SBS Transit beats four rivals to bag Seletar bus contract again

Its winning bid of $526m includes initiatives that would raise standards for industry: LTA

- Kok Yufeng

Public bus services operating from Seletar bus depot, including 24, 70 and 130, will continue to be run by SBS Transit (SBST) until at least 2030.

The public transport operator on July 19 won the right to continue running a total of 29 bus routes under the Seletar bus package with a $526 million bid.

This fee, which will be paid by the Land Transport Authority (LTA), is for a five-year contract, but it may be adjusted for factors such as inflation, change in wage levels and fuel costs during the contract period.

Under the new contract, which will start from the first quarter of 2025, SBST will continue to manage bus interchanges in Ang Mo Kio and Yio Chu Kang too.

LTA said on July 19 that it has the option to extend the contract with SBST by between two and five years at the end of the five-year term.

SBST beat out two other bus operators here, SMRT Buses and Tower Transit Singapore. It also trumped two foreign bidders – Spain’s Nex Continental Holdings and a joint venture between Hong Kong public transport company Bravo Transport Holdings and British public transport firm Ascendal Group.

LTA said SBST received the highest total score after taking into account quality and price factors. The authority noted that SBST’s proposal included initiatives that would raise standards for the public bus industry as a whole.