Punggol Temporary Bus Interchange

Coordinates: 1°24′15″N 103°54′8″E / 1.40417°N 103.90222°E / 1.40417; 103.90222

Punggol Temporary Bus Interchange is a temporary bus interchange in Punggol New Town, located adjacent to the Punggol MRT/LRT Station. It was built to allow for easy dismantling when the site is redeveloped as part of a major commercial development when Punggol New Town is more developed.^[1] The bus interchange was officially opened on November 30, 2003.

History

Opening

The SGD $1.9-million temporary Punggol Bus Interchange took 10 months to construct and was officially opened on November 30, 2003 by Member of Parliament for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC Teo Chee Hean. Before the opening of the interchange, Punggol's only bus terminal was the Punggol Road End Bus Terminus which had only two bus services, 82 and 83. The bus terminal was closed and converted into a bus stop when the interchange started operations.^[2]

Expansion

In April 2015, LTA announced that the Punggol Temporary Bus Terminal will be expanded from its current 1.2 hectares (12,000 m²) to 2.0 hectares (20,000 m²) to cater for 13 new bus spaces on top of the current 38. New boarding berths and a expanded concourse will be added once the construction is complete. Expansion works started in Q3 of 2015.^[3]

Services

With the opening of the interchange, Service 83, plying between Sengkang and Punggol, was amended to terminate here, instead of the pair of bus-stops below Punggol. The terminal's only bus route, Service 82, was amended to loop at the former terminal. Service 3 was extended from its original looping point at Pasir Ris Street 71 to provide direct links between Punggol and the new towns of Pasir Ris and Tampines, while Service 62 and Service 136 were extended from the former Hougang South Bus Interchange and Upper Serangoon Road to this interchange respectively.

As time went by, new services, Service 34, 43, and 85 were introduced to link Punggol to Singapore Changi Airport, Upper East Coast Bus Terminal and Yishun Bus Interchange respectively. When the Serangoon Bus Interchange was relocated, Service 82 was amended to terminate at this interchange and loop at Serangoon Central and no longer serves Punggol Point. With the amendment, a new service, Service 84 was introduced to replace the amended Service 82 to loop at Punggol Point.

Bus Service Enhancement Programme

In 2015, LTA introduced the Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP) to improve commuting time and planned to roll out 1,000 buses to add more bus services to improve connectivity.^[4] Punggol Bus Interchange had its first service upgrade on 21 October 2012, under the Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP), Service 119 was extended to terminate at Punggol Bus Interchange instead of terminating at Sengkang Bus Interchange, calling at an additional four pairs of bus stops and three new bus service, Service 50, was introduced on December 16, 2012, plies between Punggol and Bishan Bus Interchange, service 117 piles between Punggol and Sembawang Bus Interchange and Service 118 plies between Punggol and Changi Business Park Bus Terminal.

On August 17, 2014, under the Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP), the bus interchange introduced its first feeder service 386. The service plies along Punggol North, looping at Edgefield Plains. More feeder services were introduced from February 2015 to January 2016. Feeder services 386 was extended to loop at Punggol East (Riviera) and service 382G/382W plies along Punggol West, looping at Sumang Link.

References

1. ↑ "News Room URA 2013". Urban Redevelopment Authority Singapore. 
2. ↑ "Punggol Bus Interchange". Public Transport SG. April 30, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2016. 
3. ↑ "Bus interchanges, terminal to be expanded". The Straits Times. April 23, 2015. Retrieved January 22, 2016. 
4. ↑ "Bus crowding reduced by over 90% due to BSEP". Channel News Asia. August 14, 2015. Retrieved January 22, 2016. 

External links

• Interchanges and Terminals (SBS Transit)