Тампинский автобусный узел: история и современность

Tampines Bus Interchange (abbreviated as TBI in this article) is a bus station in Tampines, Singapore. It serves as the primary bus interchange for Tampines New Town, with feeder and trunk services operating at high frequencies. It is owned by the Land Transport Authority and operated by SBS Transit Ltd. The TBI serves as a terminus and departure point for commuter routes, and is a major transit hub for Tampines residents. It complements the high capacity rail network and acts as a key node in the hub and spoke transport model. With 23 bus services operating from the interchange serving an estimated 325,000 passengers daily, it is the fourth busiest bus interchange in Singapore. TOC

In the early days of Tampines New Town, buses in Tampines operated from the then Tampines Bus Terminal (TBT1) along Tampines Avenue 5. It was planned as a temporary terminal to serve new residents in Tampines, as much of Tampines was still under development in the 1980s. It started operations on 19 February 1983 with one feeder service and one trunk service, More feeders were only added to the terminal the following year, namely 293 and the now defunct 294 on 12 August 1984, as people started moving into Tampines East. As the population in Tampines increased to 50,000, there remained only four trunk services and three feeders, run with only 80 buses. As a result, the services could not keep up with the growth in transport demand, and queues got long. In a bid to reduce the long wait times, more buses were added in January 1985. A new temporary terminal (TBT2) had to be built a short distance away along the same road to replace the original one, Service 65 was a major trunk service in Singapore at that time, as the MRT network had yet to commence operations. It plied through Jalan Besar and Orchard Road with its terminus at the World Trade Centre (now known as HarbourFront Centre); its route remains largely unchanged to date.

On 29 November 1987, phase 1 of the current TBI opened to public at a larger site in Tampines Central. It was opened by Mr Phua Bah Lee (then MP for Tampines) and Dr Aline Wong (then MP for Changkat, most of which has since been subsumed under Tampines GRC). as trunk services at TBT2 slowly shifted out. In March 1988, phase 2 of TBI opened, and all services previously operating from TBT2 had completed the shift over to TBI, with some changes to their routes. In 2009, it was upgraded to provide more and better bicycle parking facilities around the interchange. Almost all services initially at TBI remain, with that interchange being allocated mostly to new services with low demand at departure.

As mentioned in the URA Draft 2013, Redevelopment for TBI into an Integrated Transport Hub (ITH) was planned to start after the opening of Downtown Line Stage 3 in end 2017, to make transfers between rail and bus networks more convenient.

A major gridlock occurred on 14 December 2017, due to a car breakdown near the TBI. This was exacerbated by the evening peak hour traffic. As a result, buses departing the interchange were trapped within the bus park for up to one hour. Similar incidents have occurred in the past due to poor traffic light timings, though they are rare and usually resolved within a day. On 28 October 2010, the undercarriage of an off service SBS Transit bus burst into flames. The Singapore Civil Defence Force said it received a call at about 2pm and sent two fire engines to the scene. The blaze was quickly put out and no one was hurt in the incident.

The TBI features modern architecture, with little distinct characteristics. It features a white tiled facade and blue corrugated gable roofs running the length of the two sections — Main Concourse and West Wing. It has the same design as the adjacent Block 513, which was constructed at the same time. The northern end of the West Wing used to house shops, though they were demolished in 2015, together with the iconic cupola structure, for the construction of the DTL section of Tampines station. Shops are now limited to Eastlink Mall at the eastern end of the Main Concourse. The Main Concourse has 12 sawtooth berths and 2 linear berths, four of which were added beside Exit D of Tampines MRT station in 2017. 31 of the 35 bus services operate from the Main Concourse, most of which serving high demand routes. The other 4 bus services operate from the West Wing, which has 3 end on berths with 11 bus lots. Buses operating from the Main Concourse do not have dedicated lots when off service, and park at the two bus parks on either side of the Concourse. The north bus park has two entrances leading onto Tampines Concourse and Tampines Central 3; while the south has one entrance to the west. Together, they provide parking spaces for up to 74 buses. Holding areas are also set aside for feeder buses when the berths are occupied (but are usually used when buses are running ahead of schedule). Besides single decker buses, the two sections can accommodate double deckers, as the entrances have a height clearance of 4.5 metres. Articulated buses, operated by SMRT Buses Ltd, can also call at TBI, as the sawtooth berths are long enough and dedicates spaces in the south bus park have been provided for temporary parking.

The TBI only serves public bus routes operated by all of the four local bus operators — SBS Transit Ltd, SMRT Buses Ltd, Tower Transit Singapore Pte Ltd and Go Ahead Singapore Pte Ltd. It is a high frequency interchange, with buses on each route departing every 5 to 15 mins depending on the demand. Both intra town and inter town routes are available; most of which are intermodal, with the services terminating at another bus interchange in Singapore. Four routes currently operate into the City Area — 10, 23, 65 and 67. The longest route operating from TBI is that of Service 67, with its terminus 33.1 kilometres away at Choa Chu Kang Bus Interchange in the West Region. Private bus routes, such as private shuttle and cross border coach services into Peninsular Malaysia, operate from the nearby Tampines Station Bus Shelter or Our Tampines Hub Coach Bay. This is because the Bus Contracting Model (BCM) brings all public buses and related infrastructure, such as TBI, under the ownership of the government, and only public transport operators can bid for the right to run services along bus routes planned by LTA.