Volvo B9L

Volvo B9L
Manufacturer	Volvo Buses
Bodywork	SC Auto
Years in operation	2015 – Present
Operators	ComfortDelGro Bus Woodlands Transport A&S Transit Cityline Global AD2 Transit Former: Muezza Coach
Technical Data
Length	~11 metre
Engine	Volvo D9B310 EC60B
Transmission	ZF Ecolife 6 AP 1400 B
Accessibility	Low Floor & Wheelchair-accessible
Emission Standard	Euro V (SCR)

The Volvo B9L (Bus chassis, 9-litre engine, Low-floor) is a low-entry single-deck city bus built by Volvo Buses between 2005 and 2013, replacing the Volvo B7L and Volvo B10L. An articulated model, the Volvo B9LA, was also available. Like other Volvo buses, the chassis was manufactured in Sweeden.

Local private bus operator ComfortDelGro Bus acquired 32 units of Euro V diesel Volvo B9L buses in 2015, bodied by SC Auto, for use on NUS Internal Shuttle Bus (ISB) routes. These routes serve the Kent Ridge Campus of the National University of Singapore (NUS), and are expected to be replaced by electric buses in the near future.

Several buses were sold off to other private operators in September 2023.

Technical Background:

The Volvo B9L was produced between 2005 and 2013, available as a chassis alone or as an integral product, able to be fitted as a Volvo 7500, Volvo 7700 or Volvo 7900. The option for diesel or compressed natural gas (CNG) powered versions were also provided. CNG variants would have the gas tanks mounted on the roof of the bus.

The full low-floor design was made possible by mounting the engine vertically and to the left of the rear, achieving a continuous low-floor passage that could accommodate a third door at the rear if needed, thus improving the ease of passenger movement.

The Volvo B9L and B9LA feature an inline six-cylinder Volvo D9B diesel engine, available in 260hp, 310hp and 360hp power outputs, and comply with Euro V emissions standards through the use of Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR). For natural gas buses, the Volvo G9A offers 260hp or 300hp power outputs. Both types of engines can be paired with ZF EcoLife or Voith DIWA gearbox options.

ComfortDelGro Bus:

In 2015, private bus operator ComfortDelgro Bus brought in its first fully low-floor bus, the Volvo B9L. These buses were intended for NUS Internal Shuttle Bus (ISB) routes and painted in the orange and blue colours of the National University of Singapore (NUS).

ComfortDelGro Bus’ Volvo B9L buses were bodied by local coach bodybuilder SC Auto modelled after the SC Chivalrous styling, which was previously built for high floor and low entry coaches. The Volvo B9L bodywork design shares the same head design as the coach counterpart.

Volvo B9L buses made their debut on NUS ISB routes in early August 2015, in time to complement the start of a new school term. Configured as an urban bus, the Volvo B9L joined the Scania K230UB buses to enhance the higher-demand routes of NUS, such as Service A1/A2 and D1/D2, where transit buses are more suited to the loading patterns of such services (frequent boarding and alighting of commuters). These buses were gradually deployed to Service B, C and BTC1, replacing ComfortDelgro’s ageing Isuzu LT133P high-floor coaches and the Sunlong 6.7m midibuses on these routes.

As the chassis was designed for a left-hand drive market, the vertically-mounted cooling package is located on the left of the bus, which results in loud engine noise facing passengers waiting at a bus stop. The lack of sound insulation makes the engine feel very loud, both from within and outside the vehicle.

Buses feature a GPS-guided automatic stop-reporting system by Shenzhen Kabym Technology Co. Ltd, a system previously trialled on the Scania K230UB. A display unit at the front of the bus relays bus stop information to commuters coupled with announcements.

Sometime around October 2018, the GreenRoad telematics system was installed to monitor driver behaviours and reinforce safe driving practices. The original button-based EDS controller, the Kabym NS-K, was replaced with the Kabym AL-K80 of a touchscreen tablet design.

Buses were later modified (~2019) with a partitioning barrier between the driver’s cab and the aisle to prevent passengers from standing too close to the bus driver and obstructing their field of vision. A scuffing protector was also installed underneath the front overhang to mitigate underfloor damage sustained whilst tacking the steep inclines of NUS roads.

Later Deployments

With the NUS ISB electrification in late 2022, the existing Volvo B9L buses would gradually be redeployed out of NUS to other projects that ComfortDelGro Bus serves.

Deployment of Volvo B9L buses on the Tampines Retail Park (TRP) shuttle services & Sentosa Internal Shuttle Buses commenced in February 2023. ComfortDelGro Bus no longer operated the TRP Shuttle services in September 2023, with all operations transferred to Leisure Frontier.

Volvo B9L buses were also deployed to the Mandai Khatib Shuttle from April 2023 till 1 January 2024 between Khatib MRT Station and Singapore Zoo.

In March 2024, a partnership commenced with dnata Singapore and ComfortDelGro Bus in which the latter provides buses (at least 2 units of Volvo B9L; PC3849T & PC4071M) to dnata Singapore for airside transport services. These buses feature a full white livery with dnata logos.

Other Private Operators

In September 2023, some of the Volvo B9L buses were sold off by ComfortDelGro Bus to other private operators, namely Woodlands Transport & Muezza Coach.

Muezza Coach changed the registration numbers of their Volvo B9L Buses, with modified seating configurations for extra coach seating. These units were later sold off in June / July 2024.

Additional batch of buses were sold to A&S Transit in October 2023 and April 2024.

Buses & Deployments

As of 21 July 2024

dnata Singapore:

dnata Singapore acquired two Volvo B9L units for use as apron buses at Singapore Changi Airport. Bodied by Gemilang Coachworks of Malaysia, these buses were equipped with a rear door located behind the rear axle, maximizing the full-low floor feature of the chassis.

Photo credits to ADAMS Coachlines. More photos of the bus can be found in their photo album here.

These are registered as RU5549C and RU5550Y with the fleet code of PB02 & PB03 respectively.

Continued on Page 2 – Interior coverage & more photos