Boon Lay bus interchange opening soon

The construction of the newest air-conditioned bus interchange in the Boon Lay  housing area has been completed. It is expected to officially start operations as the year-end school holidays begin.

The air-conditioned bus interchange in the Boon Lay housing estate, one of the new generation transport hubs like the Ang Mo Kio Bus Interchange and the Toa Payoh Bus Interchange, is a 32,000-square-mile interchange that will be connected to the Jurong Point 2 shopping centre and the Boon Lay MRT station.

The interchange is expected to accommodate over 150,000 commuters on a daily basis, according to the Land Transport Authority (LTA).

The construction of the said interchange was recently completed and the LTA is expecting to hand it over to the SBS Transit next month. SBS should train bus captains and have them familiarise themselves with the new interchange’s facilities prior to its opening.

As the LTA also stated, it will open when the year-end school holiday vacation begins to minimise any confusion. LTA also added that the new interchange has a total of 31 loading and unloading berths, and can hold a maximum of 60 buses. Passengers will enjoy air-conditioned comfort as they transfer from busses and trains and vice versa. They can also shop at various stores located in the interchange. Additionally, the bus interchange is directly linked to the Jurong Point 2 shopping mall.

As of today, residents of Boon Lay use the temporary bus interchange situated beside the MRT station.

“The temporary interchange now is quite hot and the road leading to it is also very congested as there are only two lanes. Hopefully, the new interchange will solve these problems,” said Joseph Foo, chairman of the Pioneer Citizens Consultative Committee.

When the new interchange starts operations, passengers will not have to take a long route through the MRT station just to get into Jurong Point. “I sometimes just take a cab from Jurong Point back home to avoid walking back to the interchange. When the new interchange opens, I will probably take my feeder bus more frequently,” says Rachel Chew, a Boon Lay resident.

Businesses on the Jurong Point also hope that the new interchange will attract more customers and more shoppers. “We are looking forward to it. The crowds here are fairly okay, but I'm sure with the bus interchange opening, we will have more people walking in,” says Nina Koh, supervisor at BeetleBug shoe store.