Why is SMRT Buses retiring their old buses even though some
still have quite a long lifespan?
The guess is that it's probably due to the 2020 full wheelchair
accessible fleet, and if some of the old TIB-era buses are left to
run to their full 17 or extension to 19 years, it would be hard for
SMRT Buses to transition to a full WAB fleet by 2020 due to the
space in depots (given the replacements cannot come in until the
old buses are gone). Unlike SBS Transit, SMRT inherited a younger
TIB fleet and doesn't have the luxury to extend all the models.
Also, by bringing in the clean Euro V zero step wheelchair
accessible buses like the MANs sooner, it also benefits all the
passengers in general in terms of environment, comfort and
accessibility - and also the wheelchair bound as more wheelchair
accessible bus routes can be introduced quickly.
Info from BIS~
Some models like the Scania L113CRL and Dennis Lance could be
sold overseas and converted into mobile homes/offices. I have seen
some decommissioned transit buses in Australia that had undergone
similar conversions.
