus and transferring to the MRT into the city.
3. From 17 February, commuters travelling
from West Coast to the CBD on weekday mornings will be served by
City Direct Service 655. Operated by Woodlands Transport Service
Pte Ltd, the bus service will ply Teban Gardens Road, Pandan
Gardens and West Coast Road before taking the West Coast Highway to
get to the CBD. On weekday evenings, the service will connect
commuters from Central Boulevard and Shenton Way back to the West
Coast neighbourhood.
4. Similarly, on 17 February 2014, City
Direct Service 656 operated by Loh Gim Chong Transport will begin
operations from Sembawang; it will ply Canberra Road, Admiralty
Link, Sembawang Drive and Sembawang Avenue before heading towards
Orchard Road, Bras Basah Road and Shenton Way via the Seletar
Expressway (SLE) and Central Expressway (CTE). In the evening, it
will bring commuters back to Sembawang.
5. Transtar Travel Pte Ltd will operate
City Direct Service 657 from Jurong East beginning 24 February
2014. The service will ply Jurong West Ave 1, Jurong East Ave 1 and
Toh Guan Road, before heading towards Robinson Road and Marina
Boulevard via the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE). Similarly, it will
bring commuters back to the Jurong East and Jurong West housing
estates in the evening.
6. The three City Direct bus services to be
launched are part of six awarded by the Land Transport Authority
(LTA) in November 2013 under the Bus Service Enhancement Programme
(BSEP)*, to tap on the
resources of PBOs to augment those of the public transport
operators (PTOs). Commuters can expect another three City Direct
bus services from Hougang, Bedok, and Eunos to the CBD in third
quarter of 2014.
nice number for 657. transtar somemore. i rode their high-decker
buses from KL
so at jurong west ave 1, got 157 &
657 haha
this 657 is a combination of 542 & 543