SBS Transit (railway company)
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SBS Transit Limited (SBST or just SBS) () is a multi-modal public transport operator in Singapore operating bus and rail services. With a majority of its shares owned by Singaporean multinational transport conglomerate
ComfortDelGro Corporation ComfortDelGro Corporation is a multi-national land transport company listed on the Singapore Exchange, operating about 35,000 vehicles in seven countries. It was formed on 29 March 2003 through a merger of Singapore-based land transport compa ...
at 75%, it was formerly known as Singapore Bus Services before rebranding to SBS Transit on 1 November 2001. It is the largest public bus operator in Singapore, as well as one of the two major operators of Singapore's rail services along with SMRT Corporation.


History


Singapore Bus Services (1973-2001)

Singapore Bus Services (SBS) was established on 1 July 1973 when the regional bus companies Amalgamated Bus Company, Associated Bus Services and United Bus Company (which were in turn results of amalgamations of privately run Chinese bus companies of the 1960s in 1971) agreed to merge their operations with each taking shareholdings of 53%, 19% and 28% respectively in the new company. The government-sanctioned merger was undertaken to improve service standards of the bus transport system. On 26 June 1978, SBS was listed on the
Stock Exchange of Singapore The Stock Exchange of Singapore (SES) was a stock exchange company in Singapore. It was formed in 1973, when the termination of currency interchangeability between Malaysia and Singapore, caused the Stock Exchange of Malaysia and Singapore (SEMS) ...
(SES) as Singapore Bus Service (1978) Limited.Corporate Profile
ComfortDelGro
Between 1995 and 2000, a series of route handovers took place between SBS and
TIBS Tibs or TIBS may refer to: *Tibs, a form of Ethiopian cuisine * SMRT Buses, a bus operator in Singapore formerly known as the Trans Island Bus Service *Tibs the Great, British Post Office cat *Trojan.Tibs, an alternate name of the Storm Worm Th ...
. SBS gave up its Bukit Panjang (1995), Choa Chu Kang (1999) and Bukit Batok (2000) routes to TIBS, in exchange for the Sengkang and Punggol (1999) routes from
TIBS Tibs or TIBS may refer to: *Tibs, a form of Ethiopian cuisine * SMRT Buses, a bus operator in Singapore formerly known as the Trans Island Bus Service *Tibs the Great, British Post Office cat *Trojan.Tibs, an alternate name of the Storm Worm Th ...
. This was done as part of SBS Transit's upcoming operation of the
North East line The North East MRT line (NEL) is a high-capacity Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line in Singapore. Operated by SBS Transit, it is the shortest MRT line at . The line runs from HarbourFront station in southern Singapore to Punggol station in the no ...
in the north east. The Sengkang and Punggol routes were previously operated by SBS until they were transferred to TIBS in 1995. On 12 November 1997, Singapore Bus Services (1978) Limited was renamed DelGro Corporation, with SBS restructured as a subsidiary of DelGro Corporation and listed separately on the SES. SBS also operated taxis as SBS Taxis. SBS Taxis merged with Singapore Commuter and Singapore Airport Bus Services on 1 July 1995 to form CityCab, which remained part of DelGro Corporation.


SBS Transit (2001-present)

On 1 November 2001, Singapore Bus Services was rebranded as SBS Transit to reflect it becoming a multi-modal transport operator with the impending opening of the Sengkang LRT line and
North East MRT line The North East MRT line (NEL) is a high-capacity Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line in Singapore. Operated by SBS Transit, it is the shortest MRT line at . The line runs from HarbourFront station in southern Singapore to Punggol station in the n ...
. On 29 March 2003, DelGro Corporation merged with Comfort Group to form
ComfortDelGro Corporation ComfortDelGro Corporation is a multi-national land transport company listed on the Singapore Exchange, operating about 35,000 vehicles in seven countries. It was formed on 29 March 2003 through a merger of Singapore-based land transport compa ...
. ComfortDelGro Corporation owns 75% of the shares in SBS Transit. On 20 June 2003, SBS Transit commenced operating the
North East MRT line The North East MRT line (NEL) is a high-capacity Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line in Singapore. Operated by SBS Transit, it is the shortest MRT line at . The line runs from HarbourFront station in southern Singapore to Punggol station in the n ...
, followed by the Downtown MRT line on 22 December 2013.


Buses


Routes

Until the introduction of the
Bus Contracting Model The Bus Contracting Model (BCM), formerly known as the Government Contracting Model, is a contracting model introduced by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in 2014 for public buses in Singapore, implemented in 2016. The BCM is based on the Tran ...
(BCM), SBS Transit operated the majority of
routes Route or routes may refer to: * Route (gridiron football), a path run by a wide receiver * route (command), a program used to configure the routing table * Route, County Antrim, an area in Northern Ireland * ''The Route'', a 2013 Ugandan film * Ro ...
in almost all areas of Singapore, with the notable exception of the North and Northwest areas, where bus services were mainly run by
SMRT Buses SMRT Buses is a bus operator in Singapore. A subsidiary of SMRT Corporation, it traded as Trans Island Bus Services until 10 May 2004. History Trans-Island Bus Services (1983–2004) In April 1981, Communications & Labour Minister Ong Teng Cheo ...
. However, with the introduction of the BCM, some SBS Transit bus services were taken over by Tower Transit Singapore (Bulim Bus Package) and Go-Ahead Singapore (Loyang Bus Package). As of June 2022, there are 218 wheelchair-accessible bus services that SBS Transit operates. SBS Transit later became the first local operator to win a tender under the BCM in April 2017, and began operating the Seletar Bus Package on 18 March 2018. It was announced in 2018 by LTA that SBS Transit had won the subsequent package, the Bukit Merah Bus Package. On 29 May 2021, Service 974 was handed over to SBS Transit from Tower Transit, making it the operator's first and only 9xx route & the operator's return to daily service in Choa Chu Kang ever since it handed over to TIBS (now SMRT) in 1999.


Fleet

As at December 2019, SBS Transit operated more than 3,500 buses. SBS Transit operates a mix of single decker, double decker and articulated buses. Single deckers *
BYD K9 The BYD K-series bus (sometimes just referred to as the BYD ebus or BYD electric bus) are a line of battery electric buses manufactured by the Chinese automaker BYD, powered with its self-developed lithium iron phosphate battery, featuring a ty ...
( Gemilang Coachworks) *Linkker LM312 *
MAN NL323F The MAN NLxx3F is a series of low-floor single-decker city bus chassis between 10.5 to 12.0 metres length, offered by MAN since 1998, with internal code ''A22''. They are based on the integral low-floor MAN NLxx3 Lion's City (A21). Available ve ...
Lion's City (A22) ( Gemilang Coachworks) * Mercedes-Benz O530 Citaro ( EvoBus) *
Scania K230UB The Scania K series is a series of chassis in Scania's city bus and coach range with longitudinally, straight-up mounted engine at the rear, replacing the K- ( K94, K114, K124) and L-type ( L94) chassis of the 4 series. The K series was fi ...
( Gemilang Coachworks) * Volvo B5LH ( MCV Evora) * Volvo B7RLE (Soon Chow) – ''used for driver training purposes'' Double deckers * Alexander Dennis Enviro500 *BYD K9RC ( Gemilang Coachworks) * MAN ND323F Lion's City (A95) ( Gemilang Coachworks) * Scania K310UD ( Gemilang Coachworks) – ''used for driver training purposes'' * Volvo B9TL ( Gemilang Coachworks) – ''used for driver training purposes'' * Volvo B9TL (PSV / ComfortDelGro Engineering) * Volvo B9TL ( Wright Eclipse Gemini II)More SBS Transit Volvo B9TLs
''
Coach & Bus Week ''Coach & Bus Week'' (CBW) is the only paid-for weekly trade magazine for the road passenger transport industry in the United Kingdom. It is available by subscription, from main branches of WHSmith and from some independent newsagents. The magazi ...
'' 11 July 2014
Articulated buses * MAN NG363F Lion's City (A24) ( Gemilang Coachworks) When SBS was first formed in 1973, it inherited a wide variety of buses of various makes from its Chinese predecessors. Examples of such buses included the
Albion Viking VK The Albion Viking VK was a bus chassis manufactured by Albion between 1963 and 1980. History The Albion Viking VK41 was launched in 1963 as a front engined replacement for the Albion Victor VT. In 1965, the rear engined Viking VK43 was introd ...
, Mercedes-Benz LP1113 and OF1413 and
Nissan Diesel UD Trucks Corporation (UDトラックス株式会社, ''UD Torakkusu Kabushikigaisha'') is a Japanese company whose principal business is the manufacturing and sales of diesel trucks, buses, bus chassis and special-purpose vehicles. Its headquarte ...
RX102K3 with small numbers of Ford R192 and 226, Seddon, Fargo-Kew, Bedford and
Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
. Most of these buses were bodied by local coachbuilder Soon Chow although some were bodied by other companies such as Supreme Star and Strachan. Subsequent models that were purchased by SBS included Berliet and Guy Victory in the 1970s and the
Volvo B57 Volvo B57 was a front-engined single-decker bus chassis manufactured by Volvo between 1966 and 1982. Since 1970 it was also available as the Volvo BB57, with the engine mounted on top of the front axle, giving the buses very little front overhan ...
and Mercedes-Benz OF1417 in the 1980s, the latter which were bodied by foreign coachbuilders like New Zealand Motor Bodies and
Hawke Coachwork Hawke Coachwork Limited was a New Zealand bus and coach body manufacturer. Established in 1952 by brothers Haddon and Leslie Hawke, it was based on Great South Road, Takanini. It became a subsidiary of New Zealand Motor Corporation. In the la ...
. In 1976, SBS purchased its first 20 Leyland Atlantean AN68 buses to evaluate the suitability of double-decker bus operation, with the buses first entering service on 13 June 1977. Following the success of the trial, SBS ordered another 500 Leyland Atlantean AN68 buses from 1978 up to 1984, all of which were either bodied by Metal Sections or Walter Alexander Coachbuilders; SBS also conducted comparative trials of double-decker buses of other makes, namely the Leyland Olympian,
Volvo Ailsa B55 The Volvo Ailsa B55 was a front-engined double-decker bus chassis manufactured in Scotland by Ailsa, Volvo's British subsidiary in which it owned 75%, from 1974 until 1985. Versions The B55 was designed with a front-mounted engine that sti ...
, Scania BR112DH,
Dennis Dominator The Dennis Dominator was Dennis's first rear-engined double-decker bus chassis, it was launched in 1977. History Dennis had been absent from the bus manufacturing market since the last Lolines were produced in 1967. The Dominator was ...
,
Dennis Trident 3 Dennis Trident 3 (marketed as 3-axle Dennis Trident), is the first low floor tri-axle double-decker bus chassis built by Dennis in the United Kingdom, with a large number purchased by bus companies in Hong Kong, Singapore, the United State ...
, Mercedes-Benz O305 and Volvo B10MD Citybus. In 1984, SBS purchased another 200 Leyland Olympian and 200 Mercedes-Benz O305 double-decker buses. SBS also conducted an evaluation of air conditioned buses (namely the ex-Singapore Airport Bus Services Mercedes-Benz OF1413 coaches) that year and conducted similar trials with other bus models like the Nissan Diesel U31S and
Renault PR100 The Renault PR100 was a French full-size step-entrance single-decker bus chassis built and marketed originally by Berliet from 1971, and sold as a Renault following the merging of Berliet into Renault Véhicules Industriels. The PR100 was inte ...
before its first bulk order for 50 Scania N113CRB buses in 1989. In the 1990s, some bus makes on the roads included the Volvo B10M,
Scania N113CRB Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skåne C ...
, Mercedes-Benz O405, Leyland and Volvo Olympian and Dennis Dart. SBS also conducted trials of high capacity single decker buses, namely a superlong Volvo B10M Mark IV, an articulated Volvo B10MA and an articulated Mercedes-Benz O405G, in 1996 although the trial did not succeed. The first low-floor bus, a Volgren-bodied
Volvo B10TL The Volvo Super Olympian was a low-floor double-decker bus manufactured by Volvo. It replaced the 3-axle version of Volvo Olympian. The chassis had the designated manufacturer code B10TL. History The Volvo Super Olympian was unveiled in 1998, wi ...
demonstrator was brought to SBS by Volvo Buses for trial purposes in 1999. After its successful trial, 51 Volvo B10TL chassis were further brought in by SBS Transit. 50 buses are bodied by Volgren between 2002 and 2003 while 1 remaining chassis is being reserved for a ComfortDelGro Engineering bodywork, which entered revenue service by 2005. The first wheelchair-accessible bus was also brought into service in 2006. SBS Transit
CNG Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a fuel gas mainly composed of methane (CH4), compressed to less than 1% of the volume it occupies at standard atmospheric pressure. It is stored and distributed in hard containers at a pressure of , usually in cyl ...
buses A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
began service in 2002. Hybrid and electric buses came into foray since 2019, although small-scale trials began in 2010. In 2020 to 2021, a unit of Mercedes-Benz Citaro C2 Hybrid, SG4004B, was brought in for trial purposes and was loaned from Daimler South East Asia under a Special Purpose License. The bus was on revenue service from 9 March 2020 to 8 March 2021 on 93 & 272 with SBS Transit under the Ulu Pandan Depot. All single-decker Volvo B10BLE CNG buses were retired in 2019 except for the first two units which had been preserved, after that, both Volvo B10TLs and Volvo B9TL CDGEs were retired early and scrapped. Only 20 Volvo B9TL CDGE buses remained in operation.


Interchanges & Terminals

SBS Transit is the anchor operator for 32 locations, Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Bishan,
Boon Lay Boon Lay (, ta, பூன் லே) is a neighbourhood located in the town of Jurong West in the West Region of Singapore. Its borders very roughly correspond to the URA subzone of Boon Lay Place, situated within the Jurong West Planning Are ...
,
Buona Vista Buona Vista is a housing estate located in the subzones of one-north and Holland Drive in the residential township of Queenstown in Singapore. The housing estate is served by the Buona Vista MRT station which links it up with the MRT system. ...
,
Bukit Merah Bukit Merah, also known as Redhill, is a planning area and new town situated in the southernmost part of the Central Region of Singapore. the planning area borders Tanglin to the north, Queenstown to the west and the Downtown Core, Outram an ...
, Changi Airport, Changi Biz Park,
Changi Village Changi Village is a modern village situated at the northern tip of Changi which is at the eastern end of Singapore. It is the usual connecting point for travellers heading to Pulau Ubin or Malaysia by ferry. Fishermen in the kelongs located in the ...
, Clementi,
Compassvale Compassvale is a neighbourhood of Sengkang New Town, and is located between Rivervale and Anchorvale. Compassvale encompasses the Sengkang Town Centre. History There used to be a few low-rise flats along Punggol Road with a defunct road named B ...
,
Eunos Eunos may refer to: * Eunos (automobile), a brand of vehicles made by Mazda * Eunos Group Representation Constituency, a defunct GRC ward in Singapore * Eunos MRT station, an above-ground Mass Rapid Transit station in Singapore * The alternative na ...
, Ghim Moh,
HarbourFront Harbourfront may refer to: * Harbourfront (Toronto), a neighbourhood in Toronto ** 509 Harbourfront, Toronto streetcar route **Harbourfront Centre, cultural organization on the waterfront of Toronto * HarbourFront (Singapore), waterfront site in Si ...
, Hougang, Joo Koon, Kampong Bahru, Kent Ridge, Marina Centre, Queen Street, Sengkang, Serangoon, Shenton Way, St. Michael's, Sims Place,
Tampines Tampines () is the regional centre of the East Region of Singapore. With a population of 265,340 living across its five subzones, it is the second-most populous planning area in Singapore, according to the DOS Population Trends 2022. It is h ...
, Tampines Concourse,
Tampines North Tampines () is the regional centre of the East Region of Singapore. With a population of 265,340 living across its five subzones, it is the second-most populous planning area in Singapore, according to the DOS Population Trends 2022. It is h ...
, Toa Payoh, Tuas, Upper East Coast &
Yio Chu Kang Yio Chu Kang is a sub-urban area in the northeast of Singapore, with proximity to the Ang Mo Kio, Lentor, Seletar and Sengkang areas. Deriving its name from the Yio Chu Kang Village, it is still known for lush greenery and low-density housing wi ...
.

SBS Transit is the non-anchor operator for 12 locations, Beach Station (Sentosa),
Bukit Batok Bukit Batok, often abbreviated as Bt Batok, is a planning area and matured residential town located along the eastern boundary of the West Region of Singapore. Bukit Batok statistically ranks in as the 25th largest, the 12th most populous and ...
, JB Sentral (Malaysia),
Jurong East Jurong East is a planning area and residential town situated in the West Region of Singapore. It borders Jurong West and Boon Lay to the west, Clementi to the east, Tengah and Bukit Batok to the north and Selat Jurong to the south. First ...
, Larkin (Malaysia), Lorong 1 Geylang, Pasir Ris, Punggol,
Resorts World Sentosa Resorts World Sentosa (abbreviation: RWS) is an integrated resort An integrated resort (IR) is a major resort property that includes a hotel with a casino, together with convention facilities, entertainment shows, theme parks, luxury r ...
, Sembawang, Woodlands &
Yishun Yishun, formerly known as Nee Soon, is a residential town located in the northeastern corner of the North Region of Singapore, bordering Simpang and Sembawang to the north, Mandai to the west, the Central Water Catchment to its southwest, An ...
.


Depots

SBS Transit operates Ang Mo Kio, Bedok North,
Bukit Batok Bukit Batok, often abbreviated as Bt Batok, is a planning area and matured residential town located along the eastern boundary of the West Region of Singapore. Bukit Batok statistically ranks in as the 25th largest, the 12th most populous and ...
, Hougang, Seletar,
Soon Lee Kian Teck (建德) is an area in Jurong Industrial Estate in Singapore. It is in between Joo Koon and Boon Lay stations. It is home to many dormitories which houses foreign workers as well as factories and warehouses. Arena Country Club is also ...
and
Ulu Pandan An ulu ( iu, ᐅᓗ, plural: ''uluit'', 'woman's knife') is an all-purpose knife traditionally used by Inuit, Iñupiat, Yupik, and Aleut women. It is utilized in applications as diverse as skinning and cleaning animals, cutting a child's hair, cu ...
bus depots. Some of the latest additions were also used for Bus Service Enhancement Programme since 17 September 2012.


Mass Rapid Transit/MRT

SBS Transit manages two of Singapore's six
MRT MRT may refer to: Transport Rapid Transit Systems * Mass Rapid Transit (disambiguation) * MRT (Singapore) or Mass Rapid Transit, Singapore * MRT (Bangkok) or Metropolitan Rapid Transit, Thailand * Manila Metro Rail Transit System, Philippine ...
lines in the network, the
North East Line The North East MRT line (NEL) is a high-capacity Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line in Singapore. Operated by SBS Transit, it is the shortest MRT line at . The line runs from HarbourFront station in southern Singapore to Punggol station in the no ...
(NEL) since its opening on 20 June 2003 and the
Downtown Line zh, 滨海市区地铁线 ta, டவுன்டவுன் எம்ஆர்டி வழி , color = , logo = Downtown Line logo.svg , logo_width = 250px , image = DT17 Downtown Platform B 1.jpg , i ...
(DTL) since its opening on 22 December 2013. The NEL currently has 19.2 km and 16 stations, running from
HarbourFront Harbourfront may refer to: * Harbourfront (Toronto), a neighbourhood in Toronto ** 509 Harbourfront, Toronto streetcar route **Harbourfront Centre, cultural organization on the waterfront of Toronto * HarbourFront (Singapore), waterfront site in Si ...
in the south-west to Punggol in the north-east. The NEL used a fleet composed of two very similar series of 43
Alstom Metropolis The Alstom Metropolis is a family of electric multiple units designed and produced by the French rolling stock manufacturer Alstom. It is designed for high capacity rapid transit or metro rail infrastructure systems. Trains can be run in various ...
train-sets, dubbed C751A and
C751C The Alstom Metropolis C751C is the second generation of communication-based train control (CBTC) electric multiple unit rolling stock in operation on the North East line of Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system. 18 trainsets of 6 cars were ...
by SBS Transit. The operating license for the NEL was awarded to SBS Transit in order to foster competition with SMRT Trains and to create multi-modal public transport companies, each specialising in their own district. SBS Transit's contract runs until 31 March 2033.North East Line, Sengkang and Punggol LRTs to move to new financing framework
''Channel NewsAsia'' 14 February 2018

''Metro Report International'' 16 February 2018
The NEL was Singapore's third metro line and the city's first automated and driverless system. It is sometimes referred to as "the first driverless heavy metro line in the world" or the "world’s first fully automated and driverless high-capacity rapid transit line" Whereas driverless metro systems have existed long before (notably the Lille Metro since 1983, the Vancouver Skytrain since 1985 and the Paris Metro Line 14 since 1998), the NEL is the first application of a fully automated and driverless metro system with heavy rail characteristics such as overhead catenary (in contrast to earlier systems using third rail) and 1,435 mm standard-gauge (in contrast to earlier systems featuring smaller rail profiles). The DTL currently has 41.9 km and 34 stations, running from Bukit Panjang station in the north-west to
Expo An expo is a trade exposition. It may also refer to: Events and venues * World's fair, a large international public exposition * Singapore Expo, convention and exposition venue ** Expo Axis, one of the world's largest membrane roofs, constructe ...
station in the east via the Central Area. The DTL is fully automated and driverless as well. The DTL uses a fleet of 92 Bombardier Movia C951/C951A trainsets.Bombardier delivers first Downtown Line train
''Metro Report International'' 15 October 2012


Fleet of Trains

* The trains are classified as contracts unlike other countries which uses "class".


Light Rail Transit

SBS Transit also operates two LRT lines. The Sengkang LRT line and Punggol LRT line provide feeder connections in their respective towns to the two North East line stations. Both lines have a total of 29 stations, including Sengkang and Punggol stations. SBS Transit's contract runs until 31 March 2033.


Fleet

* The trains are classified as contracts unlike other countries which uses "class".


References


Further reading

*Ilsa Sharp, (2005), SNP:Editions, ''The Journey — Singapore's Land Transport Story''. * *


External links


Company website
{{ComfortDelGro Bus companies of Singapore ComfortDelGro companies Companies listed on the Singapore Exchange Light Rail Transit (Singapore) Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore) Railway companies of Singapore Transport companies established in 1973 Singaporean brands Singaporean companies established in 1973