27 replies to this topic

[Cathay 888]

Some sharing for my trip of Singapore~~

SBS Transit

• Mercedes Benz O405 were being retired, the last 2 with Alexander bodywork were retired end of April, the remain 109 units with Duple Metsec bodywork will be retired within 2010, and replaced by those 1100 Scania K230UB buses~~
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Most of the Scania K230UB are already in service, it's only few more still not in service yet, it will be completed for all 1101 Scania K230UB delivery~~
  
  
  
  
  
  
• SBS Transit received Scania K310UD double decker bus for demonstration was registered at March, 2010 as SBS7888K, it was been the revenue service since mid-May~~
  
  However, I don't have a photos due to this bus was not in revenue service yet while I came to SIN at April, here is the photos from my friend~~
  
  Scania K310UD

SMRT Buses

• SMRT Buses currently retiring the Japanese product - Nissan U31 series, currently only few are still in revenue services, the rest of them were de-registered or became the Training Bus~~
  
  
  
  
  
• Before MB Citaro demo, the first Chinese bus in Singapore was appeared at last summer, this bus provided by Yutong ZK6126HGC, registration is SMB135E, it was assigned to route 854 (Yishun Interchange - Bedok Interchage)~~
  
  
  
  Video : http://www.youtube.c...h?v=xM7jUplUkqQ

[Cathay 888]

SBS Transit will introduce the first Fuel Cell Hydrogen bus coming up next month, and it's the 2nd public bus in Singapore made in China~~

Quote

Higer Bus Breaks Our Zero Export of Hydrogen Fuel Buses

On 17 June 2010, the launching ceremony of Higer hydrogen fuel cell city bus for Singapore was held in Suzhou, developed by Higer Bus and Tsinghua University. This is the first time for China to export hydrogen fuel cell city bus and means a lot. Theses buses will be used as the service vehicles for official new energy demonstration of the first Youth Summer Olympic Games to be held in Singapore in August 2010. The export of this model marks the step of our hi-tech and environmental buses toward the international stage with completely independent intellectual property rights and a new development phase for our fuel cell bus industry.



Higer hydrogen fuel cell bus export to Singapore.


Various performances of Higer hydrogen fuel cell bus reach advanced international level

Higer hydrogen fuel cell bus adopts rechargeable "electricity-electricity" fuel cell power system with the maximum speed of 80 km/h, the mileage of more than 200 kilometers and zero emission.

It is introduced that the climate feature (high temperature and humidity) and road condition (curved slope) in Singapore is fully taken consideration into the design of this model. Based on the local regulation, right-mounted steering wheel, left hand door and integral electrically powered air-conditioner are equipped. Compared with the previous generations of China fuel cell city buses, this model own the superiority of high reliability, reasonable structure design and obvious cost advantage.


Zero emission light the dream of green traffic

Zero emission is one of the highlight points for hydrogen fuel cell bus. The major difference between hydrogen cell and normal cell is: normal dry cell or storage cell is a kind of energy storage unit that stores electricity and releases when in need; hydrogen cell is a kind of power generator unit from chemical energy to electric energy. Without burning, the energy conversion rate reaches 60%-80% with less pollutants, light noise and flexible unit. Fuel cell gives off water vapour rather than chemical material leading to greenhouse effect. And water is also the raw material for producing hydrogen and the whole process is circular and clean. In addition, hydrogen energy is reusable.



generator of Higer hydrogen fuel cell bus

[R. McConnell]

The fuel cell bus looks ridiculous -- it looks as though one took a normal bus and stretched it vertically!

Is Higer related in any way to King Long? The Chinese characters are identical.

[A. Wong]

I like the looks of those new Scanias though!

[Cathay 888]

R. McConnell, on Jun 22 2010, 10:05 PM, said:

Is Higer related in any way to King Long? The Chinese characters are identical.

Well, apparently Higer is the subsidiary of King Long in Su Zhou, the chinese name is "苏州金龙 (Suzhou Jin Long)" or the other name is Suzhou King Long, but Higer is the brand name to identify as Suzhou King Long~~

A. Wong, on Jun 22 2010, 10:18 PM, said:

I like the looks of those new Scanias though!

Oh well, Singapore have over 1100 units of Scania K230UB running around right now~~

[Cathay 888]

Beside SBS Transit, Resort World Sentosa was purchased 10 Scania K230UB with Soon Chow bodywork during the resort opening in Feb, 2010, these buses currently running the resort shuttle services from RWS to Orchard Rd Hotels or Changi Airport~~





More photos at here : http://billlmf-sin.f...t/c1843072.html

[Cathay 888]

SBS Transit's Volvo B9TL with Wright bodywork, the pilot bus just arrived Singapore recently and the rest of them still in assembly their Wright bodywork in Singapore by ComfortDelgro Engineering or Soon Chow Corporation~~

This is the photos from route-one magazine for the pilot bus on tilting test~~



http://www.route-one.net/e-books/currentIs...index.html#/10/

Also, there is the other unknown bus was found by the transit fans in Singapore, some rumour for this bus made in China and with Gemilang bodywork, but everything is not confirm yet~~

Here is the photos from SBS9827Z @ SPTinfo.net

[Enviro 500]

More words on the Sunlong Hybrid buses and the Higer Fuel Cell bus from SBS Transit

http://www.sbstransi...07-20-01-S.aspx

Quote

SBS Transit Embarks On Singapore's First Fuel Cell and Hybrid Bus Trials



One discharges clean, clear water from its exhaust pipe instead of fumes while the other runs on electricity a quarter of the time it is on the roads.

Known as a fuel cell and diesel hybrid bus respectively, the buses are part of a landmark trial by SBS Transit which brings truly Green solutions to Singapore's public transport industry for the first time.

The fuel cell bus, which has zero carbon emissions, is a collaborative effort between the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Beijing's Tsinghua University, China's second largest bus manufacturer Higer, and SBS Transit. It is powered by two sources of energy - hydrogen and lithium-ion batteries. A fuel cell system housed on board the bus acts as an "energy converter" that transforms hydrogen into electricity, which powers the bus and charges the batteries at the same time. The bus, which will be garaged at NTU where a refuelling station is located, will be used to ferry delegates of the Singapore Youth Olympic Games, providing shuttle service in the Games Village located at NTU. Upon completion of the Games, it will be deployed to run on an SBS Transit route that caters to the NTU community.

The hybrid bus, which runs on both diesel and electricity, was brought in by ComfortDelGro Engineering in collaboration with Shanghai Sunlong Bus Company and Gemilang Coachworks of Malaysia. Fuel savings of up to 30% are derived by using electricity to power the bus. Essentially, electricity is generated through brake energy and stored in Lithium-ion batteries. The energy in the batteries is released to assist the engine in powering the vehicle. As a result, fuel consumption drops. The bus uses a parallel hybrid system that is developed by Eaton Corporation of the United States where a motor/generator is used to convert the electrical energy into mechanical energy and vice versa.

At the launch ceremony today to mark the first green bus trials in the country, Mr Teo Ser Luck, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Transport & Community Development, Youth and Sports said: "Today's launch brings us a step closer towards creating a sustainable land transport system in Singapore."

He added that the collaboration between SBS Transit and local and foreign academics, as well as foreign bus manufacturers to test out new technologies in our local context "is a step in the right direction".

SBS Transit Chief Executive Officer, Mr Gan Juay Kiat, said: "SBS Transit runs the bulk of public bus services in Singapore. We are very conscious of the impact of our operations on the environment. That is why we don't just stop at replacing our fleet with new buses that are Euro 5 compliance. We believe that newer, alternative forms of energy are the way to go which is why we are embarking on these two bus trials."

In all, there will be two hybrid buses that will be deployed on Service 185, which plies between Soon Lee Depot and the Buona Vista Terminal, serving residents in Jurong East, Jurong West and Clementi. Both the fuel cell and hybrid trials will commence in August 2010 and are expected to last a year.

Some photos of the launching event that took place today can be found on the Singapore Ministry of Transport Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?a...0022&ref=mf



The Fuel Cell Higer coach is registered as RU6066L, it will be used as an internal Nanyang Technological University (NTU) shuttle for delegates during the Youth Olympic Games taking place in August, before assigned to sv199 split-shift peak hours bus.

Source of info: SPTinfo.net

http://www.hkitalk.net/SPT/viewthread.php?...;extra=page%3D1
http://www.hkitalk.net/SPT/viewthread.php?...;extra=page%3D1

Too bad I will be leaving Singapore tomorrow night =( I will miss the buses, the Laksa, Teh Tarik, Iced Milo and the $1.80 Chicken Rice for sure!

Dave

[Cathay 888]

BC Transit, on Jul 20 2010, 09:02 AM, said:

More words on the Sunlong Hybrid buses and the Higer Fuel Cell bus from SBS Transit

http://www.sbstransi...07-20-01-S.aspx



Some photos of the launching event that took place today can be found on the Singapore Ministry of Transport Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?a...0022&ref=mf



The Fuel Cell Higer coach is registered as RU6066L, it will be used as an internal Nanyang Technological University (NTU) shuttle for delegates during the Youth Olympic Games taking place in August, before assigned to sv199 split-shift peak hours bus.

Source of info: SPTinfo.net

http://www.hkitalk.net/SPT/viewthread.php?...;extra=page%3D1
http://www.hkitalk.net/SPT/viewthread.php?...;extra=page%3D1

Too bad I will be leaving Singapore tomorrow night =( I will miss the buses, the Laksa, Teh Tarik, Iced Milo and the $1.80 Chicken Rice for sure!

Dave

Some interior photos for the Higer Fuel Cell and Sunlong Hybrid from Ed Yeo~~

Shanghai Sunlong SLK6121UF14H Hybrid (Diesel-Electric)

Higer (Suzhou King Long) KLQ6129GQH2 Fuel Cell

I'm looking forward for them and the Singapore local built Wright B9TL for my trip of SIN next year, and also something I missed on last trip~~

[Cathay 888]

Cathay 888, on Jul 21 2010, 02:06 PM, said:

Shanghai Sunlong SLK6121UF14H Hybrid (Diesel-Electric)

Sunlong Hybrid buses (SBS8000Z and SBS8001X) just came out to the revenue service since today, they're both on route 185 (Soon Lee Depot - Buona Vista)~~

Here is the videos from YouTube

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=5W4N1uFEdjs
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=78CAk0AUZiA
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=OreVk44P0PI

What do you guys think??

[Cathay 888]

According some of the info for the Wright B9TL will be delayed for the revenue service due to Wright Gemini 2 bodyworks are more complicated for assembly, SBS Transit have to ensure the first units are up to quality and specifications before registered~~

So therefore, the first 10 Leyland Olympian 12m a/c buses (SBS9000S - SBS9009T) will be given the additional 3 months lifespan extension (These buses are suppose to be retired on 26 August 2010)~~

SBS9000S

SBS9002L

SBS9004G

SBS9005D

SBS9007Z

SBS9009T

I hope they'll stay longer until all Wright B9TL in place~~

[Cathay 888]

SBS Transit ordered 300 Mercedes Benz O530 Citaro buses, according some of the info for these buses will replace the Volvo B10M MK III~~

Quote

SBS Transit Invests In Award-Winning Stepless Buses

SBS Transit's next batch of single-deck buses will crank up the comfort level several notches - thanks to a completely stepless aisle.

Known as a through low-floor bus, the aisle of the Mercedes Citaro is flushed flat from the front of the bus to the back . This makes it especially friendly to elderly passengers who no longer need to climb steps to reach the back of other low-floor models currently on the road. The 300 Citaros, which have won several international awards including the "2007 Bus of the Year" and the "Best Commercial Vehicles of 2010", will also have more than 10 priority seats which will be easily accessible by the elderly and the handicapped.

SBS Transit will pay $110 million for the 300 Citaros. Together with another 300 new double-deck buses from Volvo, they are scheduled to hit our local roads over the next two years starting from 2011.

The latest bus purchase of $268 million brings SBS Transit's total investment in new buses over the last five years to $854 million. It will lower the age of our existing buses from nine years to seven years.

SBS Transit Chief Executive Officer, Mr Gan Juay Kiat, said: "We are excited about our latest bus purchase. The saloon layout of the new single-deck through low-floor buses is more commuter-friendly."

Mr Gan added that when the new single- and double-deck are rolled out over the next two years, two out of every three buses in the SBS Transit fleet will be new.

"This means we will have one of the youngest fleets in Asia," he said.

As with recent bus purchases, the latest batch of new buses are Euro 5 compliant.



Background
SBS Transit operates 193 basic bus services and 53 premium and niche services. The company currently has close to 3,000 buses where one in two of its buses is new. Since our fleet renewal programme commenced in 2006, we have bought 1,450 new buses, of which 1,100 are single deck buses from Scania and 350 are double-deck ones from Volvo. All are wheelchair-accessible buses.


The Award-Winning Mercedes Citaro Bus



Exterior view of the Citaro Bus which was named "Best Commercial Vehicles of 2010 - City Bus" and "2007 Bus of the Year".



Stepless aisle in the bus

[Cathay 888]

SBS Transit and Wright Group was celebrated the hanover celemony of Volvo B9TL with Wright Eclipse Gemini II bodywork at mid-of September, this is the offical press from Wright Group~~

Quote

TRIPLE MILESTONE FOR WRIGHT GROUP IN SINGAPORE

The Wright Group celebrated a triple milestone last week when the first ever Wrightbus Double Deck bus officially entered service in Singapore (Thursday 16th September). The event also marked the successful completion of the first locally-produced vehicle, as well as confirmation of a further order for 300 Double Deck buses from SBS Transit of Singapore.

Last August saw the announcement of an initial export order, won in tandem with Volvo Bus Corporation, for the Wright Group to supply the bodywork for 150 new Double Deck buses in kit form to SBS Transit. One year on, the initial prototype vehicle is entering service and local production is operational, with the first Double Deck bus rolling off the production line at the C.D.G.E. facility in Singapore.

Such has been the success of the venture, that a further 300 vehicles have been ordered, which will mean that a total of 450 Wrightbus bodied Double Deck buses will be in service with SBS Transit by 2012. “This is a hugely significant milestone for the Wright Group here in Singapore, in what has been a major project for the company, both in terms of scope and scale,” said Wright Group Business Development Director Jonathan Poynton.

As well as the design, and build in Northern Ireland of an initial prototype vehicle to provide a benchmark for local production, the project has also drawn upon our production management and logistics capabilities to produce and package completely knocked down (CKD) kits in Ballymena, which are then shipped across the globe, with local assembly workers trained to Wright Group quality standards by staff seconded from Ballymena.”

Designed to meet the specific requirements of the local climate and high capacity transport demands on the Island City State, the 12m long, fully air-conditioned Wrightbus Gemini 2 Double Deck buses are built on Volvo B9TL tri-axle chassis, featuring environmentally-enhanced Euro V emission standard engines, which are not yet mandatory in Asia Pacific.

Captions for Photographs

Image 1: The new Wright Group Double Deckers destined for service with SBS Transit in Singapore.



Image 2: Jonathan Poynton, Wright Group Business Development Director and Gan Juay Kiat CEO SBS Transit at the launch in Singapore.

These following sites provided by Darryl Chua and Edward Yeo contains the exterior and interior shots of B9TL~~

Darryl Chua's SBS Transit Photo Gallery
SGCITYBUS (Edward Yeo)

[Enviro 500]

A rather interesting piece of news from Singapore.................an SBS Transit driver has been charged for illegally smuggling 496 cartons of cigarettes (and attempted tax evasion) while on duty! He was operating service 160, a boarder-crossing trunk route that actually goes into Johor in Malaysia from Jurong East! He concealed all the illegal merchandise in an undercompartment below the floor of the bus. More details can be found HERE

Dave

[Cathay 888]

Daimler Buses delivers 300 Mercedes-Benz Citaro city buses to Southeast Asia

Stuttgart/Germany, April, 21 2011

•SBS Transit company in Singapore to use Mercedes-Benz Citaro city buses
•Delivery of largest order for Citaro buses to date from Asia has begun
•Mercedes-Benz Citaro is most successful city bus of all time, with more than 32,000 units produced



In Singapore, the city of five million, will soon use Citaro city-buses produced at the EvoBus plant in Mannheim. The delivery has just begun.


Daimler Buses has once again received a major order, and is now delivering a total of 300 Mercedes-Benz Citaro city buses to Singapore. The vehicles were ordered by Singapore’s SBS Transit, which is responsible for a major part of local public transportation in the city of five million. Over the last five years alone, SBS Transit has invested more than 850 million Singapore dollars (€470 million) in modernizing its bus fleet. All of the 300 Mercedes-Benz Citaro city buses meet the Euro 5 emissions standards, are produced at the EvoBus plant in Mannheim and will be used for public transportation in Singapore. The Citaro is the most successful city bus of all time, with more than 32,000 units produced over a period of only 12 years.

Hartmut Schick, Head of Daimler Buses, says, “We are delighted that one of Asia’s most important cities is ordering Mercedes-Benz buses to prepare its bus fleet for the future. This is a great expression of confidence in us, and it shows that SBS Transit knows it can rely on our buses’ high quality, environmental compatibility, and reliability.”

The vehicles in question are Mercedes-Benz Citaro low-floor buses with two doors and a length of 12 meters. Thanks to the buses’ low-floor design, elderly and physically handicapped people can easily get in and out of the vehicles or use the wheelchair ramp. Each bus has 13 priority seats for elderly or handicapped passengers. Due to Singapore’s humid tropical climate, all of the vehicles are equipped with powerful air conditioners. The Citaros are also fitted with a closed-circuit camera also in the passenger compartment and the outside section. The fuel-efficient, low-emission buses are equipped with the environmentally friendly Mercedes-Benz BlueTec diesel technology and meet the Euro 5 emissions standards.

Says Gan Juay Kiat, Chief Executive Officer of SBS Transit, "We decided to get these buses because they provide our passengers with a high level of comfort and are easy to get into. This is another step in the systematic modernization of our fleet. We will soon have one of the youngest bus fleets in Asia.”

SBS Transit operates more than 250 bus lines in Singapore and has a total fleet of around 3,000 buses. The company accounts for 75% of all bus services in the city, including feeder, express, and premium routes.

Daimler Buses is the world’s leading manufacturer of buses and bus chassis of eight tons GVW and up. In 2010 the company employed a total of 17,134 people worldwide and sold more than 39,100 buses. The product range covers urban and intercity buses as well as travel coaches, and includes everything from minibuses to double-deckers, all which are available with different engines and equipment features. The European bus operations are managed by EvoBus GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Daimler AG.

[Cathay 888]

The blog post from one of the bus enthusiast in Singapore for the newest SBS Transit's Mercedes Benz O530 Citaro rigid~~

http://busesingapore.blogspot.com/2011/06/...itaro-o530.html

[Cathay 888]

SBS Transit's Scania K310UD demo bus (SBS7888K) was rejected after over a year trial, the current status is Non-user Lay-up till 14 Jun 2012~~





SMRT Buses ordered unknown numbers of MAN A22 (NL323) after the trial of SMB138Y

ST Engineering's Land Systems Arm Secures Contract to Provide MAN Buses to SMRT Buses

[Cathay 888]

Cathay 888, on Jul 21 2011, 05:38 PM, said:

SMRT Buses ordered unknown numbers of MAN A22 (NL323) after the trial of SMB138Y

ST Engineering's Land Systems Arm Secures Contract to Provide MAN Buses to SMRT Buses

The photo of the brand new MAN NL323F with Gemilang bodywork, this design based on Lion's City Hybrid (Photo taken by Christopher Tan @ Public Transport Hub)~~

[Cathay 888]

Some report of my recent trip in Singapore, here is my update for transit in Singapore~~

Part 1 - SBS Transit

• New Vehicle

• Mercedes-Benz O530 Citaro - SBS Transit ordered 300 units to replace the Volvo B10M MK III buses, these buses equipped Mercedes-Benz OM906hLA engine and Voith Diwa 854.5 transmission, a/c provided by Konvekta and destination signs provided by LAWO HighLED with Luminator controller; most of them currently on route 16, 28, 52, 53, 83, 101, 111, 123, 138, 175, 222, 334, 502 & 518~~

Video : http://www.youtube.c...h?v=fOTBuS9Akoo

• Volvo B9TL with Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 bodywork - SBS Transit ordered the additional 300 Volvo B9TL with Wright bodywork for the service expansions and few fleet replacement (Most of them are non a/c Volvo Olympian), the powertrain is totally same as the one in KMB, but SBS Transit are using Voith Diwa 864.5 transmission~~

In these 300 buses, the first 30 units (SBS7700T - SBS7729L) are semi-low floor and equipped with the LED signs provided by Hanover Display, the rest of them are fully low floor and equipped LECIP LED signs~~

2. Update for the current vehicle

• All current Volvo B9TL with CDGE bodywork retrofitted with LECIP LED signs, but my opinion is - too small for the front signs~~

Before retrofitted

After retrofitted

• First Volvo Super Olympian received LECIP LED signs - SBS9822L (Currently on route 65)

• Sunlong Hybrid Buses currently re-assigned to Jurong East Feeder Service 334, but unfortunely SBS8000Z wasn't showed up when I been there, only SBS8001X showed up~~

Part 2 will be coming up soon, stay tune~~

[Cathay 888]

Continues the report for my trip 2012~~

Part 2 - SMRT Buses

New Vehicle

• MAN NL323F (A22) - After the successful trial of SMB138Y (Demo bus with MCV Evolution bodywork), SMRT Buses was ordered 200 MAN NL323F buses, but this batch equipped Gemilang bodywork based on the MAN Lion's City Hybrid bus design, currently SMRT already have 62 MAN NL323F buses in service, all 200 buses will be in service until Dec 2012~~

Demo unit with MCV bodywork

Production batch with Gemilang bodywork

MAN NL323F with the ad-wrap of SMRT Buses newest MAN A22 buses promotion~~

Regular scheme

• Mercedes-Benz O530 Citaro - 50 more Citaros joined the SMRT buses fleet, the first 10 arrived at March 2011 (SMB139U - SMB148T) , and the second batch of 40 arrived at the end of 2011 (SMB149R - SMB188C), except the first 9 (SMB139U - SMB147X) equipped ZF Ecolife transmission, the rest of them equipped Voith transmission (Same as SBS Transit)~~

• Some rumours from the bus enthrusiasts in Singapore, MAN and Mercedes will send their articulated buses for trial, stay tune when they arrive in Singapore~~

Part 3 - Transition for the transit bus services from Singapore - Malaysia (JB), stay tune~~