Hi, fellow bus enthusiasts.
I understand that SMRT Buses will be putting on trial a new MIC
bus, which is the Zhongtong Bus. This is a hybrid bus, right?
BusesinSingapore also revealed that there will be another demo
for SMRT Buses besides the Zhongtong bus. Any clues as to what
brand the fifth demonstrator will be?
Will it be a MAN, or finally a Scania or surprise, surprise, a
Volvo perhaps? Do take note that as according to BusesinSingapore,
the bus was residing in Soon Chow. As we all know, Soon Chow has a
long partnership with SBS Transit. This is indeed definitely a
first if SMRT Buses approached Soon Chow for the bodywork.
Which goes without saying, the two operators are not just
limited to buying a specific model. A good example would be the
mass purchase of the Citaros by SBS Transit. Who would have thought
that SBS Transit would even consider buying Mercedes Benz buses,
let alone the Citaro when it rejected the OC500LE demonstrator even
before putting it out on the roads?
We could possibly see SMRT Buses buying Volvo single decks in
the future. Just a theory though. I do have another burning
question. I'm sure everybody remembers the King Long hybrid bus
which was well publicized when it launched offcially in Singapore.
If you caught a glimpse of the interior, the standards are up to
SMRT Buses specification.
Which now brings me to this question: Despite the fact that this
is the first hybird bus and being built specifically for SMRT
Buses, why did SMRT Buses did not put this bus on trial and
instead, the honours went instead to SBS Transit and they did not
just launched just one bus, but two hybird buses in partnership
with Sunlong and not only that, they launched the fuel cell bus.
Which goes without saying: During the press release of the King
Long hybrid bus, SBS Transit commented that they're looking into
the putting hybrid buses on trial for the future. It certainly
didn't take them very long for one year later, they launched
Singapore's first hybrid public buses.
Unless there is a realiable source or pictures, rumours will remain
as rumors. Who knows, the bus might just be for another private bus
operator or for SBST which is still unknown to us.
Even SMRT acquired another demo, pictures and realiable news
will be up in time. Right now, we just have to foresee that
the Zhongtong is the only demo for them. Even if there is another
demo, most likely it will be a China made brand using either hybrid
or electrical power, since this is the most cost economical way to
demo green technologies, just like what SBST did with the hybrid
and electrical demo.
Lastly, it is really a blessing in disguise that SBST decided to
buy a big fleet of Citaros, after a disappointment for bus fans who
are looking forward to the OC500LE demo to be on the roads last
year.
