Re-post:
Appreciate all the tip-offs from bus enthusiasts about the bus,
today I passed by and went to check it out. It can be confirmed
that its a full low floor Mercedes Benz
Citaro (model O530). Diesel
model. OM457hLA side-mounted with Adblue exhaust treatment
Euro 5 emissions. 29 fixed seats including three 'granny' seats,
one wheelchair bay with foldable 'granny' seat size. Entrance and
exit doors are normal leaf doors, no sliding nor plug doors. Petrol
and Adblue tanks are above the front axle compartment. Front
suspension is Independent Front Suspension (IFS), rear is
drop-center axle. Axles made by ZF.
Full low floor means no step from entrance to the rear along the
corridor, but there is a big step from the corridor to access seats
after the exit.
In Europe this model is also known as the 'facelifted Citaro' to
differentiate it from first generation design of Citaros.
Hope these technical information will solve the questions many
folks are asking here. Thanks.
the independant front suspension is a feature of Ctiaro. i guess
SLs will have anice drive and those sitting inf ront will enjoy a
smooth ride. the facelifted Ctiaro or (offically we're gonna call
it gen 2) was introduced in Oct 2005. it is only in 2006 when the
bus was showcased that bus operators started to buy the Citaro.
my estimates put the number of Citaros worldwide at around
30000. Incldues gen 1 and gen 2 in paris, Britian, Pasirs, germany,
Bucahrest, and many middle eastern coutnries.
In Asia Ctiaros are in japan and there was once a fuel cell Citaro
in beijing and some in Perth or was it Sydeney. Singapore is
the first South East Asia country to get the Citaro. the Citaro
will be a key symbol of the buses here. and kudo to SMRTbuses for
brining the European standard to Singapore.
