SBS Transit : Mercedes Benz Citaro O530 / EvoBus

The first of the SBS Transit Citaro, SBS6000L debuted on 1st of June 2011 on revenue service 28. The appearance is very similar to the SMRT Buses' Citaros introduced earlier in 2011 save for the livery and customisations with no major design changes in its exerior.

300 buses are ordered by SBS Transit as announced by Daimler on its press release.

SBS Transit's Citaro's features set is very similar to the SMRT Buses' production batch Citaro; there are only minor configuration/specification differences between the SBST and SMRT version. Therefore we recommend to further read the production batch Citaro's writeup to compliment this article.

SBS6000L on 28 is the first SBS Transit Citaro to debut on revenue service.

The destination signage is by LAWO, the same as SMRT's Citaro specification with its LAWO Benefit system. All SBS Transit Citaros are fitted with Alcoa rims as standard as it is lighter.

The front rims captures attention with its unique design and Mercedes Benz badge in the middle, adding a classy feel to the entire bus.

The front Alcoa rims have the Mercedes Benz rim caps installed.

The 300 Citaros are expected to be fitted with Voith DIWA 854.5 gearboxes and to fitted with Konvekta air-conditioning as standard.

SBS6000L on a familiarisation run before its debut.

No blue wheelchair logo is found on the bumper that was seen in the press release photo, it is replaced by the removable wheelchair accessible logo on the windscreen.

The rear of the Citaro

 The placement of the rear signage is customised by SBS Transit to be placed on the top left.

Interior

Going on board the Citaro.

Stickers pasted by SBS Transit to caution passengers to stand clear of doors

Passenger handrails are purple.

The fire extinguisher compartment is covered up and flush with the interior.

The door movement area stickers is now curved instead of the triangles found on the previous low floor wheelchair accessible buses.

The dashboard console. The small Voith lettering can be seen gear selector's N button.

The information sticker advising passengers to pay the correct fares is above the bus captain.

The signage controller, CCTV screen and additional vents located above the driver.

The door system and emergency control.

The interior of SBS Transit's Citaro is configured with SBS Transit's standard colours of red/yellow seat covers and purple grab poles. The brown colour from the Gemilang bodied K230UBs is not used, instead grey and white is the interior colour.

The bus stopping sign says "Stopping".

Speakers. Though there are no announcements played.

The aircon ductings have advertisment panel holders installed.

The aircondition filter.

The entire front half of the bus is designated for priority seats (marked with yellow seats) on the non-step space.

The interior of SBS Transit's Citaro.

The left and the right wheelarch seats are designated to be priority seats, have side handrails installed to for the convenience of the passengers.

The left wheelarch seat.

Grab poles behind the left wheelarch seats.

The right wheelarch seat.

The grabpoles behind the right wheelarch seats. the grey colour thing could be a headrest of sorts for the rear-facing seats.

The left rear facing seats, with a grabpole installed.

And also at this rear facing seat for one adult and one child only, with another grabpole installed.

Left side seats.

And the right side seats.

The space in the aisle at the front half of the bus is adequate

The Passenger-In-Wheelchair (PIW) bay/standee area.

Two posters pasted on the bus windows at the PIW/standee area showcasing the features of the new Mercedes Benz Citaro bus.

Two posters describing the features of the new Citaro.

The PIW bay as seen from the back.

The door closing sign and emergency control.

The door system. There are two additional small grab poles at each side of the exit, below the ezlink card reader.

Wheelchair ramp.

Towards the rear half of the Citaro.

The rear half of the bus.

The left wheelarch seats.

The wheelarch seats on the right arch.

The seat is higher and will leave the feet dangling in the air.

The rear row of seats.

Part of the engine components is housed here.

Please mind your head sticker. There is also a CCTV camera to provide a view of the rear, complimenting the installed CCTV systems.

In short, though despite the similarities (given its based on the standardised Citaro design), SBS Transit's Citaros are decidely different from its SMRT cousins. The SBS Transit Citaros are also the "spritual successor" for the retired Mercedes Benz O405 (WA/DM) buses, carrying on the legacy of Mercedes Benz in SBS Transit.

Misc

Please move to the rear plate, instead of small "Please move to the rear" stickers.

The blue touch-sensitive Passenger In Wheelchair button.

Bus stopping bell.

Wheel chocks comes as standard in the Citaros.

**As of post date, the delievery of the 300 Citaros are in progress.

YM6115Z - I Love Children Bus

The Volvo Olympian 2 axle convertd to YK6115Z parked at Peck Seah Street.

This bus is the former SBS7297R (Volvo Olympian 2 axles) which was based at Ayer Rajah Bus Park. It was converted to MILK (Mainly I Love Kids) bus and registered as YM6115Z. It is currently with I Love Children organisation, a voluntary welfare organization. The theme for the bus is Parenthood planning.

EXTERIOR

A Volvo Olympian 2 axle with SBS Transit on revenue service.

The bumper was repainted.

The right side of the bus.

The non-airconditioned sliding windows are all replaced with wall blocks and vents and fitted with its own power converter to power the utilities inside the bus. The bus is airconditioned for comfort of the visitors, though it is not the regular bus air conditioner fitted on double deckers.

The rear of the bus.

The rear of the bus sees the lower deck's rear window replaced with a grille, presumably for the power converter's heat exchanger.

The features in the bus is powered by an external generator instead of the bus engine for power source.

Interior/ Lower Deck

Stepping on board the MILK/I Love Children Bus's lower deck brings a familiar sense of familiarity.

The empty spaces where the revenue collection equipment used to be.

For your safety, please stand clear of doors - the old SBS sticker.

A mat to welcome visitors on board. The original door system is also retained.

The driver's compartment.

The vehicle identification number plate of the bus.

The lower deck's interior is refurbished to blue, with home-type wooden flooring that replaced the original VO2X's flooring.

The lower deck's interior.

This was where the TransitLink farecard/ticket dispenser machine was located.

There is a speaker above the space.

The bench seats, validator space, signage box and windows have all been replaced by a table and a wall.

The Volvo Olympian's exit door system is retained. There is no difference in the external appearance of the door.

Though there are locking mechanisms to prevent the door from being opened from the outside.

Two manual locks ensure the doors stay locked and cannot be opened from the outside. The SBS & SBS Transit stickers are retained on the doors together with the door closing sign and door cock.

Towards the rear half however, the familiarity of a Volvo Olympian 2 axle's interior is gone.

An extra ladder installed behind the primary staircase that leads to the upper deck.

There used to be bench seats at this area, now replaced by wall.

Used to have bench seats too. Note the power outlet on the bottom right.

Towards the rear, the wheel arch floor space is reconfigured to be behind the steps and the two blocks on the left and the right.

Let's head upstairs!

The foot of the staircase on the lower deck.

Interior/Upper Deck

A view of the staircase. The walls are all pasted with information stickers, and the original staircase handrail is also changed.

Up the staircase. The fire extinguisher glass was cleaned up.

Following the footsteps.

The front windscreen and all of the windows are blocked off by the wall, and the original lighting positions seems to be retained.

A single bench seat installed. There used to be two front-facing seats here.

Front to rear after the staircase.

The ladder as seen on the upper deck to return to the lower deck.

Even though old buses are retired when reaching the statutory age of 17 years in Singapore, they have a new lease of life if sold off/donated to other organisations, serving a new purpose for the public.

Many thanks to I Love Children for allowing the photography of the ex-SBS Transit Volvo Olympian 2 axle YM6115Z on their event "I Love Children Bus Roving @ Peck Seah Street."