Where does SBS Transit Bus Service 101 go, and which interesting places can you visit? Bus 101 starts and ends at Serangoon Bus Interchange, passes Kovan MRT, Hougang Central, Hougang Green Shopping Mall and the Buangkok Link/Crescent neighbourhood around Buangkok Square, then returns through Hougang and Kovan to Serangoon. A useful outing might involve the Serangoon Public Library, food and shopping at Kovan, a local errand around Hougang Green, or a family visit to Buangkok Square.

Most important distinction: Buangkok Square is not Buangkok MRT station or Sengkang Grand Mall. The official Bus 101 loop names 66571 Buangkok Sq in Buangkok Crescent. HDB lists Buangkok Square’s mall at Block 991 Buangkok Link. The bus passes it as part of a housing-estate loop; it does not use Buangkok Integrated Transport Hub (63009) as a terminal. Likewise, near Hougang Central, it uses roadside stops 64541 and 64549, not a 101 berth at Hougang Interchange 64009.

Quick point-form summary: SBS Transit Service 101 — Serangoon Int (66009) → Kovan Stn Exit B (63031) → Hougang Ctrl Int roadside (64541) → Hougang G. Shop Mall (64441) → Buangkok Sq (66571) → Hougang Ctrl Int opposite side (64549) → Kovan Stn Exit C (63039) → Serangoon Int (66009). It is a long neighbourhood loop, not a direct bus to Punggol Coast, Coney Island or Changi Airport.

In one paragraph: where the bus really goes

Service 101 is a roughly 15.7 km circular route from Serangoon Interchange through Kovan, Hougang Central, Hougang Street 51 and Buangkok Crescent before coming back through Hougang and Kovan. At the named mall stops, you can plan a meal, library visit, small shopping errand or family learning trip. The most interesting lesson is how different ‘Buangkok’ place names refer to quite separate road-side destinations.

Route facts — checked 1 November 2026

• Operator: SBS Transit.
• Origin and final stop: Serangoon Bus Interchange, code 66009, next to Serangoon MRT NE12/CC13.
• Route structure: one continuous loop via Kovan, Hougang Central and Buangkok Square, not a route between Serangoon and Buangkok MRT.
• First and last departures from Serangoon: 5.15am and 12.00 midnight daily, as printed in the operator table. Last departure from the origin is not a last-bus time at Kovan or Buangkok.
• First Kovan station call: 63031 Kovan Stn Exit B; return call: 63039 Kovan Stn Exit C.
• Hougang Central: the first leg calls at roadside 64541 Hougang Ctrl Int; the returning leg at 64549 Opp Hougang Ctrl Int. Neither is the terminal stop 64009.
• Buangkok Square: stop 66571 is on Buangkok Crescent; HDB’s neighbourhood shopping centre is Block 991 Buangkok Link, not Sengkang Grand Mall at Buangkok MRT.
• Special caution: there is no Bus 101 stop named Punggol Park, Punggol MRT, Buangkok MRT or Punggol Coast Int in the operator’s loop.

Useful stops, their exact codes and the last mile

The five-digit stop codes and sequence are taken from the operator’s published route. They are not guarantees that a building entrance is beside a bus stop. Choose the correct part of the loop, obey pedestrian crossings and check each destination’s own opening and access instructions.

Destination / use	Verified route stop	What to do and check
Serangoon MRT / NEX / public library	66009 Serangoon Int	NEX and Serangoon Public Library at Level 4R; use the mall and library’s current opening information.
Kovan MRT and Heartland Mall	63031 Kovan Stn Exit B first leg; 63039 Exit C on return	Mall at Block 205 Hougang Street 21; find the suitable public entrance before alighting.
Hougang Central station and mall precinct	64541 Hougang Ctrl Int outward roadside; 64549 Opp Hougang Ctrl Int returning	Walk to Hougang MRT or Hougang Mall; neither stop is an interchange boarding berth.
Hougang Polyclinic	64529 Hougang Polyclinic on first leg	For an actual appointment or approved service; hospital and clinic visits are not leisure attractions.
Hougang Green Shopping Mall	64441 Hougang G. Shop Mall first leg	Local shop and food stop at 21 Hougang Street 51; check tenant and entrance.
Buangkok Link blocks	66541 Blk 980C, 66551 Blk 984	Residential access, not public tourist activities inside HDB blocks or schools.
Buangkok Square neighbourhood centre	66571 Buangkok Sq on Buangkok Crescent	Walk to Block 991 Buangkok Link, check shops/food and the safe pedestrian link.
Return through Buangkok Green	66491 Opp Blk 910 then 64619 Opp Blk 913	Different side of the route, not a simple reverse of the outward stop codes.
Return to Kovan and Serangoon	63039 Kovan Stn Exit C, 62189 S’goon Stn Exit D/Blk 416, 66009 Serangoon Int	Take note of the remaining loop so you do not accidentally ride away from your destination.

Why Bus 101 matters: a neighbourhood loop connecting three MRT catchments

At a glance, Serangoon, Kovan, Hougang and Buangkok all seem part of a closely connected northeastern region. But a family walking between stations soon learns that a rail line serves selected station platforms, whereas a bus calls on streets near many different residential blocks, shops and community facilities. Service 101 links Serangoon and Kovan directly on Upper Serangoon Road, reaches Hougang Central’s road-side stops, then continues deeper into the Buangkok Crescent housing neighbourhood before returning.

This is useful for a student visiting a friend or an adult making an appointment without a car. It can be easier to board a bus beside a housing block than to walk all the way to the North East Line. Yet the loop can also make a journey slower when the intended destination is already beside a railway station. Compare the entire trip from the real starting address, including waiting and walking.

The route runs in a fixed published order. From Serangoon, Bus 101 reaches Kovan Exit B first; later, after Buangkok Square, it passes Kovan Exit C. Therefore the same bus number appearing at two Kovan shelters can mean quite different remaining ride durations to Serangoon or Hougang. Read the code and next-stop list before boarding.

None of this requires special event admission or a ticket to a tourist attraction. Public transport itself is part of everyday geography: the journey links homes, shopping streets, appointments and rail connections. A truthful guide describes those connections instead of inventing a famous attraction at every block.

Serangoon MRT and NEX: a simple reading or meal outing

The starting point 66009 Serangoon Int sits in Serangoon’s rail-and-retail district. NEX is at 23 Serangoon Central, and its published transport information includes Service 101. Serangoon Public Library operates on the rooftop level of the mall, at Level 4R. The interchange, MRT and shopping entrances belong to the same broader district but need different pedestrian instructions.

For a parent with a Primary school child, a short outing can be as practical as visiting the library and having a meal. Let the child choose a book on an agreed topic, then talk about one thing learned. A library visit does not need to become a race through the whole shopping centre. Check the actual NLB opening times and any registered programme separately from the mall’s general hours.

Public mall spaces are not the same as every tenancy or activity within the development. Shops can close, relocate or change their operating times. If your reason for visiting is a particular store, check its current unit and entrance before travelling. A bus stop beside Serangoon MRT is a navigation point, not a guarantee that the shop is at the bus shelter.

If you are returning from Buangkok, the late portion of the route includes 62189 S’goon Stn Exit D/Blk 416 before re-entering the interchange. This is not the same code as 62131 Serangoon Stn Exit B near the beginning of the outward journey. A first-time visitor should save the stop they will use, rather than relying on the name Serangoon alone.

Kovan: a neighbourhood shopping centre with different station exits

On the outbound part of the loop, SBS Transit lists 63031 Kovan Stn Exit B. On the return, 63039 Kovan Stn Exit C appears before the bus heads back to Serangoon. Heartland Mall Kovan’s official visitor directions name NE13 Kovan Exit C and include Bus 101 among its public transport services, which makes the return-side approach particularly easy to explain.

The mall is at Block 205 Hougang Street 21. This is a specific address, not an entire neighbourhood. Food, an everyday purchase or meeting a family member can be a sufficient reason to visit. Choose a real outlet and its current opening times before setting out, rather than promising that every tenancy is operating at once.

Kovan MRT is one station on the North East Line; Serangoon and Hougang are others. A traveller whose trip starts and ends very close to the station entrances might find rail more direct. Someone beginning at a roadside shelter near Hougang Street 21 could reasonably prefer the bus. The useful comparison includes the full walking leg.

An educational exercise can be as simple as tracing the same location by three labels: the shop’s full address, the bus stop code, and the nearest MRT exit. This shows how a place can be easy to find once the pieces match, and difficult when we rely only on a broad name.

For the way home, do not assume you can cross to the nearest opposite shelter and catch a bus directly back. The service circulates through Buangkok between some of its Kovan calls. Look at the sequence of remaining stops and compare a rail alternative if necessary.

Hougang Central: why the bus uses the roadside instead of the interchange bay

Bus 101 does not use 64009 Hougang Central Interchange as a terminal. It calls at 64541 Hougang Ctrl Int along the road, then continues into Hougang Avenue 4. On the later return it uses 64549 Opp Hougang Ctrl Int. These stop names may sound like an interchange boarding bay, but they are separate roadside bus stops in the surrounding transport precinct.

Hougang Mall is at 90 Hougang Avenue 10 and contains Cheng San Public Library. The mall’s official visitor guide describes it as near Hougang MRT and the bus interchange district. If that is your destination, compare the bus’s roadside stop and safe walk to the building. Do not claim Bus 101 drives into the mall or stops beside the library reception desk.

A compact family outing could be a library visit, a meal and one practical errand. Do not rely on the mall being open as proof that a particular public library facility, community event or clinic is accepting visitors. Each has its own conditions. A trip is more successful when the central purpose is available and the second activity remains optional.

When accompanying someone to Hougang Polyclinic, note the published 64529 Hougang Polyclinic stop. This is essential access information for a genuine appointment, not a sightseeing recommendation. Confirm the correct clinic entrance, appointment time and registration rules independently.

The broader lesson is that a bus route’s operating endpoint, a station and a nearby mall can all use the same town name yet be physically different facilities. Write down the exact destination and stop code before leaving home.

Hougang Green Shopping Mall: a real mall that is not Hougang Mall

The first leg of Service 101 calls at 64441 Hougang G. Shop Mall on Hougang Street 51. The destination is Hougang Green Shopping Mall at 21 Hougang Street 51, not Hougang Mall at 90 Hougang Avenue 10. The similar names can cause a traveller to alight in the wrong part of the town.

Hougang Green is a neighbourhood retail site with small shops and food-related outlets, but there is no reason to guarantee that a specific shop is open on a given day. Check the actual tenant’s address and hours; a business directory entry or registered company address alone may not prove the shop still trades there.

This stop is especially useful to the residents living around Hougang Street 51 and Buangkok Green. A family might choose a simple meal, an appointment at an operating business or a small household errand. The outing does not need to involve a large attraction to justify a public bus journey.

On the return part of Bus 101 the line uses other nearby stops along Buangkok Green and Hougang Avenue 4. A person who has visited the mall should look at the live route sequence and choose the correct direction. The physically closest bus shelter is not always the stop that gets you home with the fewest detours.

The route also passes school and housing-block names. These are useful for orientation, but do not enter a school, private clinic or residential compound as an attraction without legitimate permission.

Buangkok Square: a community shopping place, not Buangkok MRT

HDB’s official visitor page identifies Buangkok Square at Block 991 Buangkok Link, Singapore 530991. It is a neighbourhood centre with food, groceries and other everyday services. Bus 101 serves a stop named 66571 Buangkok Sq on Buangkok Crescent, allowing a visitor to plan a walk to the mall.

The most common mistake is assuming the name Buangkok Square means Buangkok MRT or Sengkang Grand Mall. The MRT and its integrated interchange are in another part of the town; they are not a stop in the Bus 101 loop. A family who wants the large integrated mall near Buangkok MRT should search that mall specifically instead of taking 101 to the Buangkok Crescent housing blocks.

The area is a useful example of how a neighbourhood centre serves residents on the nearby estate roads. For young learners, the trip can explain why not every shopping centre needs to sit beside a major MRT interchange: residents still need daily groceries, meals and community shops within walking distance of their homes.

Select one purpose before travelling—food, a household purchase, an authorised enrichment class or meeting someone. Check the particular unit and opening hours. A shopping centre having a number of listed tenants does not make all of them available throughout the day, and an education business might require advance registration.

The return bus travels past Blk 986B, Opp Blk 980C and other opposite-side stops before heading back towards Hougang. If it is late or the group is tired, compare the remaining loop with another suitable connection instead of assuming every Bus 101 appearing at Buangkok goes immediately to Serangoon.

For mobility-aid users, inspect the full pedestrian connection from 66571 to the particular mall entrance, including crossings and lifts. HDB’s address locates the centre, but it does not certify that every short-looking digital-map path is step-free today.

Why this route does not directly serve Punggol Park or Punggol Coast

Place names across the northeast can be misleading. Bus 101 serves Buangkok Crescent and various Hougang streets, but its listed stop sequence contains no call at Punggol MRT, Punggol Coast Interchange or Punggol Park. The park named Punggol Park is actually situated within Hougang at the junction of Hougang Avenues 8 and 10, yet Service 101 follows a different Hougang corridor.

If Punggol Park is your main purpose, choose a service such as 113 or 119 with a named park-side stop, then identify the entrance. If the purpose is Punggol Coast and its newer university/business district, choose a route that actually calls at the 69009 transport hub or the correct MRT station.

The word Buangkok is also not interchangeable with Punggol. One bus can serve a Buangkok Link housing block without entering Punggol’s East or West LRT loops. Search for the exact building address and select the actual route serving it.

This negative information is valuable because it prevents a common transport error: using the route that looks geographically near the destination instead of the one that stops where passengers can actually get out.

Plan the homeward leg before starting the visit

A loop service can make the same numbered bus appear to travel through a district twice, but the timing and next destinations differ. The 101 route calls at Kovan Exit B on the outward leg and Exit C near the end; it reaches Hougang Central on separate road sides. The place you are standing determines how many further stops remain before the next desired area.

For a visit to the Buangkok Square mall, save the 66571 stop code, the pedestrian entrance and the next three stops in the route. If a bus is going in a different direction than expected, let it pass or make a deliberate transfer rather than running across a road.

The last bus at the Serangoon origin is listed as midnight; that does not mean a bus will leave the Buangkok Square stop at midnight. Use stop-specific real-time arrivals for a late journey. Likewise, published service headways are frequency ranges, not a guarantee of an arrival at an exact minute.

When travelling with a child, make the practice small and safe: the child can identify the displayed destination and the correct stop code, while the adult remains responsible for crossing, boarding and any unexpected route change. The aim is confidence based on evidence, not the thrill of improvising a long unfamiliar trip.

Three outings you can realistically do

Serangoon-to-Kovan library or meal

Start at Serangoon Interchange (66009), take 101 to Kovan Exit B (63031) or use a short rail alternative, and enjoy a meal or shop at an actually open outlet. Return using a verified appropriate bus direction or the North East Line, rather than riding the whole loop unnecessarily.

Hougang Green ordinary neighbourhood outing

Board the full Serangoon-origin Bus 101 and alight at 64441 Hougang G. Shop Mall. Visit a specific legitimate shop or meal at 21 Hougang Street 51, check the public entrance and return from an appropriate nearby bus stop. Do not mix it up with Hougang Mall.

Buangkok Square food and local geography

Take Bus 101 to 66571 Buangkok Sq, follow HDB’s 991 Buangkok Link address, choose one food or shopping activity, and then compare the remaining bus loop with a suitable alternate route home. Do not mistakenly alight at Buangkok MRT.

Problems to avoid and how to repair the journey

• Buangkok Square versus Buangkok MRT: stop 66571 serves Buangkok Crescent; the mall is at 991 Buangkok Link, not Buangkok Integrated Transport Hub.
• Hougang Green versus Hougang Mall: the first is 21 Hougang Street 51; the latter is 90 Hougang Avenue 10.
• Wrong Hougang boarding bay: Bus 101 uses roadside stops 64541 and 64549, not a berth at terminal code 64009.
• Confusing Kovan station sides: outbound 63031 Exit B, later 63039 Exit C; check next-stop order.
• Wrong park: no direct Punggol Park stop exists on 101; do not promise a waterside park next to Buangkok Crescent.
• Private residential or school access: a stop named after a building is a navigation marker, not permission to enter.
• Late-bus error: midnight at Serangoon origin does not equal midnight at every intermediate stop.
• Venue opening: individual tenants, library spaces and classes need current opening and registration checks.

Frequently asked questions

Where does Bus 101 go?

It loops from Serangoon Interchange through Kovan, Hougang Central, Hougang Green and Buangkok Square, then returns to Serangoon.

Does Bus 101 go to Buangkok Square?

Yes, it calls at stop 66571 Buangkok Sq on Buangkok Crescent, near HDB’s neighbourhood mall at 991 Buangkok Link.

Does Bus 101 go to Buangkok MRT?

It does not have a Buangkok Stn stop in the operator’s published loop. Buangkok Square and Buangkok MRT are different places.

Does Bus 101 go to Kovan MRT?

Yes, 63031 Kovan Stn Exit B on the outward route and 63039 Exit C on the return.

Can it take me to Heartland Mall?

Yes, through Kovan-area stops, with the final walk to Block 205 Hougang Street 21.

Does Bus 101 enter Hougang Interchange?

No. It stops along the nearby road at 64541 and 64549, rather than starting or ending at interchange code 64009.

Does Bus 101 serve Hougang Green Shopping Mall?

Yes, the outbound route calls at 64441 Hougang G. Shop Mall.

Does it serve Serangoon Public Library?

It starts at Serangoon Interchange near NEX, where the library operates at Level 4R, reached by a separate walk.

Does Bus 101 go to Punggol MRT or Punggol Coast?

No. Neither is on the published loop.

Is it always quicker than the North East Line?

No. Compare actual origin, destination, waiting, route circulation and walking.

Can I use Bus 101 to visit Punggol Park?

No named park-side stop is listed on Bus 101. Choose another route such as 113 or 119 for a more direct park approach.

What is the first and last bus at Serangoon?

The published terminal times are 5.15am and midnight daily; intermediate stop times require live checking.

Primary sources and related Bus Guides

• SBS Transit Service 101 full route and stop codes
• HDB Buangkok Square official mall location and amenities
• Heartland Mall Kovan official transport and address
• Hougang Mall official location, library and facilities
• NEX Serangoon location and bus 101 listing
• Hougang Green Shopping Mall location, 21 Hougang Street 51

Bus 82: Punggol, Hougang, Kovan and Serangoon; Bus 119: Punggol, Sengkang, Punggol Park and Kovan; Bus 113: a different Hougang and Kovan neighbourhood circuit. Each service has its own origin and stop sequence.

Accuracy note (1 November 2026): Route and location references are grounded in SBS Transit and the linked organisations. This independent travel article does not supply live arrival times, guarantee venue entry, authorise access to private residential or school grounds, or promise a fixed walking duration. Bus operation, shop tenants, fares, events and accessibility can change; check current service information and the exact return stop before setting out.