SBS Transit

SBS Transit Ltd

File:SBS Transit logo.png
Company type	Public (SGX: SBSTransit)
Industry	Public Transport
Founded	1973 (as Singapore Bus Services) 2001 (as SBS Transit)
Headquarters	Singapore
Key people	Lim Jit Poh (Chairman) Kua Hong Pak (Deputy Chairman) Gan Juay Kiat (CEO)
Products	Bus and Rail Services in Singapore
Revenue	S$697.1 million SGD (2009)
Operating income	S$63 million SGD (2009)
Net income	S$54.6 million SGD (2009)
Number of employees	7,542 (2009)
Website	http://www.sbstransit.com.sg

SBS Transit Limited (Chinese: 新捷运; pinyin: Xīnjiéyùn, SGX: S61 ) is a public transport operator in Singapore. Its major competitor in Singapore's duopoly transport system is SMRT Corporation, which also operates bus, rail, taxi and other transport services.

The company (organisation) was formed as a separately-listed subsidiary in November 1997 under the name of Singapore Bus Services Limited, although it can trace its history back to the formation of Singapore Bus Service in 1973 with the merger of three bus companies. On 1 November 2001, the company's name was changed to SBS Transit Limited to reflect its status as a bus and rail operator.

Its parent company is ComfortDelGro Corporation, which was formerly known as DelGro Corporation Limited. The parent company has Singapore Bus Service as its direct predecessor.

In 2003, SBS Transit started operating the North East MRT Line of the Mass Rapid Transit system in addition to its existing bus operations. SBS Transit announced in November 2009 that they were preparing to bid for future MRT lines, starting with the Downtown MRT Line.

History

Main article: Singapore Bus Service

Singapore Bus Service (SBS) was initially formed in 1973 with the merger of three private bus companies. The government-sanctioned merger was undertaken to improve service standards of the bus transport system.

With the shift towards the creation of multi-modal transport companies, Singapore Bus Service Ltd changed its name to DelGro Corporation Limited in November 1997. Bus operations were hived-off to a fully-owned subsidiary called Singapore Bus Services Limited, which was separately listed on the Singapore Exchange.

In November 2001, Singapore Bus Services Limited was renamed as SBS Transit Limited when the company formally became a multi-modal transport operator with the impending opening of the Sengkang LRT Line.

Operations

SBS Transit's primary business is providing public transport services in Singapore. Its more notable operations are the following.

• Bus operations in Singapore, comprising a fleet of about 3,000 buses, serving almost the entire island.
• Rapid transit operations along the North East Line of the MRT network and its 16 stations.
• Light rail operations and manages the 29 stations along the Sengkang and Punggol LRT lines.

Current bus fleet

SBS Transit currently operates 75% of the scheduled bus market share in Singapore with more than 265 bus services and has a total fleet of more than 3,000 buses. All but 95 buses are non air-conditioned.All the different bus models have a common lifespan of 17 years, except the Mercedes Benz O405 and Volvo B10M Mark III buses whose lifespan were extended to 19 years. The 100 non-air-conditioned buses will be retired in 2011. In the last 3 years, SBS Transit ordered 1,100 single-deck buses from Scania AB and 350 double-deck buses from Volvo as part of its fleet renewal programme. SBS Transit also placed an order for 300 Mercedes-Benz O530s and another 300 buses from Volvo in 2010. SBS Transit also evaluates wheelchair-accessible chassis offers from Volvo and Scania AB. The newest additions to the bus fleet is the both made in China King Long Higer KLQ6129G Hydrogen Fuel Cell "GreenLite" bus and the Sunlong SLK6121UF14H Hybrid buses.

Model	Image	Bodywork	Year Introduced	Units Introduced	Notes/Comments
Dennis Trident 3		Duple Metsec	2000	20	Euro II Registered as SBS9671E-SBS9690A SBS9672C, SBS9674Y, SBS9679J, SBS9680D and SBS9690A were fitted with newly CoolAir Electronic Display System (EDS). These buses were the first with EDS in Singapore.
Dennis Dart		Duple Metsec	1994	10	Deregistering Midibus 9.4 metres long. They are SBS Transit's shortest buses (the 'title' once belonged to the Mercedes-Benz 811Ds and Nissan Civilians). Registered as SBS8009A – SBS8018Z Only SBS8009A, SBS8015G, SBS8016D, and SBS8018Z are left.
King Long Higer KLQ6129G Hydrogen Fuel Cell "GreenLite"		Higer Integral Body	2010	1	Hydrogen Fuel cell bus Used during the YOG Demonstrator registered as RD6066L
Leyland Olympian 3-axle		Walter Alexander R-type	1993	200	Deregistering Registered as SBS9000S-SBS9199C SBS9000S - SBS9009T, SBS9013E, SBS9022D, SBS9024Z, SBS9026T, SBS9034U, SBS9036P, SBS9037L, SBS9039G, SBS9040B, SBS9042X, SBS9048E, SBS9051U, SBS9054L, SBS9096R, SBS9098K, SBS9103D - SBS9104B, SBS9106X, SBS9110H, SBS9116S, SBS9118L, SBS9130A, SBS9149Y, SBS9163E, SBS9174Z, SBS9176T, SBS9188J were deregistered SBS9168S is the last Leyland chassis ever produced in the world. Commonly referred to as "LO3x"
Mercedes-Benz O405		Duple Metsec	1991-1992	300	Deregistering Registered as SBS282D-SBS581R Several are exported to Bangkok, Thailand to serve as urban buses after their de-registration in Singapore.
Scania L94UB		Volgren	1998	1	Demonstrator registered as SBS2888T. Currently used as training bus from Bedok North Depot (BNDEP).
Scania K230UB		Gemilang Coachworks Sdn Bhd	2006	1,101	Euro IV Demonstrator registered as SBS8033D
			2007(Batch 1) 2008-2009 (Batch 2)		Euro IV Batch 2 K230UBs have an extra granny seat behind the bus driver. Batch 1 registered as SBS8034B - SBS8131D, SBS8138K & SBS8888D Batch 2 SBS8132B - SBS8223Y; SBS8433H - SBS8483M (except "SBS8138K") SBS8225S - SBS8432K; SBS8485H - SBS8561X (except registration numbers ending with "4") SBS8405P is the only K230UB Euro 4 Batch 2 with LECIP EDS
			2009(Batch 1) 2010 (Batch 2)		Euro V Batch 2 K230UBs got its 5000-number registration to be delivered all SBS Transit bus depot islandwide. Batch 1 Registered as SBS8562T - SBS8873X (except registration numbers ending with "4"), SBS8875R - SBS8913P (except "SBS8888D"), SBS8915J - SBS8932J (except registration numbers ending with "4"), SBS8933G - SBS8943C, SBS8945Y - SBS8963U, SBS8965P - SBS8983L (except registration numbers ending with "4"), SBS8984J - SBS8999S Batch 2 SBS5001R - SBS5252H (except registration numbers containing "4") Batch 2 units has been delievered in January to June 2010 and was replacing the retiring Duple Metsec bodied Mercedes-Benz O405. The Batch 2 buses have a CCTV at the back above the back window.
Scania K310UD		Gemilang Coachworks Sdn Bhd	2010	1	Euro V Demonstrator registered as SBS7888K Currently re-deployed as Service 25
Sunlong SLK6121UF14H Hybrid		Sunlong Integral Body	2010	32	Euro V Hybrid buses Deliveries Ongoing Demonstrators registered as SBS8000Z and SBS8001X, numbers formerly used for the Civilians Currently re-deployed as Express 502
Volvo B7RLE		Soon Chow	2007	1	Euro IV Demonstrator registered as SBS8030L
Volvo B9TL		ComfortDelGro Engineering Corporation	2006	649	Euro III Registered as SBS7300P – SBS7399E, SBS7400J - SBS7499A SBS7440T is deregistered Commonly known as "CDGE"
		Wright Eclipse Gemini 2	2010		Euro V Deliveries Ongoing Commonly known as "WEG2" Registered buses as of now are SBS7500D - SBS7612P (except registration numbers containing "4")
Volvo B10M		Duple Metsec	1990-1992	278/300	Euro I Mk 3 Deregistering Registered as SBS582M-SBS881A SBS876R and SBS877M have ZF gearboxes.
			1995-1997	115	Euro I Mk 4 Registered as SBS882Y-SBS996C SBS901B and SBS972X were deregistered
			1995	1	Euro I Mk 4 Superlong Registered as SBS997A Redeployed as service 83 Deregistering will be in 2012
		PSV Soon Chow	1993	10	Mk 4 Previously on Sentosa-registered buses are SH-plated buses and another 10 units are PA-plated buses. SBS8026A is laid up Registered as SBS8019X-SBS8028U De-registration announced on 25th May 2011
		Walter Alexander Strider	1997	198	Euro I Mk 4 Registered as SBS1896B-SBS1999M, SBS2593T-SBS2688D SBS1921L is deregistered SBS1975G has refurbished red seats.
		Duple Metsec DM3500	1997/2001	150	Euro II Mk 4 Registered as SBS2689B - SBS2838M SBS2754X is the first bus to be fitted with outswing plug doors SBS2779A is fitted with EDS and a CCTV camera beside the left front lights. DM3500 would be the next generation of cross border services after the B10M Mark 3 deregistration.
Volvo Olympian		Walter Alexander Royale	1996-1997 (Batch 2) 1999-2000 (Batch 3)	471	Euro II 3-axle aircon Batch 2 Registered as SBS9401T - SBS9600K Batch 3 Registered as SBS9601H - SBS9670H Batch 3 Volvo Olympians are being retrofitted with LECIP EDS SBS9424C and SBS9619H were deregistered All buses with TV Mobile except SBS9661J were installed in 2001 and was removed in 2010. Commonly known as "VO3X"
		Walter Alexander RH	1994-1995		Euro I Deregistering commence on 9 June 2011 3-axle aircon Batch 1 Registered as SBS9200G - SBS9400X SBS9400X is laid-up SBS9245C and SBS9357M were deregistered Commonly known as "VO3X"
				100	Buses will retired on 13 Jun 2011 2-axle, SBS Transit's second shortest buses Also SBS's last non-aircon buses Registered as SBS7198T-SBS7297R They are mostly based at Soon Lee and Ayer Rajah Bus Parks. All were not installed with TV Mobile Commonly known as "VO2x"
Volvo Super Olympian (Volvo B10TL)		Volgren CR222LD	2001–2002	51	Euro II Registered as SBS9800A - SBS9849K SBS9810X is assembled in Australia and is fitted with an EDS, Transit Media Unit. Commonly known as "VSO" SBS9814K was driven by Kym Ng's character in Channel U drama serial She Drives Me Crazy (爱上女车长)
		ComfortDelGro Engineering Corporation	2005		Euro II Bodywork demonstrator for the ComfortDelGro Engineering Volvo B9TLs, fitted with Transit Media Electronic Display System.
Volvo B10BLE		Volgren	1997	1	Demonstrator registered as SBS1688K. Diesel Subsequent purchases of these buses were CNG powered. Commonly found in Hougang Depot (HGDEP) as service 163.
			2002	12	Registered as SBS2988M-SBS2999G. CNG Commonly found in Soon Lee Bus Park (SLBP) as services 105 and 243.

Non-commissioned buses

Model	Image	Bodywork	Year	Units to be introduced	Notes
Mercedes Benz Citaro (O530)		Mercedes Benz	2011-2012	300

Former and decommissioned buses

Model	Image	Bodywork	Year Introduced	Units Introduced	Notes/Comments
Guy Victory		Soon Chow/BAco Body	1978–1980	500	Registered as SBS6590A - SBS6597G, SBS6603Y - SBS6616K, SBS6621U - SBS6638Y, SBS6658P - SBS6673U and SBS6681X - SBS6775J Scrapped
Leyland Atlantean		Walter Alexander R-type	1984–1986	200	Registered as SBS1637H - SBS1682B, SBS1690C - SBS1695P, SBS4962Z - SBS4999T, SBS5542X - SBS5552S, SBS5587S - SBS5624T, SBS6835U - SBS6906Z Scrapped by 2001
Leyland Lynx		Walter Alexander PS	1989	1	Demonstrator registered as SBS3572Y Used a Scania N113CRB front bumper after an accident in August 2001 Scrapped
Leyland Olympian 2-axle		Walter Alexander R-type	1986–1988	200	Registered as SBS3550K - SBS3571A, SBS6907X - SBS6999E, SBS7113M - SBS7197X Non-aircon 2 buses are bought by private companies and are preserved while the remaining buses were either sold to overseas or scrapped by 2003
MAN 16.240 HOCL		PSV Soon Chow	1986	1	Demonstrator registered as SBS81S Scrapped Now the bus is belongs to Singapore-Johor Express
Mercedes-Benz 811D		Asia Coach	1993	5	Registered as SBS8004M - SBS8008C Minibuses 7.6 meters long Sold to private companies
Mercedes-Benz O305		Walter Alexander R-type	1984–1986	201	Registered as SBS2477X, SBS2478T, SBS2481H - SBS2592X, SBS5541Z, SBS7027D - SBS7112R SBS5541Z is a demonstrator Scrapped by 2001
Mercedes-Benz O405		Walter Alexander PS	1990–1992	200	Registered as SBS82P - SBS281G Scrapped by May 2010, exported and rebodied to serve as urban buses in Bangkok.
		Duple Metsec	1990-1992	200	Registered as SBS3723D-SBS3922X Scrapped by 1 April 2011, Some exported and rebodied to serve as urban buses in Bangkok.
			1991-1992	300	Deregistering Registered as SBS282D-SBS581R Only SBS524G - SBS525D, SBS527Z - SBS528X, SBS530M - SBS531K, SBS533E, SBS536Y - SBS562X & SBS564R are left. Some had been exported and rebodied to serve as urban buses in Bangkok after de-registration.
Mercedes-Benz O405G		Volgren	1996	1	Demonstrator registered as SBS999U SBS's second bendy bus 17.5 metres long Sold to New Zealand in 2006
Mercedes-Benz OC500LE		Gemilang Coachworks Sdn Bhd	2009	1	Demonstrator SBS Transit rejected the trial and now the bus belongs to Chitson Transport, PA9588S.
Scania L113CRL		PSV Soon Chow	1995	12	Previously deployed on Airbus Services and are SH-plated buses PA-plated and painted in SBS Leisure livery 3 buses were sold in 2005 to Westpoint, a private company while the remaining buses were scrapped
Scania N113CRB		Walter Alexander PS	1989–1990	200	Registered as SBS31L - SBS80U; SBS3573U - SBS3722G Scrapped by May 2009
Volvo B10M MK 1		Van Hool	1986	1	Demonstrator registered as SBS9C Sold to New Zealand in late 1990s
Volvo B10M MK 2		Walter Alexander PS Duple Metsec	1988–1989	200	Registered as SBS1696L - SBS1895D Scrapped by 2008
Volvo B10MA		Duple Metsec	1996	1	Demonstrator registered as SBS998Y SBS's first bendy bus Asia longest bus (19 metres long) Sold to New Zealand in 2006
Volvo Super Olympian (Volvo B10TL)		Volgren CR222LD	1999	1	Euro 2 Demonstrator registered as SBS9888Y SBS9888Y had its EDS removed in 1 December 2005. First bus to have TVMobile. SBS9888Y on service 25 was destroyed in a fire on 7 March 2010 in Ang Mo Kio Bus Depot.

Bus routes

SBS Transit operates many different types of bus routes and bus services, taking up the majority of the pie of Singapore's duopoly bus system in almost all areas of Singapore, with the notable exception of the North and Northwest areas, where bus services are mainly run by its competitor, SMRT Corporation.

• Trunk: Routes that ply between towns. These are the basic forms of SBS Transit bus services. Fares are distance-related and differential up to 8 fare bands.
• Short working Trips (SWT): Routes that operate short haul trips between origin-destination pairs with high demand, such as the area near an MRT station. It operated a subset of the parent route and there can be more than one SWT per trunk route.
• Feeder: Services that operate within a neighbourhood, connecting outlying areas to the town centre or bus interchange. (Loops around from an interchange, around one or more neighbourhoods or towns and then terminates at the starting interchange). As a name suggest, it is to feed the commuters to the trunk services or MRT services at the terminal/interchange. A flat fare, equivalent to the first fare band is charged per entry.
• TownLink: Routes that consist of combined feeder services to provide links and improve connectivity between neighborhoods within the same town. (Similar to a feeder service except that, other than when stopping a 'session', the service will not terminate at the interchange but will re-run its route immediately after letting passengers alight, in essence, a true loop)
• Express: Routes that stop at several nominated and sparsely located stops and generally run on expressways for faster travel between several towns. This is a basic-plus service charging higher fares.
• Fast Forward: A modification of basic trunk routes, Fast Forwards are an innovation of SBS Transit, which provides faster travel between places where there is higher demand, by calling at fewer stops and skipping low demand areas. This is also a basic-plus services charging higher fares.
• Premium: A single trip from the designated neighborhoods during the morning peak hours on weekdays to Shenton Way and Raffles Place via expressway. They were introduced following the liberalization in regulations for public operators providing such services. Fees are flat rated ($3.10 or $3.40 for ez-link card users depending on the distance travelled) and standing is prohibited on Premium Services.
• Nite Owl: These are after-hour services on Fridays, Saturdays and eve of public holidays. There are only a handful of bus routes for this service and fees are $1.45 (ez-link) or $1.50 (cash) for intra-town commutes and $3.80 (ez-link) or $4 (cash) between CBD and HDB towns served.
• Chinatown Direct: Introduced in 2005, these are routes that run from suburban towns to Chinatown via expressway. Such routes are very popular in the period before the Lunar New Year. A fare of $1.75 (ez-link) or $1.80 (cash) is charged per boarding ($0.95-$1.00 for child/concession card holders).
• Parks: Services that run from major parks to the nearest bus interchange/terminal.
• Stadium Direct: Services that run from the Singapore Indoor Stadium to major towns after major concerts or events being held there. The Stadium Direct services will be no longer be offered from 1 September 2010.

Mass Rapid Transit (MRT)

SBS Transit is the operator of the North East Line since it opened in 2003. The North East Line is the third Mass Rapid Transit line in Singapore, and also the world's first fully underground and automated rapid transit line. The line is 20 km long with 16 stations.

The operating license was given to SBS Transit in order to foster competition with SMRT Corporation and to create multi-modal public transport companies, each specializing in their own district.

As the name implies, the line connects central Singapore to the north-eastern part of the island. Currently, transfers to the North South Line are provided at Dhoby Ghaut Station, East West Line at Outram Park Station and Circle Line at Serangoon Station and Dhoby Ghaut Station. In 2011, HarbourFront Station along the line will interchange with the Circle Line. The rolling stock used is Alstom Metropolis.

Light Rail Transit (LRT)

In addition to the North East Line, SBS Transit is also operates two LRT systems, Sengkang and Punggol. Both lines connect the estate to one of two NEL Stations and is total of 29 stations including Sengkang and Punggol interchange stations.

Key operating statistics

Monthly Ridership for Bus and Rail

Month	2004		2005		2006		2007		2008		2009		2010
	Bus	Rail	Bus	Rail	Bus	Rail	Bus	Rail	Bus	Rail	Bus	Rail	Bus	Rail
January	64,324,473	6,004,948	64,885,728	6,834,446	62,247,969	7,683,908	67,380,546	8,857,847	73,235,547	10,482,340	69,833,080	11,376,659	72,199,589	12,378,114
February	62,548,766	5,295,081	56,837,060	6,057,296	59,854,200	6,822,060	59,429,412	8,255,520	65,270,126	9,638,353	65,783,396	10,073,000	63,068,208	11,265,212
March	66,351,036	5,746,222	64,890,223	6,732,828	65,965,396	7,590,381	68,315,754	9,157,896	69,948,803	10,286,389	69,451,005	11,084,732	72,137,465	12,729,158
April	63,487,500	5,435,070	62,479,980	6,426,390	62,070,030	7,224,930	64,984,800	8,541,180	70,427,160	10,036,560	68,923,860	10,608,300	71,284,980	12,285,630
May	64,064,538	5,826,574	62,302,994	6,740,609	65,193,992	7,645,809	68,075,039	9,165,708	71,036,035	10,496,414	70,184,899	10,986,555	72,763,758	12,731,359
June	58,792,110	5,786,490	59,278,140	6,729,450	60,320,040	7,486,080	63,261,870	9,135,180	66,607,710	10,403,520	64,626,930	11,301,060	67,716,960	12,407,070
July	66,508,609	6,105,977	64,967,196	7,107,649	66,616,613	7,900,846	69,919,973	9,518,922	74,758,329	11,221,008	72,516,285	11,511,819	76,803,244	13,935,151
August	65,082,175	6,010,931	65,473,116	7,075,905	67,592,493	7,991,924	70,018,739	9,570,413	73,311,156	11,135,107	71,006,802	11,615,111
September	62,920,620	5,908,380	62,254,350	6,956,040	63,886,170	7,847,130	66,016,800	9,226,680	70,400,310	10,886,250	68,542,950	11,364,840
October	63,445,158	6,039,513	63,613,023	7,232,610	64,805,469	8,775,790	69,212,119	9,854,032	71,997,252	11,430,258	71,927,657	11,936,550
November	58,936,800	6,008,850	59,570,430	7,016,160	63,188,790	8,779,170	64,996,140	9,630,330	67,726,470	10,830,150	67,368,480	11,356,920
December	60,215,888	6,575,844	60,499,569	7,653,001	61,434,405	9,420,497	64,456,068	10,454,285	66,448,221	11,614,181	67,325,707	12,384,903
Year Total	756,677,673	70,743,880	747,051,809	82,562,384	763,175,567	95,168,525	796,067,260	111,367,993	841,167,119	128,486,341	827,967,548	135,600,449

Notes

• Rail ridership includes North East Line (NEL), Sengkang LRT and Punggol LRT rides.
• The Sengkang LRT and NEL commenced revenue service on 18 January 2003 and 20 June 2003 respectively. The Punggol LRT began service on 29 January 2005.
• Monthly rail ridership exceeded 10 million for the first time in December 2007.

See also

• TVMobile - an outdoor digital television previously installed in SBS Transit buses. (currently discontinued on 1 January 2010)
• SBS Transit Service 143 - an up-to-date article on an SBS Transit-operated route.

References

• Ilsa Sharp, (2005), SNP:Editions, The Journey - Singapore's Land Transport Story. ISBN 981-248-101-X

External links

• SBS Transit official site