New cross border service AC7 by Advance Coach

Advance Coach has launched its first cross-border service AC7 on 17th Dec 2010, plying between Yishun Interchange in Singapore and Kota Raya II Terminal in Johore Bahru.

A poster and an arrow guiding you to the berth ^^

This is part of a Singapore & Malaysia agreement to increase transit links between both countries in May, with this being the third service introduced out of eight services agreed. The first two are introduced in September 2010 and operated by Transtar, with the routes plying between RWS and Changi Airport to Johore.

The service will stop at all stops on the route it plies.

It charges a flat fare of SGD $2 when boarding in Singapore or paying by ezlink card. For those boarding at Malaysia, RM $2 will be charged instead.

Advance Coach's AC7 - First day on service.

 

The promotion flyer (front page).
Scanned by (buses[IN]gapore!), copyright Advance Coach.



The route details are printed behind. The bus stops for boarding/alighting are listed here.
(Scanned by (buses[IN]gapore!), copyright Advance Coach.


 10 Yutong ZK6118HGA are purchased for AC7's fleet.

One of AC7's bus departing Yishun Int.

The rear.

The boarding point is at Berth B5 near the Passenger Service Centre, with the frequency roughly around 30 minutes.
Expect more cross border routes to be introduced soon!

SMRT Buses installs Alux rims on a bendy! (TIB895S)

In May 2010, TIB572Z had its original Mercedes rims replaced to a set of aluminium rims.

Alcoa or Alux?

It was originally thought to be Alcoa rims, but later it was confirmed to be using Alux rims, which is a Korean brand.

Fast forward to December 2010, a fellow enthusiast first spotted TIB895S at Tampines interchange on 67 sporting the new rims.



TIB895S, a new look.

TIB895S is the second bus in SMRT's fleet that recieves the new rims. It is also the first bendy to recieve aluminium rims.

There were comments that the rims make the bus look "American". The black areas are the original black paint on the axles/hub connection to the rims itself. The combination of black and sliver together with the livery gives it an eye-catching appearance.


A closer look

 Though finally, it will end up gathering dust and dirt that it will turn into what we see on TIB572Z a few months later

Due to dust and dirt, the shine was lost.

Off Service back to depot.

Trivia : As of this post, Ang Mo Kio Depot and Kranji Depot, have each installed a set of Alux rims on one of their bus (AM TIB572Z, KJ TIB895S) , leaving only Woodlands Depot that hasn't.

Might be a trial for SMRT Buses to use aluminium rims for new buses?

Update : TIB895S has no more Alux rims

TIB597C recieves CoolAir EDS (Update with EDS controller & night photo!)

CoolAir Electronic Destination Signage (EDS) in Singapore is a rather common sight for SBS Transit's 500 Euro IV Scania K230UBs, which is also their first batch of buses fitted with CoolAir EDS en-masse. Recently, SMRT Buses fitted a Coolair EDS on TIB597C.

• Comparison: Front

TIB597C on 61. 

The EDS fitted on TIB597C is signifcantly smaller, hence the black borders on both sides of the display window. The format of the EDS is formatted with the route number displayed on the nearside.

• Comparison : Side

The side EDS of TIB597C is the rear EDS for the Scania K230UB. The fonts are the same.

TIB597C heading towards Eunos.

Overall, the EDS seems to be easier to view from a distance then the current KUBs and shutter speed for this EDS is 1/50 to 1/60.

Update : A couple of friends asked me wether if the EDS will also be "a blob of orange" for night shots.

CoolAir EDS on TIB597C, a shot at night.

Verdict : Yes it does through the camera lens. Though viewing with the naked eye, it does look quite clear.

And for those who are curious about the EDS controller :

Standard CoolAir EDS controller, displaying 496.

SMRT Buses : Refurbished door release cover.

The front emergency door release cock of some SMRT Buses are being refurbished to have a new emergency door release cover concealing the door cock.

Thr original "button" door cock on a Scania L113CRL Strider.

The new emergency door release cover concealing the door cock on TIB905Y.

This refurbishment could be likely due to passengers accidentally pressing onto the front door cocks, resulting in accidental door closings while boarding. There are quite a handful of SMRT Buses having the new emergency door release cover installed.

A Citaro Tour!

I was recently invited by a group of bus enthusaists for a tour in the Mercedes Benz O530 Citaro on 28 Nov 2010.

Citaro Tour

CCTV, Gorba EDS and speaker/mic. Yep, the speakers in the bus work!

Wheelchair ramp deployed

100% Low Floor sticker

ZF axles.

The simple driver console.

The Citaro with the ramp deployed and bus tilted to the left..

A well maintained Citaro interior.

SMB136C is still currently on 1 year trial with SMRT, while rival SBS Transit have ordered 300 Citaros that will arrive in 2011.
Do check out a more in depth review of SMB136C here!