Singapore's first dedicated bus driver accommodation opens

SINGAPORE – Some bus drivers who operate services from Sengkang West Depot can now get to work within minutes, after moving into new apartments in an eight-storey facility that is Singapore’s first accommodation for bus drivers.

Built in Seletar West Road 2, the facility is connected to the depot via a turnstile entrance.

Officially opened on June 29, it can house 234 residents in 39 fully furnished apartments.

At present, all 198 SBS Transit (SBST) bus drivers from China based at Sengkang West Depot have moved in, bringing occupancy to about 85 per cent. They started moving in by batches from end-May.

Speaking to the media at the launch, SBST group chief executive officer Jeffrey Sim said this arrangement is available only to bus drivers from China because their employment contracts include accommodation. He added that Singaporean drivers are likely to return home after work, while many of SBST’s Malaysian drivers would travel across the Causeway to their homes in Johor Bahru.

Previously, drivers from China lived in HDB flats rented by SBST, and they paid for only utilities.

The current residents in the facility make up around 20 per cent of the bus drivers from China that SBST hires.

ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

On average, utility fees for one person ranged from $33 to $50, though it varies according to usage.

SBST did not provide details on the rental costs for the HDB flats, saying that they varied by area and when the rental contracts were signed.

At the new facility, the bus drivers also pay only their utility bills.

The current residents in the facility make up around 20 per cent of the bus drivers from China that SBST hires. As at end-2025, SBST employed 5,459 bus drivers in total.

This facility, owned by the Land Transport Authority, was eight years in the making. The adjacent depot started operations in January 2025.

SBST manages the Sengkang West Bus Depot, as part of its contract to run the Sengkang-Hougang bus package. The contract was awarded in 2016 and was initially slated to end in 2024, but has been extended for an undisclosed duration.

Should the package be handed over to another operator in future, it will have to take over the residential facility.

Every apartment has three bedrooms with two beds each, as well as air-conditioning and a bathroom with three shower cubicles and three toilets, which are either western-style or squat.

The kitchen and laundry facilities of an apartment at SBS Transit’s SQ@Sengkang West.

ST PHOTO: Lim YAO HUI

The apartment also comes with a kitchen that has three stove tops, two refrigerators, two washing machines and two dryers.

There is also a communal dining room in each apartment.

Sim noted that many features in the facility were shaped by feedback from the bus drivers. These include additional storage space under the beds, bedside tables, dryers to help clothes dry faster and a privacy wall between the two beds.

The decision to install two larger-capacity refrigerators – instead of the three smaller ones as originally planned – was also based on input from the drivers, who wanted to store larger items in the fridges.

On the first floor, there is a multi-purpose room with carrom boards and table tennis tables, as well as a television lounge.

There is a television lounge on the first floor of the facility for bus drivers to relax in.

ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

The National Transport Workers Union, under the National Trades Union Congress, will deploy a mobile minimart to the facility once every two weeks from July 10.

Co-living operator Coliwoo has been appointed to manage and operate the housing facility.

Tian Yinfu, a senior bus captain who has been driving with SBST for 17 years, said he likes being able to wake up just 20 minutes before his shift starts. The 55-year-old previously took up to 50 minutes to get ready and commute to work from his flat in Hougang.

As he loves cooking for himself, Tian appreciates having enough space to whip up dishes from his home town – such as Sichuan spicy stir-fry pot and twice-cooked pork – in the new kitchen.

Similarly, senior bus captain Wei Lanhui, 54, enjoys being able to return home almost immediately after parking the bus at the depot at the end of her shift.

She now takes five minutes to walk home, compared with her one-hour commute in the past, which included a 30-minute wait for a staff shuttle.

Senior bus captain Tian Yinfu inside the kitchen of his apartment during the official opening of SBS Transit’s SQ@Sengkang West.

ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

Wei said she can now whip up a fresh meal – instead of eating leftovers – in the afternoon when she works split shifts. For such shifts, drivers work during the morning peak period before going for a break, and resume their shift during the evening peak period.

When asked if these facilities can house local bus drivers who may face housing problems, NTUC assistant secretary-general Yeo Wan Ling said the staff quarters were intended to address the challenges faced by foreign bus drivers in finding accommodation, which could be in areas far from the depot.

She added that the union will focus on improving rest areas for local bus drivers – especially since they may prefer to stay with their family instead of these staff quarters.

Similar housing will be built at the upcoming Ang Mo Kio bus depot, and will be ready by 2030.