SMRT's Scania ELBO refurbishments

TIB840A, newly refurbished on 965 [S/Shift] at Admiralty station on the last trip

It was an unprecedented move by SMRT Buses to refurbish the aging and degrading ELBOs. Some units were scrapped a few years back due to problems and complaints, and the ELBOs were thought to be fully phased out in favour for new buses.

The changes to the bus are

• OAC (Original Air Conditioned)-type windows, giving it an OAC-look. Gone are the unique looking sliding windows.
• Interior has been gutted out and repainted, with new interior fittings such as the new aircon outlet and light covers.
• New Volgelsitze replaced the old dusty Arianne bucket seats.

A pity that some of the ELBOs were already scrapped, as it was deemed difficult to maintain and recieving several complaints about the ELBO fleet. Now with the refurbishments, we can expect the ELBOs to stay for the entire length of the lifespan duration.

Trivia : The Singapore Bus Enthusiasts's profile pic features us on a farewell tour back at December 2009, as the ELBOs were originally planned to be slowly phased out of service.