Cross border fleet change for 170/170X from 29th August 2011

Following 160 and 950's fleet change from their respective predecessor buses, 170 and its shortworking cousin 170X recieved its fleet change on 29th August 2011.

Striders make an appearance on 170...

...and on its shortworking cousin 170X!

The DM3500s are now the mainstay for 170's fleet

This bus used to have a Transit Media electronic destination signage system.

Some of the new plates for 170

For 170

170X > Singapore - Kranji MRT

170X > JB -Kotaraya II

And farewell to the MK IIIs that served on 160/170

Cross border fleet change from 1st August 2011.

1st August 2011 marks a round of fleet renewal for the cross border services by SBS Transit and SMRT Buses, as their predecessors gets retired

SBS Transit's 170 and 160
There's older buses before this B57 model, but the B57 is the oldest model i remember. We start from the known retired B57 buses on 170

SBS's retired Volvo B57 (from SBS Transit Memory Lane website)

to 170 having B10M MK IIs

A retired Volvo B10M MK II.

to B10M MK IIIs were introduced when 170 became fully air-conditoned service. It was a welcome relief as commuters are spared from breathing in the vehicle exhausts during a jam, and also travel across the two countries in air-conditioned comfort)
 

A MK III (SBS787P) carrying an advertisment for Maybank. Cross border buses rarely has advertisments on it.

With its sister service 160 from Jurong East to Kotaraya II introduced in September 2004, it received the airconditioned MK IIIs.

SBS739D on 160, at Jurong East bound for Kotaraya II Terminal at Johore Bahru.

and now, part of 160's fleet has been replaced with B10M MK IV buses with DM3500 bodywork.

SBS2750G, one of the MK IV DM3500s deployed to 160.

170 has not yet received its deployment of DM3500s yet.

A blue-plate 170.

Currently, the MK IV DM3500s are making up part of the fleet for 160 only, and looks to be a gradual changover; with 160/170's entire fleet expected to be using MK IV DM3500 buses in the coming months.

SMRT Buses.

19 September 2004 saw the introduction of 950 as a competitor/alternative on the cross border services operating between Singapore and Malaysia. The fleet consisted of Hispano O405s since its introduction.

The route details were updated in July 2011 to scroll with route details instead of static "Kotaraya II/Johore Bahru" & "Woodlands Int/Singapore"

TIB968R on 950

The rear of TIB968R, with its Malaysia stickers for entering Malaysia as a revenue service bus.

It is supplemented by a fleet of OC500LEs.

SMB98D on 950

The Malaysian permit sticker.

And the black information sticker has been updated to a newer reflecting the accurate information for the OC500LE.

The old sticker.

The new sticker.

The rear showing the stickers.

The rear of the OC500LE with its Malaysia stickers for entering Malaysia as a revenue service bus.

The predecessor and successor for O405s for 950, the Hispano O405 in front, and the Volgren O405 at the back.

This also marks the first time where two models from each of the company is running on their respective service (exception of service 170 as it has not received MK IV DM3500s yet)

All info are as of 3rd August 2011.

SMRT Buses' fleet of new buses

MAN A22/MCV eVolution

SMB138Y, MAN A22 demonstrator with MCV bodywork

SMRT Buses has made a purchase for a fleet of MAN A22 low floor buses worth over $65 million! As the press release mentions that it will utilise the sliding plug doors, which suggests that the bodywork could be the smart-looking MCV eVolution bodywork that is used on the demonstrator SMB138Y. Delieveries of the MAN A22 buses will start from August 2011 to end-2012.

The press release from ST Engineering.
http://www.stengg.com/pressroom/press_releases_read.aspx?paid=1734

ZhongTong Hybrid LCK6121GHEV

ZhongTong Hybrid LCK6121GHEV

The first hybrid for SMRT Buses, and the second China-made public bus is now laid up till 28th June 2012, given the 6 months trial that started in January was up. There is no information available if the bus will stay beyond the 6 months trial as of July 2011.

BYD electric buses

BYD K9 Electric bus (Photo by Chinabuses.org)

Given the trial of the hybrid Zhongtong (which uses diesel and electricity to run) has ended, a greener alternative of electricity-only 10 BYD e-buses will be brought in by SMRT Buses. The model is not stated in the press release, however it is speculated that the K9 bus will be brought in.

http://www.chinabuses.org/news/2011/0607/article_4365.html

Sentosa buses' new livery!

The old livery of the buses that are operating in Sentosa will soon be updated with a fresh new livery! It now features Sentosa as "Asia's Favourite Playground"

Old and New livery on a Liannex bodied Volvo B7R coach.

Old livery

The old livery on the left

The old livery on the right

The old livery at the rear.

New livery

The new livery on the left

The new livery on the right

The new livery on the rear.

The old and new livery pictured together.

Old and New livery on a Liannex bodied Volvo B7RLE citybus

The old livery on the left

The old livery on the right

The new livery on the left

The new livery at the rear.

The rear of the old livery, pictured together with the new livery together at the terminal.

The new livery looks very refreshing and stylish, with its fluid lines flowing about the bus and a darker orange colour paint theme.

And there's a new Sentosa bus model that has the old livery on it. There is a possibility that Sentosa might release it in the new livery. More information of the new Sentosa bus can be found here. Though the old one is phased out.

The new and old diecast together. The right one (old model) is phased out. (unwatermarked photo is used by orientalmodelbuses.co.uk for their page feature for international viewers.)

The new model features a Liannex bodied Volvo B7R. It retails for SG$15 and is available at the following Sentosa outlets - The Merlion Tower, Merlion Plaza, Sentosa Boardwalk, Waterfront Sentosa Express Station, Images of Singapore and Oscar & Co at Beach Station.

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.