Ex - SBS Leisure Volvo B10M MK 4 w/ Soon Chow bodywork - PA4682K

Spotted PA4682K parked at Woodlands Industrial Park E9, which is very near SMRT Buses' Woodlands Depot. It is believed to be abandoned for a very long time, though not de-registered (as of 20 Nov 2010)

PA4682K parked at the roadside parking lots.

The first hint that this bus cannot be moved are the wooden wheel chocks placed at the wheels of the bus.

A largely intact interior.

The interior gathered quite a lot of dust, and the engine floorboard is taken out of its position, exposing the engine below. The bumper that is missing from the front is at the front entrance of the bus. Otherwise, a mostly intact interior retaining the original SBS Leisure configuration.

The MK IV Dashboard. There are still some items left by the previous driver.

Both the entrance and the exit doors were open, and nothing on the bus was working. Revenue equipments such as the coinbox and the bus stopping bells still remain.

Retained its first registration plate barcode SH0970H.

A very poorly maintained (if any maintenance) bus.

The bodywork have a lot of wear and tear from weathering and visible damages can be found on the bumper and radiator grille.

View from the rear. The suspension is broken.

The bus looks fine at first sight from the rear.

Hope the bus will either be scrapped soon or be brought back to SBS Transit for refurbishing for revenue service with its other MK IV Soon Chow cousins.

SMRT Buses : Ex-CSS310U UMW Dennis Lance [TIB1257C]

CSS310U parked at Geylang Lor 1 Depot - photo by rainbowbus

 TIB1257C started life as the sole UMW Dennis Lance (registered as CSS310U) joining the now defunct City Shuttle Service (CSS). The company's fleet consisted mostly of Japanese buses such as Nissan Diesel/Hino and a handful of Hispano DAFs.  

The interior is mostly similar, save for a few minor visual differences - photo by rainbowbus

When CSS's operation terminated, CSS310U was transferred over to the SMRT's fleet together with some Nissan Diesel buses. While some of them were re-registered with TIB prefix, others retained the CSS-plates.

TIB1257C : the very last TIBS registration plate.

CSS310U recieved the final TIB registration plate - TIB1257C and the TIB prefix was discontinued when the new SMB prefixes debuted on the OC500LEs by SMRT Buses.

Singapore Polytechnic Escapade - Hippotour charters.

One of the Scania L94UB Hippotour bus, PA5418B chartered for the red team exiting Singapore Polytechnic.

 The author was recently invited by Afiq (a fellow transport enthusiast) to back to Singapore Polytechnic, which is his alma mater.


Singapore Polytechnic chartered a few Hippotour buses for their annual SP Escapade. Escapade is Singapore Polytechnic (SP)'s first dusk till dawn adventure for 'O' level students to celebrate YOU, de-stress and have fun!

The teams were brought ferried in these Hippotour buses between each stop of the adventure route around the Singapore Polytechnic campus. The Hippotour buses did not exactly drive within the campus, but around it for the stops.

The Hippotour buses also carried a new livery "The Original Tour. Singapore Sightseeing." The original livery can be seen @ Bill Wong's fotopic.

 On a side note, Singapore Polytechnic has changed a lot after the author graduated in 2009 =)

London's new Routemaster mock up revealed!

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson has unveiled a full-size mock up of the new Routemaster yesterday. This replacement to the mostly retired Routemaster fleet boasts modern style to both its looks and features.

It features hybrid technology, easily accessible interior with wheelchair accessibility, the return of the Routemaster's famous hop on/hop off rear platform, and glazed glasses at the staircases for the passengers to see outside while ascending the staircases. The new Routemasters will be built by Wrightbus.

The new Routemaster unveiled

The right side showing of the first staircase.

The rear of the new Routemaster, showing off the second staircase.

LED headlights.

Interior

The driver's cab.

Mockup with rear, with the photographer noting the traditional seat frames.

The prototype will be out sometimes next year in London, with the production new Routemasters expected to be introduced in 2012.


All photos featured here are courtesy of routeOne magazine's Facebook Photos @ New Bus for London - Mock up revealed. route. routeONE magazine is the weekly trade magazine for the UK coach and bus industry.

From 13 November 2010 onwards, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will extend the Mandatory Give Way to Buses Scheme to 36 additional bus bays. .

Article here

Photo by Land Transport Authority.

> This extension of this scheme will help in reducing the delays encountered by bus captains when exiting a bus bay, by giving priority to buses to exit and keep up with schedule.
> Drivers encountering it are required to stop, if not it will be considered a traffic offence.

So do give way for buses exiting the bus bays =).