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Bus service alerts in Singapore, 17 to 30 October: service 170 was diverted on 11 days
Most days a Singapore bus runs its normal route. Sometimes it does not: a breakdown, an accident or heavy traffic sends it along a different road. PantauSivik records the bus service alerts that come from public data, and we now have 14 days of them, from Saturday 17 to Friday 30 October. There were 23, which is a small number, but one pattern stood out. All times are Singapore time, and they are the start times written in each alert.
In short: we logged 23 bus service alerts naming 28 different services. 21 were diversions and 2 were delay warnings. Services 170 and 170X were diverted at Woodlands on 11 of the 14 days, usually starting between 9:30am and 10:55am. 14 of the 23 alerts were in the Woodlands area, and 4 more were around Tuas and Joo Koon. Wednesday 28 and Thursday 29 October had four alerts each.
23 alerts in 14 days
The alerts came in ones and twos on most days. The busiest were Wednesday 28 October and Thursday 29 October, with four each, and Thursday 22 October had three. Sunday 25 October had none, and we logged nothing for Saturday 17 because our records only start in the afternoon. Together the alerts named 28 different services, from 73 and 105 to 985.
Service 170 at Woodlands
Services 170 and 170X were the most diverted by far. We logged 12 alerts for the pair, on 11 days: every weekday from Monday 19 to Friday 30 October, and Saturday 24 October. The alert says the buses were diverted from Woodlands Road to run along Woodlands Avenue 3 and Woodlands Centre Road in the Woodlands direction. Eleven of the 12 started between 8:15am and 10:55am, and most between 9:30am and 10:30am. The twelfth, on Thursday 22 October, was at 2:50pm. We logged no 170 alert on Sunday 18 or Sunday 25 October.
The alert text is cut short in our records, after the words "due to heavy t", so we cannot see the full reason, but it reads as heavy traffic. We also cannot see when each diversion ended. If you use the 170 or 170X around Woodlands on a weekday morning, it is worth checking the alert before you leave, because the bus may not serve its usual stops along Woodlands Road while the diversion is on.
Why buses were diverted
Heavy traffic was the cause in 13 of the 23 alerts, and 12 of those were the 170 pair. The other one was service 182M on Thursday 22 October at 5:39pm, diverted along Tuas West Road and Tuas Link 4 because of heavy traffic. Six alerts were a vehicle breakdown (services 109, 159 and 161 at Hougang, 123 at Sentosa Gateway, 169 on Woodlands Avenue 8, 254 on Tuas Avenue 11, 192 and 193 on Tuas Road, and 912 and 912A on Woodlands Drive 50). Four were an accident, on the SLE, the CTE, the PIE and Joo Koon Road.
When a road accident reaches buses
Thursday 29 October is a good example. At 8:40am an accident on the PIE towards Tuas delayed ten services by up to 20 minutes: 105, 132, 151, 153, 154, 156, 186, 506, 966 and 985. It was the day with the most road incident alerts on the PIE in our records, and the PIE took 66 minutes at 6pm that evening. We cover both in our week in data post and in the road incidents post. The other delay warning was on Monday 19 October at 7:00pm, up to 30 minutes for services 161, 168, 648 and 665 after an accident on the SLE towards the BKE.
What this does not tell you
- 23 alerts in 14 days is a small sample. It shows what was published, not every bus that ran late.
- The time in an alert is when the problem started. We sometimes logged an alert much later, by up to about three and a half hours, so our records say little about how long a diversion lasted.
- The cause is as written in the alert. Some alert text is cut short in our records.
- Alerts name services, not stops, so they do not tell you which stops were skipped.
- 14 days is too short to say whether the 170 pattern will continue.
How to use this
For a bus you rely on, look at Public Alerts and the bus arrival list before you leave, and again if you are waiting longer than usual. Our Public Alerts guide explains the alert categories, and the Bus arrival times guide shows where to find the live arrivals and how full each bus is. For how crowded buses are, see our look at 1.73 million bus load readings. For longer closures and route changes, see our posts on night road closures and bus diversions and bus changes.
Common questions
How many bus service alerts did PantauSivik log from 17 to 30 October 2026?
23 alerts in 14 days. 21 were diversions and 2 were delay warnings, and together they named 28 different services. Wednesday 28 and Thursday 29 October had four each.
Which bus services were diverted most often?
Services 170 and 170X. They were diverted at Woodlands on 11 of the 14 days, on every weekday from 19 to 30 October and on Saturday 24 October, usually starting between 9:30am and 10:55am.
Why are Singapore bus services diverted?
In the 23 alerts we logged, 13 gave heavy traffic as the cause, 6 a vehicle breakdown and 4 an accident. The alert text for 170 and 170X is cut short in our records, so we read it as heavy traffic.
Where can I check bus service alerts?
In PantauSivik, open Public Alerts for the latest notices, and check the bus arrival list for your stop before you leave. The Public Alerts guide explains each category.
Sources: PantauSivik records of public bus service alerts, 17 to 30 October 2026. Saturday 17 starts in the afternoon.
See also: Are buses really crowded?, Public Alerts guide, Bus arrival times guide, Night road closures and bus diversions, Bus changes, Road incidents, 18 to 27 October.
