SBS Transit trials 3-door MAN Lion’s City DD Concept Bus

Starting from April 2018, SBS Transit continued revenue service trials of the 3-door, 2-staircase MAN Lion’s City DD L Concept Bus (SG5999Z). Previously trialled by Tower Transit in 2017, the concept bus was commissioned by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to investigate the feasibility of introducing such double-deck buses on Singapore roads.

The trial began on 2 April 2018 on Bus Service 7 and is expected to last for at least 3 months. Based out of SBS Transit’s Bedok North Bus Depot, the bus is expected to operate during Weekday Peak Hours and full day shifts during Weekends and Public Holidays.

The Concept Bus was first showcased at LTA’s Our Bus Journey Carnival in March-April 2016. Following modification works at its manufacturer, Gemilang Coachworks, the bus was put on a 6-month trial under Tower Transit from March 2017—September 2017, where the bus was deployed on Bus Service 143.

After the initial trial, the bus was then transferred to SBS Transit, and was showcased again at the Seletar Bus Depot Carnival. Subsequently, the bus was transferred to Bedok North Bus Depot for staff familiarization ahead of its revenue service debut.

Read more about the bus in our article here.

Wi-Fi Installation

Free Wi-Fi is available onboard SG5999Z, which was installed in late April 2018. Similar to the Starhub Free Wi-Fi trialled on Service 291, service is provided by local telecommunication company Starhub in partnership with Veniam.

Service 7 & Service 7A

On Monday, 2 April 2018, SG5999Z made its SBS Transit Revenue Service debut on Service 7, plying between Bedok and Clementi during peak hours.

The bus is regularly deployed on Service 7. On Saturdays, the bus is deployed on Short Trip Service 7A, plying from Bedok to Orchard Boulevard, before turning around and returning to Bedok as Service 7.

Accident:

On Saturday, 07 April 2018, the bus was involved in a minor accident, where the right-hand mirror broke off due to impact damage. The bus returned to revenue service on Monday, 16 April 2018 after repairs.

Gallery:

Related Articles:

• Concept Bus: MAN A95 – Lion’s City DD (3-Door) Concept Bus
• Tower Transit trial: LTA evaluates 3-door MAN Lion’s City DD Concept Bus
• Our Bus Journey Carnival (Static Display): MAN Lion’s City DD L Mock-up Bus
• Bus model: MAN A95 (ND323F)

Corrections:

• This article previously reported that the trial would begin (tentatively) on 9 April 2018. Actual date of revenue service debut was a week earlier, on 2 April 2018.

3-door Single Deck Bus

Another 3-door MAN Lion’s City Single Deck Concept Bus was deployed on a six-month trial with SMRT Buses from June 2017 to December 2017. The bus was spotted inside ST Kinetic’s compound at Boon Lay in 2018.

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