It serves as the primary bus interchange for Tampines New Town, with feeder and trunk services operating at high frequencies.

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[1] and acts as a key node in the hub-and-spoke transport model.

[8] More feeders were only added to the terminal the following year, namely 293 and the now-defunct 294 on 12 August 1984,[9] as people started moving into Tampines East.

The increased frequency, through the addition of more buses, was successful in meeting the growing demand, while TBI was still under construction in Tampines Central.

On 29 November 1987, phase 1 of the current TBI opened to public at a larger site in Tampines Central.

As a major transport node, it was refurbished again in 2017, for the opening of the DTL section of Tampines MRT station.

A third entrance and new alighting berths were constructed, to hasten the disembarking process and prevent bus bunching along Tampines Central 3.

With the increasing number of passengers and occasional peak-hour capacity overload, measures had to be taken to ease the load at TBI.

Similar incidents have occurred in the past due to poor traffic light timings, though they are rare and usually resolved within a day.

The 3.1-hectare interchange is located in the town centre near Tampines MRT station, with offices and malls in the vicinity.

It features a white-tiled facade and blue corrugated gable roofs running the length of the two sections — Main Concourse and West Wing.

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.

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.

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.