Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) has launched tenders for two packages for bus routes in Bukit Merah and Jurong West. The contract will be for 17 public bus routes in Bukit Merah and 26 bus routes in Jurong West. These 43 bus routes are currently being operated by SBS Transit, although its contract for operating the routes in Bukit Merah contract is set to expire in 2023, while the Jurong West operating contract is scheduled to expire in 2024.
The call for tenders is set to close on March 22, 2023 and will be awarded in the second half of 2023. LTA can either award both the contract to a single operator or two different companies. SBS Transit also plans to bid for the new contracts.
In 2014, the LTA launched the bus contracting model in Singapore, under which the agency owns the operating assets and infrastructure, collects fare revenues and plans bus services. Public transport operators bid for the right to operate the bus routes and are paid a fixed fee by the LTA.
