TS1 would almost do this job nicely!
But right now it does not stop at that TPE bus stop, previously
I believe it did stop in Sengkang and Jalan Kayu, but currently is
express from Upper Changi to Woodlands ...
If TS1 accepts distance fares (even express fares) then I can
see it becoming very popular with commuters, especially those
staying in Woodlands or those working at Changi Business Park. But
right now the fares are very high and act as a barrier to higher
ridership IMO ...
last time it stopped at Compassvale stn.
The cross-border bus services are for the people at Johor Bahru
to travel to Singapore, whether is it our public bus services 160,
170 and 950, or the private bus services like AC7. They use the
buses to go to Singapore to work.
The public buses are well utilized because it connects to Kranji
MRT station, where commuters can use the MRT to connect to their
work place in Singapore (usually the City Centre, sometimes along
the various MRT stations in the west).
Private buses like AC7 like to go to Yishun, probably because
along the way, it runs to industrial areas at Woodlands and
Sembawang, and the commuters from Johor Bahru go there for
employment opportunities.
The same applies for the other private buses that go to
industrial areas elsewhere.
I do not know about Sengkang. I understand the area around Jalan
Kayu will have industrial developments in future, but as of now,
there is no industrial area at Sengkang.
The employment opportunities at Sengkang are only limited to the
commercial areas in the town, such as Compass One Shopping Centre,
Seletar Mall, and the Hawker Centre near Compass One Shopping
Centre. Even so, most if not all the employees are those living
around Sengkang, in Singapore.
As far as I know, the people from Johor Bahru do not like to
travel to areas like Tampines because of the long travel distance,
and the long travel time, which also translates to higher transport
cost. I had a work mate who once worked at Tampines, and lived at
Setia Indah area in Johor, Malaysia. She told me it was very tiring
to travel long hours, and have only a few hours to rest, before she
makes her way to Tampines, Singapore again.
If areas like Tampines are not preferred employment locations
for the people from Johor Bahru, I do not think Sengkang is
attractive for them also.
Of course, you can say that there is the public bus service 161
that originates from Woodlands Bus Interchange and passes by
Sengkang area. However, you should consider that the Johor Bahru
residents must take 950 from the custom to Woodlands Bus
Interchange, and 950 winds around the northern residential areas
before reaching Woodlands.
Rather than take another public bus service 161 to Sengkang,
most commuters from Johor Bahru who take 950 to Woodlands Bus
Interchange would end their journey there, and work at the nearby
Causeway Point Shopping Centre, or the Woodlands Civic Centre
behind.
After all, the employment opportunities at Sengkang can all be
found at Woodlands area; there is no need for them to travel
further to Sengkang when Woodlands has the employment opportunities
that they want.
Anyway, I do not see the need for the cross-border bus services
to go to Sengkang. There is no major employment area in
Sengkang.
The major employment areas in the East are at Tampines North,
Changi Airport, and Paya Lebar. If there is demand for cross-border
bus services to the East, it is probably to those areas, and not to
Sengkang.
Even if the cross-border bus service is for the local
Singaporeans at Sengkang to take to the workplace at Changi, I
believe there are other bus services by the public bus operators
that provide the same connection; the demand for cross-border bus
services to provide that connection should be rather obsolete.