Tengah and Brickland to have 8 new bus services by end 2026: Jeffrey Siow, Singapore News
Acting Minister for Transport and Senior Minister of State for Finance Jeffrey Siow has announced that Tengah and Brickland will have a total of eight new bus services within the next 18 months.
Speaking to media on Sunday (June 8), Siow stated that two of these bus routes will be in service by the end of this year.
Dr Choo Pei Ling, MP for Chua Chu Kang GRC, announced that bus service 872 will begin operating from Tengah Bus Interchange from Aug 10.
It will provide a direct link for Tengah residents to Chinese Garden MRT station while passing through areas in Bukit Batok, Plantation Crescent and Jurong East.
"We hope that residents like this National Day present from us," she said.
The second bus service, which is still in the works, will begin at Brickland MRT station and pass through two MRT stations, according to Siow, who added that further details will be released closer to the end of this year.
He also stated that the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will introduce two more express bus services in Tengah by the end of next year.
Both routes will start at the Brickland area, with one going towards the city and the other to one-north.
"These are designed to bring residents to their employment centres, to their jobs earlier, faster, more efficiently," he explained. Improving public transport options for new towns
He added that four express feeder buses will also begin operating in the estate by the end of next year. They will connect Tengah to its four nearest MRT stations: Beauty World, Bukit Batok, Bukit Gombak and Jurong East.
Aside from these short-term developments, Siow highlighted that in the five-year period, residents can look forward to the completion of the Jurong Region Line and shuttle services within the estate.
Pointing out that a quarter of the new line's stations are located in Chua Chu Kang GRC, he said: "This will enable residents in our GRC to get onto the rail network very quickly and to be able to go to all parts of Singapore."
"I am quite confident that we will be able to deploy autonomous vehicles... running short shuttle services... to places like the community centre, food centres or transport nodes," he added.
Siow also spoke about the LTA and Ministry of Transport's plans to improve public transport options for new towns as a whole, stating that the difference in travel time between private and public transportation can be narrowed down for HDB estates "a little bit further" from the city.
"If we can try to do that a little bit better, improving the walkability of the town, improving the density of the bus network, we should be able to bring the journey times down and make public transport more competitive with private transport," he said.
Currently, it takes two to three times longer to travel from Tengah to the city by public transport as compared to private transport, said Siow, adding that he aims to cut the this down to one to two times longer.
"We will be doing that all across Singapore at the estates that are further away from the city, that is my priority," he said. Community event in celebration of SG60
On Sunday morning, Siow, grassroots adviser for Chua Chu Kang GRC, attended the People's Association (PA) Family Playground 2025 event at Tengah Community Club (CC), which was held in celebration of SG60.
Present alongside him were Chua Chu Kang GRC MPs Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim and Dr Choo, as well as MP for the Hong Kah North division of Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC Lee Hong Chuang.
In his opening speech, Siow assured Tengah residents that they can look forward to improvements to their estate in the near future.
Noting that many have voiced connectivity as one of the issues they face, Siow said: "I know that we are doing these things as residents are moving in, but it will become better very, very soon."
The Tengah Bus Interchange opened on July 21 last year. With it, a new service 871 was introduced to connect Tengah to Bukit Batok West, Bukit Gombak and Beauty World.
[[nid:694425]]
Existing bus services 992 and 870 were also extended to better serve Tengah residents.
Dr Choo, Zhulkarnain and Lee also addressed attendees — with the latter two speaking in Malay and Mandarin respectively.
The advisers then interacted with families at the event booths, which comprised handicraft workshops as well as carnival games and food stands.
They were seen posing for pictures with children, young couples and elderly residents.
This event is one of five PA Family Playground programmes that will be held in various districts every weekend until July 5.
It also saw a new Singapore Book of Records entry for the largest art montage made of recycled materials, which was created by 120 families over four hours.
bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com
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AsiaOne
21 hours ago
- AsiaOne
Tengah and Brickland to have 8 new bus services by end 2026: Jeffrey Siow, Singapore News
Acting Minister for Transport and Senior Minister of State for Finance Jeffrey Siow has announced that Tengah and Brickland will have a total of eight new bus services within the next 18 months. Speaking to media on Sunday (June 8), Siow stated that two of these bus routes will be in service by the end of this year. Dr Choo Pei Ling, MP for Chua Chu Kang GRC, announced that bus service 872 will begin operating from Tengah Bus Interchange from Aug 10. It will provide a direct link for Tengah residents to Chinese Garden MRT station while passing through areas in Bukit Batok, Plantation Crescent and Jurong East. "We hope that residents like this National Day present from us," she said. The second bus service, which is still in the works, will begin at Brickland MRT station and pass through two MRT stations, according to Siow, who added that further details will be released closer to the end of this year. He also stated that the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will introduce two more express bus services in Tengah by the end of next year. Both routes will start at the Brickland area, with one going towards the city and the other to one-north. "These are designed to bring residents to their employment centres, to their jobs earlier, faster, more efficiently," he explained. Improving public transport options for new towns He added that four express feeder buses will also begin operating in the estate by the end of next year. They will connect Tengah to its four nearest MRT stations: Beauty World, Bukit Batok, Bukit Gombak and Jurong East. Aside from these short-term developments, Siow highlighted that in the five-year period, residents can look forward to the completion of the Jurong Region Line and shuttle services within the estate. Pointing out that a quarter of the new line's stations are located in Chua Chu Kang GRC, he said: "This will enable residents in our GRC to get onto the rail network very quickly and to be able to go to all parts of Singapore." "I am quite confident that we will be able to deploy autonomous vehicles... running short shuttle services... to places like the community centre, food centres or transport nodes," he added. Siow also spoke about the LTA and Ministry of Transport's plans to improve public transport options for new towns as a whole, stating that the difference in travel time between private and public transportation can be narrowed down for HDB estates "a little bit further" from the city. "If we can try to do that a little bit better, improving the walkability of the town, improving the density of the bus network, we should be able to bring the journey times down and make public transport more competitive with private transport," he said. Currently, it takes two to three times longer to travel from Tengah to the city by public transport as compared to private transport, said Siow, adding that he aims to cut the this down to one to two times longer. "We will be doing that all across Singapore at the estates that are further away from the city, that is my priority," he said. Community event in celebration of SG60 On Sunday morning, Siow, grassroots adviser for Chua Chu Kang GRC, attended the People's Association (PA) Family Playground 2025 event at Tengah Community Club (CC), which was held in celebration of SG60. Present alongside him were Chua Chu Kang GRC MPs Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim and Dr Choo, as well as MP for the Hong Kah North division of Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC Lee Hong Chuang. In his opening speech, Siow assured Tengah residents that they can look forward to improvements to their estate in the near future. Noting that many have voiced connectivity as one of the issues they face, Siow said: "I know that we are doing these things as residents are moving in, but it will become better very, very soon." The Tengah Bus Interchange opened on July 21 last year. With it, a new service 871 was introduced to connect Tengah to Bukit Batok West, Bukit Gombak and Beauty World. [[nid:694425]] Existing bus services 992 and 870 were also extended to better serve Tengah residents. Dr Choo, Zhulkarnain and Lee also addressed attendees — with the latter two speaking in Malay and Mandarin respectively. The advisers then interacted with families at the event booths, which comprised handicraft workshops as well as carnival games and food stands. They were seen posing for pictures with children, young couples and elderly residents. This event is one of five PA Family Playground programmes that will be held in various districts every weekend until July 5. It also saw a new Singapore Book of Records entry for the largest art montage made of recycled materials, which was created by 120 families over four hours.
AsiaOne
2 days ago
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The surprising reasons some Singaporean buyers are choosing smaller condo units (even when they can afford more), Money News
Whether it's an HDB flat or a condo, the Singaporean mentality is to grab the biggest possible unit in budgetary range. Chalk it up to the lingering paranoia that - if we don't seize every square foot we can get now - it will just cost us more tomorrow. So it's always a surprise when some homebuyers, despite being able to afford a larger unit, decide to keep it modest. In the following, we talk to some realtors about these rare cases, and why it could make sense for the buyer: 1. Sometimes it's about layout and location, over square footage One agent shared that in a recent transaction, the clients were torn between a three-bedder (around 1,200 sq ft) and a two-bedder (around 700 sq ft). It was clear, from the earlier budget, that the client had the means to purchase the three-bedder. Instead however, the client eventually opted for the smaller unit. According to the agent: "For the project they wanted, there was nothing bigger than 700 sq ft, so we looked at other projects within the same idea. We found another three-bedder that was around 1,000 sq ft, but after the viewing they rejected it. The three-bedder unit was further from the MRT station, and the layout was not as good: No enclosed kitchen, quite stuffy inside, and no proper-sized service yard. The other alternative was to expand the search radius, but they didn't want to go further beyond the neighbourhood. So in the end, they still bought the 700 sq ft, even though they could have bought a bigger one elsewhere." These cases are also becoming more common in 2025, due to tighter resale supply. Buyers sometimes find an ideally positioned resale project; but then they find there's no availability of three-bedders, four-bedders, or larger sizes. This can pressure them into buying a smaller two-bedder unit, while they pocket the savings and look for another upgrading opportunity later. 2. Preparing for changes to the family structure Another reason for picking a smaller unit is a step toward right-sizing. Some agents said that, among older homebuyers, there's a possibility the children will soon be moving out. One example of this was a couple who recently sold a terrace house, where they'd been living with two of their children. The sale of the landed property left them more than enough to purchase a three or four-bedder condo unit. Instead, they rejected the recommendations and sought out a two-bedder unit. The agent said that: "One child was getting married and moving out within a year or two, the other child already had his own place. And one of their reasons for moving from landed was that they were older, and it was harder to upkeep a bigger home. So instead they went for a smaller unit, within walking distance to one of their children." From the couple's financial planning, opting for a two-bedder also helped to build a bigger retirement account. This made them confident enough to buy a condo, instead of right-sizing to a flat. 3. Getting a new launch instead of a resale unit One agent shared a case of a couple who opted for a new launch two-bedder at ELTA, instead of a three-bedder at the resale Clement Canopy. In this instance, both projects were quite close in the Clementi area, so location was not a key differentiating factor. The key difference was that the two-bedder ELTA unit was around $1.94 million, whereas the three-bedder Clement Canopy unit was around $2.18 million; a difference of around $240,000. For paying $240,000 less however, they got: A more efficient layout, as ELTA is a post-harmonisation project Better potential appreciation, as ELTA is a newer project by about six years No need to worry about renovation costs, as the savings from the price gap more than covers that need There's also fewer issues involving valuation. For new launches, the developer's price is taken to be the fair valuation. For resale, there's a possibility that the valuation may fall below the asking price, thus prompting a cash top-up. Coupled with the lack of urgency (the couple had a place to stay until ELTA would be completed), the smaller but newer two-bedder was the better choice. 4. For landlords, a smaller unit improves yields and lowers capital commitment An agent told us about a "sell one, buy two" scenario, where a couple were deciding on the second property. The sale proceeds, coupled with their savings, were enough to let them purchase a three-bedder (approx. 1,050+ sq ft) at DUO Residences. Upon further viewings nearby however, they changed their minds and opted for a smaller two-bedder (approx. 678+ sq ft) at The M. The reasoning was that the DUO Residences three-bedder cost about $2.1 million; and with projected rental income of $6,000 to $6,500 a month, it was a gross rental yield of 3.4 to 3.7 per cent. Conversely, the two-bedder at The M would only have come up to about $1.4 million. With projected rental rates of $5,200 to $5,800 per month, this is a higher yield of 4.4 to 4.9 per cent. Furthermore, the loss of living space was not a real issue to these buyers. They had already decided that the second unit was to be rented out for income; so it made no difference to their personal comfort. On top of the higher yields, the lower capital commitment also meant lower risk. This was a significant benefit, as the couple were nervous about each party taking on a separate mortgage. In these cases, foresight and clear intent - rather than an impulsive grab at the biggest unit - served the buyers' benefits. This is why it's important to talk through your intentions for the property. If the goal is long-term rental income, flexibility, or simply a lower-risk entry point, a smaller unit may serve you better even if it means giving up some space. Rather than just ask "What can I afford?" We suggest you ask: "What am I trying to achieve by buying this property?" Don't maximise square footage over maximising comfort or returns. [[nid:718516]] This article was first published in Stackedhomes .
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LTA plans to give equal prize money to men and women athletes at the Queen's Club by 2029
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