Singapore transit operator places major order for 450 Mercedes-Benz city buses

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The Mercedes star will soon be seen more often in the city-state of Singapore. Daimler Buses has once again received a major order from the Southeast Asian country and will begin delivering the first of a total of 450 Citaro buses there in fall 2012. Plans call for the deliveries to be completed by the end of 2015. The vehicles were ordered by Singapore’s SBS Transit, which is responsible for most of the local public transportation in the city of over five million inhabitants.

SBS Transit placed an initial order for 300 Mercedes-Benz Citaro back in April 2011; the last of these buses are currently being delivered. Similar to the initial order, , these additional 450 Mercedes-Benz Citaro city buses --, also meet the Euro 5 emission standard. All the buses will be manufactured at the EvoBus plant in Mannheim for use on Singapore’s roads. The new order is the biggest Asian order ever for Citaro buses. The Citaro is the most successful city bus of all time, with more than 33,000 units produced over a period of around 13 years. In May 2012, the first series-production Citaro to meet the Euro VI emissions standard left the production line at the EvoBus plant in Mannheim. The new Citaro is the cleanest regular-service bus with diesel engine.

Commenting on the second major order for Citaro by SBS, the Head of Daimler Buses, Hartmut Schick said: “SBS has ordered a total of 750 Citaro buses. An order as large as the most recent one offers strong proof that our buses deliver outstanding quality, as well as great environmental compatibility and reliability. We’re very proud to be able to play such a key role in the local public transport system of one of the most important major cities in Asia.”

The vehicles are first-generation Mercedes-Benz Citaro low-floor buses with two doors and a length of 12 meters. Thanks to the buses’ low-floor design, elderly and physically handicapped people can easily get in and out of the vehicles or use the wheelchair ramp. Each bus has 13 priority seats for elderly or handicapped passengers. Due to Singapore’s humid tropical climate, all of the vehicles are also equipped with powerful air conditioners. In addition, the Citaros are fitted with closed-circuit cameras for monitoring the passenger area and the outside of the vehicle. These fuel-efficient, low-emission buses are equipped with the environmentally friendly Mercedes-Benz BlueTec diesel technology and meet the Euro 5 emission standard.

Says Gan Juay Kiat, Chief Executive Officer of SBS Transit: "Our passengers are highly satisfied with the high level of comfort the Mercedes-Benz buses are offering. For SBS as a company the Citaro has not only proven its reliability but also its environmental soundness and its cost efficiency. So the Citaro was the natural choice when we opted for the further renewal of our bus fleet.”

SBS Transit operates more than 250 bus lines in Singapore and has a total fleet of around 3,000 buses. The company thus accounts for 75 percent of all bus services in the city, including feeder, express, and premium routes.

Daimler Buses is the world’s leading manufacturer of buses and bus chassis of over eight tons GVW. In 2011, Daimler Buses employed approximately 17,500 people around the world and sold nearly 40,000 buses and bus chassis. Its product range covers urban and intercity buses as well as travel coaches, and includes everything from minibuses to double-deckers — with different engines and equipment features available for all vehicles. The European bus business is managed by EvoBus GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Daimler AG.

Credits: Daimler AG

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