SMRT buses vs SBS buses
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I still prefer the design of SBS B9TLs than the SMRT new WAB Merc and SBS Scania K230UB in terms of space utilisation and stairs.
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Having worked as a BC / SL for SBST & SMRTB respectively here's my honest opinion.Yes i fully agreed that SBST bus service are slow but not all of them.About 25% of the services especially 27,34,168 run on a bit tighter schedule due to less break time at direction 2 Interchange.So the BC must have at least 3-5 mins earlier upon reaching so that he got ample time to park and rest.Secondly about competition.If 965 can take you from WRI to Punggol in less than 32mins why bother to take 161 which take 40 mins?So the gap has to be minimal.Take note that SBST has large fleet of buses as it is the main Public bus operator while SMRTB is just like small group of public bus operator.Their main bussiness is still Trains.I have to admit that many SBST BCs crawl until a lot of complains were send to HQ.SMRTB schedule are tight,Yes trust me i've even whack 70kmh at TPE driving 969 on my second last trip to WRI due to heavy passenger loading at TMP.Most of all the driver judgement,skills,alertness and braking is the factor.So far i've not received any complains while i was over the limit.Some pax even commend me for reaching their destination on time or not faster.So in conclusion i feel there are reasons for all this.SBST got many buses so no point for them to rush like mad when the freq is good while SMRTB have to run a bit faster just to perform the freq.Remember 3000 buses versus 850 buses.No point saying who is good nor bad.Both got their advantages.We as a commuter should be grateful.
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this reminds me. i ever took one 190 before and i was in front (a lot of pax). the speedometer read 90 km/h on the PIE (towards CCK). <3
but sometimes the SL no choice. i ever took a 302 and some old auntie was complaining "why so fast and so jerky" (it was a smiley bendy) den the SL was like "the schedule v tight, i also don't want to chiong". FOR A FEEDER SERVICE! haha.
but I think the Merc O405 are in quite pristine condition! Considering they are the main fleet and by right supposed to be lao pok...
SBS Transit used to be famous for their seats having no leg room (think of the B10M MK IIs). hated it when I was a student (I always had to bend my knees / sit slanted).
kinda miss them now =(
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Originally posted by TIB1234T:
Are you refering TIB426M or TIB425R?
TIB426M. Sorry for the mistakes through. I forgot to edit the TIB425R. -
Originally posted by Airbus330Captain:
Joke of the month (2010) : Scania K230ub is much better than Mercedes OC500LE , much quieter.
Kawasaki: You certainly make my day.
i agree with u alsoonly if e ks are maintained properly.
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Originally posted by Ngweitong:
the KUBS are not good for speeding... and SMRT captains are fast with the O405s, bendies and OC500LEs...
they are good for cruisingif not for e speed limiter
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Originally posted by SBS 8030 L:
If you mean the k230 & OC, then it is the horsepower difference between the 2 buses.
i mean in general.take a ride on the older kub's. notice how unlike the euro v's and the newer euvo iv's, they feel sluggish?
i was on 8272E that day, after a long period of not riding any buses. and i noticed a huge difference between now and when the scanias were first delivered. when driven normally, the acceleration was pathetic. when pushed hard (bc was flooring the accelerator along yck rd), the acceleration doesn't seem to get any better.
notice how the buses start to feel shitty after just one year.
Case in point: B9TL's. First year, they were fast. second year, suddenly all feel so lousy.
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Hi Bus Fans,
I would like to have your opinions with regards to the following:
Personally, I find that SBS bus drivers are damn slow drivers as compared to SMRT bus drivers. Some SBS drivers can be found driving at a speed of 40km/h, whereas most SMRT bus drivers are actually driving quite fast, I would say at least 60-70km/h. I would like to know why is this so.
I beg to differ. If you have taken 22 or 24, you should know how fast they zoom. That was my experience.
Secondly, I do not understand why is there a need for the SBS bus drivers to purposely slow down until almost to a halt at almost every red light junction especially when it is obvious that its not going to change to red anytime soon (because the opp green man is not even flashing). SMRT bus drivers will usually bo hiew and drive thru, whereas th SBS drivers like to slow down at every junction.
I do agree on this. But then again, some taxi drivers do slow down at red light junctions too. Obviously this is for safety reasons. BUT, on another note, I have experienced bus drivers that dashed red lights(specifically svc 82)
Also, SBS drivers like to enter each and every bus stop, when its obvious that there is either no body at the bus stop or there is no one flagging for the bus to stop. SMRT drivers on the other hand, would not enter the bus stops unneccessarily.
I suppose they have a schedule to follow. If they are way too ahead of their schedule, they might be pinalized or something...I'm not too sure.
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Originally posted by AEW5001:
they are good for cruisingif not for e speed limiter
KUBs can make for a really good and enjoyable ride when put in the correct hands :
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Originally posted by AEW5001:
they are good for cruisingif not for e speed limiter
I luv Kub on Express 502 and 506. Except the seats issue, others are great. -
Originally posted by sgbuses:
KUBs can make for a really good and enjoyable ride when put in the correct hands :
For the later batch of kub, they delayed the gearshift. This reduce the jerkiness of the bus. Quite impressed with SBS 8790B with also minimum vibration. -
Originally posted by sgbuses:
KUBs can make for a really good and enjoyable ride when put in the correct hands :
The first acceleration is not at normal operation, kickdown is obviously activated and fuel consumption would shoot up in such a scenario.
New generation of buses focus on low emissions and fuel consumption, while this is the focus, engine rpms are to remain at a low range. Sad for power enthusiasts (I am one of them), but this is the case. Any engine rpm above 1500 would generally mean dirty emission and high fuel consumption, for these engines.
Now, an OC can do that without activating kickdown.
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To be honest the K230UBs doesnt impress me at all.Even the crappy Lance are way much better.RapidPenang K270UB are more better although there's slight vibration.But hey thats natural for 5 cylinder buses
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hmm, i prefer smrt buses more than sbst... especially riding kub is zzzz... prefer oc500le instead.
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Originally posted by SBS261P:
this reminds me. i ever took one 190 before and i was in front (a lot of pax). the speedometer read 90 km/h on the PIE (towards CCK). <3
but sometimes the SL no choice. i ever took a 302 and some old auntie was complaining "why so fast and so jerky" (it was a smiley bendy) den the SL was like "the schedule v tight, i also don't want to chiong". FOR A FEEDER SERVICE! haha.
but I think the Merc O405 are in quite pristine condition! Considering they are the main fleet and by right supposed to be lao pok...
SBS Transit used to be famous for their seats having no leg room (think of the B10M MK IIs). hated it when I was a student (I always had to bend my knees / sit slanted).
kinda miss them now =(
mk 3 and 0405 still quite squeezed
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Hi Bus Fans,
I would like to have your opinions with regards to the following:
Personally, I find that SBS bus drivers are damn slow drivers as compared to SMRT bus drivers. Some SBS drivers can be found driving at a speed of 40km/h, whereas most SMRT bus drivers are actually driving quite fast, I would say at least 60-70km/h. I would like to know why is this so.
Generally true, but exceptions are. some SBST services can choing very fast, i got 60 kph full ride speed before........
Secondly, I do not understand why is there a need for the SBS bus drivers to purposely slow down until almost to a halt at almost every red light junction especially when it is obvious that its not going to change to red anytime soon (because the opp green man is not even flashing). SMRT bus drivers will usually bo hiew and drive thru, whereas th SBS drivers like to slow down at every junction.
Company policy. 5- 15 -30 rule, 5 kph in bus bay, 15 kph when approaching BS, 30 kph at junction
Also, SBS drivers like to enter each and every bus stop, when its obvious that there is either no body at the bus stop or there is no one flagging for the bus to stop. SMRT drivers on the other hand, would not enter the bus stops unneccessarily.
Too much time
The only good thing about SBS buses is that their bus frequency are better than SMRT, other than that, SMRT wins hands down.
Lesser bus, service 190 quite punctual
Lastly, I would like to share with you guys my experience... On this particular day, I was going to McRitchie Reservoir. I could have taken 93 or 855. SBS 93 came first, but I did not board it. I waited around 5 minutes later and SMRT 855 came. Therefore, 93 had a so called 5 minutes head start. Then it was just after farrer, the 855 caught up with the 93. And then the ultimate stunt came!! The bus 93 went into an empty bus stop. It was obvious no one was alighting (I can see clearly) and no one was boarding (I can see that too). Then the SBS bus driver pulled his hand out from his window and signalled the SMRT 855 to please move ahead!!!
Service 25 v 854
This tells me how slow can SBS drivers be. Fancy stopping just to let the buses behind him to go ahead first. If I was on that bus 93, I would definitely have been pissed off to the max.
Anyway, when I reach my destination, I turned back and I saw absolutely no trace of that bus 93!!
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Originally posted by carbikebus:
To be honest the K230UBs doesnt impress me at all.Even the crappy Lance are way much better.RapidPenang K270UB are more better although there’s slight vibration.But hey thats natural for 5 cylinder buses
I wld nvr say the Lances r crappy.
Malaysia buses confirm better than the sbst kubs..The kubs here r nth compared to those Malaysian ones..Tink the sbst kubs cant even match the dust of the Rapid Penang kubs.. :) -
Originally posted by loki_chaos:
Hi Bus Fans,
I would like to have your opinions with regards to the following:
Personally, I find that SBS bus drivers are damn slow drivers as compared to SMRT bus drivers. Some SBS drivers can be found driving at a speed of 40km/h, whereas most SMRT bus drivers are actually driving quite fast, I would say at least 60-70km/h. I would like to know why is this so.
I beg to differ. If you have taken 22 or 24, you should know how fast they zoom. That was my experience.
Secondly, I do not understand why is there a need for the SBS bus drivers to purposely slow down until almost to a halt at almost every red light junction especially when it is obvious that its not going to change to red anytime soon (because the opp green man is not even flashing). SMRT bus drivers will usually bo hiew and drive thru, whereas th SBS drivers like to slow down at every junction.
I do agree on this. But then again, some taxi drivers do slow down at red light junctions too. Obviously this is for safety reasons. BUT, on another note, I have experienced bus drivers that dashed red lights(specifically svc 82)
Also, SBS drivers like to enter each and every bus stop, when its obvious that there is either no body at the bus stop or there is no one flagging for the bus to stop. SMRT drivers on the other hand, would not enter the bus stops unneccessarily.
I suppose they have a schedule to follow. If they are way too ahead of their schedule, they might be pinalized or something...I'm not too sure.
SBS has a very strict schedule to follow (The GPS system or smth), not like SMRT, which depends on their timesheet. -
Originally posted by chickenlittle2:
I luv Kub on Express 502 and 506. Except the seats issue, others are great.
i agreei really enjoyed my sv506 k ride at night
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Originally posted by Merczrox:
I wld nvr say the Lances r crappy.
Malaysia buses confirm better than the sbst kubs..The kubs here r nth compared to those Malaysian ones..Tink the sbst kubs cant even match the dust of the Rapid Penang kubs.. :)
i disagree with this statement totallyn Lance, to me, is even cui than a SBS mk3.
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Originally posted by AEW5001:
i disagree with this statement totallyn Lance, to me, is even cui than a SBS mk3.
K tats yr opinion.To me,both the Lances and MK3s r equally good :) -
Originally posted by AEW5001:
SBS has a very strict schedule to follow (The GPS system or smth), not like SMRT, which depends on their timesheet.DDU
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Originally posted by service_238:
If anyone has the chance should try boarding SBST buses when they are more than 30min behind schedule (read: Suntec services whenever something crops up), you can see them fly especially if its their last trip (read: new year's eve)
Originally posted by Merczrox:Not all SBST buses drive slowly..U nvr taken SBST buses which r behind schedule be4..I have taken a few of them be4 and they chiong jus as crazily as the SMRT buses when tat happens..
true. been on one before.
but these occurences are like once in a blue moon unlike SMRT's where it is daily.
i prefer buses travelling at 50-60km/h.
buses may have schedules to follow but i think us passengers in the bus don't really give a hoot about it. we as singaporeans just wanna reach there asap -
893R on ffwd151e ftw!
I personally think this one is crazier than the craziest SMRT buses I've been on.
Anyone who has taken a MKIV DM that attempts to race with the motorbikes will reach the same conclusion.
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There is a indian bus captain on 151 who like to chiong damn fast