SINGAPORE: SBS Transit has placed orders worth a total of S$311
million for 665 buses, all of which come with wheelchair-friendly
features, the transport operator said on Tuesday (July 1).
The purchase comprises 250 single-deck Mercedes Citaro buses and
415 double-deck Volvo B9TL Wright buses. Of the new buses, 296 will
be funded by the Government under the Bus Service Enhancement
Programme, SBS Transit said.
Mr Gan Juay Kiat, CEO of SBS Transit, said: “We have committed
around S$1.3 billion to purchase more than 3,000 buses since our
fleet renewal programme began in 2006. By 2017, we would have
replaced almost the entire fleet, and expanded the fleet by more
than 36 per cent.”
Delivery of the latest purchase is scheduled to begin in
mid-2015. By 2017, when all the new buses have been delivered, more
than 90 per cent of its fleet of about 3,800 buses will be Euro
IV-compliant and above, and almost the entire fleet will be
wheelchair-accessible, SBS Transit said.
Mr Chwee Meng Chong, a wheelchair user who takes services 131
and 141 regularly to go for medical checkups, welcomed the news.
“With the delivery of more wheelchair-friendly buses, more services
will become wheelchair-accessible. I look forward to taking these
new services to go to more places in Singapore,” said the
85-year-old retiree.
- CNA/cy
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