TIBS Holdings

TIBS Holdings

Trans-Island Bus Services (TIBS) was formerly a public transport operator in Singapore, incorporated on 31 May 1982 by a firm of Singapore Shuttle Bus as a second full-day run bus service, following public transportation market liberalisation reform approved by parliament, which thereafter proposed the formation of another public bus service provider to establish a duopoly, which will compete with Singapore Bus Services (now SBS Transit) in 1981. TIBS Holdings' core businesses were subsumed by SMRT Corporation on 10 May 2004 following merger.

TIBS began its services on 3 April 1983 with 37 Hino RK176 buses plying on Services 160 and 167 which taken over from Singapore Bus Services, followed by the rest of the services in the northern areas, when the government gave the company exclusive operating rights in the northern towns of Sembawang, Woodlands and Yishun.

Its buses were coloured distinctly in pale beige with yellow and orange lines. In addition to its regular buses, it also operates the unique Bendy Buses – a fleet of Mercedes-Benz O405Gs.

On 12 March 1987, TIBS acquired Singapore Shuttle Bus Pte. Ltd., a bus operator with limited routes serving mainly the city area. The next day, on 13 March, TIBS became a public listed company on SESDAQ.

On 2 May 1990, TIBS Taxis Pte. Ltd., a subsidiary of TIBS, was formed to operate taxi services. It is the only company in Singapore to operate a fleet of entirely large capacity taxis. It also operates the world-famous London taxis.

Another subsidiary, TIBS Motors Pte. Ltd., was set up in 1990 to provide workshop services and carry out business as a distributor and agent for some motor vehicles.

In 1991, TIBS underwent a restructuring, bringing its subsidiaries under TIBS Holdings Ltd..

In 2001, it merged with Singapore MRT and became a subsidiary of the SMRT Corporation.

On 10 May 2004, in a S$2.5 million rebranding exercise the name "TIBS" was changed to SMRT Buses Limited (bus services) and SMRT Taxis (taxi services). The livery of all buses were subsequently painted to red from yellow.