SMRT Buses

In April 1981, Communications & Labour Minister Ong Teng Cheong announced the government would grant a license to an operator that was willing to compete with Singapore Bus Service (SBS), that had operated all services in Singapore since 1973, with the aim of improving service levels.[1] In January 1982, City Shuttle Service operator Singapore Shuttle Bus (SSB) lodged applications with the Ministry of Communications to establish a second bus operator and the Registry Of Vehicles for four bus depots.[2] The applications were approved on 12 March that year, with SSB to take over 11 services in Woodlands and Sembawang from SBS.[3]

A new company, Trans-Island Bus Services, was founded on 31 May 1982, ordering a fleet of 250 buses including 90 Hinos.[4][5] Operations commenced on 3 April 1983 with 40 buses.[6][7]

On 27 April 1987, TIBS was listed on SESDAQ, although Mr Ng Ser Miang retained a majority shareholding.[8][9][10] By this stage it operated 361 buses.[11]

In 1995, as part of the government's plan to make the local bus system more competitive, 16 SBS Transit services were handed over to TIBS along with the tender to operate bus services in the north-east corridor, mainly the developing towns Sengkang and Punggol as well as Bukit Panjang.[12]

In 1996, TIBS began operations at the now closed Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange, Singapore's first underground bus interchange. It was also the first bus interchange designed to accommodate articulated buses. some of which were designed by world-renowned designer, Pininfarina and was known as the Habit articulated buses, on a large scale in its fleet, in contrast to the double-deckers used by SBS.[13][14]

In 1999, SBS Transit was awarded both bus and train services in the entire north-east corridor with the North East line, Sengkang LRT and Punggol LRT by the Land Transport Authority, both based in Sengkang.[15] Eight bus routes affected in the bus tender of Sengkang and Punggol were transferred to SBS Transit. In return, TIBS was awarded to operate 17 routes in the north-west corridor towns of Choa Chu Kang and Bukit Batok, where the handover was done in stages together with the opening of Bukit Panjang LRT.[16] Services 61, 106 and 173 were the last services to be handed over mainly due to extra time involved.[17]

In February 2001, TIBS joined with RATP Group in an unsuccessful bid to operate the Marina MRT line (currently Circle line).[18][19][20]

TIBS and SMRT engaged in unsuccessful merger talks in 1999.[21][22] In July 2001, SMRT launched a takeover bid for TIBS that was accepted.[23][24] The transaction was completed in December 2001, with TIBS being operated as a wholly owned subsidiary.[25][26] As part of a corporate rebranding programme, TIBS was rebranded as SMRT Buses in May 2004.

On 26 November 2012, 170 bus drivers (all of whom were foreign nationals from China), refused to leave their living quarters for work. This reduced bus services to 90% of normal levels. The Ministry of Manpower considered it an illegal strike since the group failed to give a 14 days notice prior to disrupting an essential public service, as is required by the local laws. As a result, five of the strikers were jailed for instigating the strike, and another 29 were deported.[27][28]

In the 1980s, TIBS operated buses that were mostly of Japanese build such as Hino (such as the initial RK176 and the later HT238K) and Nissan Diesel (mostly the U31 series) [40]

In 1990, TIBS purchased its first European-built bus, the DAF SB220.[41] Subsequent bus purchases during the 1990s included the Mercedes-Benz O405, the Scania L113CRL, Dennis Lance and Hino HS3KRKK.

In 1996, TIBS purchased Singapore's first articulated bus, a Mercedes-Benz O405G which was specially airflown from Spain using a Spair Airlines cargo plane.[42] The success of this bus saw TIBS purchase another 314 of such buses from 1996 to 2004.[42]

• 
  The Nissan Diesel U31RCN was the last fully Japanese-built public bus in Singapore and was introduced by TIBS in 1992.
• 
  TIBS purchased 308 Hispano Carrocera-bodied Mercedes-Benz O405 buses from 1994 to 1997.
• 
  The later DAF SB220 buses purchased in 1994 were bodied by Walter Alexander Coachbuilders with a Setanta body.
• 
  The Scania L113CRL buses bodied with an Alexander Strider body had a step entrance due to the underfloor air conditioning.
• 
  The ELBO-bodied Scania L113CRL was the first low-floor bus operated by TIBS.
• 
  TIBS purchased the Dennis Lance in 1998.
• 
  A small handful of buses purchased in the late 1990s were assembled with Volgren CR221 bodies in Malaysia.
• 
  TIB838H was Singapore's first articulated bus and was airflown from Spain in 1996.
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  A 2000 Mercedes-Benz O405G with a Hispano Mark II body
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  A Mercedes-Benz O405G with a Volgren CR221 body
• 
  SMRT Buses conducted an unsuccessful trial with a Yutong bus in 2009
• 
  SMB137A was a Zhongtong hybrid bus trialled by SMRT Buses in 2011.
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  SMRT Buses trialled an MCV-bodied MAN A22 in 2010. While the demonstration was successful, the bus itself has since left Singapore for Australia.
• 
  The Mercedes-Benz O405G with Hispano Habit body is the only TIB-registered bus model left in the SMRT fleet as of September 2019. It is also the last batch of Mercedes-Benz O405G produced in the world. Initially from a fleet of 208 buses, the last 6 buses retired on November 30, 2020, marking the end of non-wheelchair accessible buses in Singapore.

• 
  The Mercedes-Benz OC500LE was the first SMB-registered bus to be purchased by SMRT in 2007. These buses had since been repainted in the Land Transport Authority's Lush Green livery.
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  SMRT operates two variants of Mercedes-Benz Citaro buses, namely those purchased by SMRT itself and built to SMRT specifications and those allocated to SMRT by the Land Transport Authority and built to SBS Transit’s specifications.
• 
  The MAN A22 was introduced to replace almost all the remaining TIBS-era single decker buses. Under the Bus Contracting Model, some MAN A22 buses were transferred to the other 3 operators.
• 
  In 2014, SMRT purchased its first double-decker buses, the Alexander Dennis Enviro500. 40 units were transferred to Tower Transit Singapore in 2016. A second batch of 15 units was allocated to SMRT by the Land Transport Authority in 2017.
• 
  Some Volvo B9TL buses were allocated to SMRT by the Land Transport Authority when some Alexander Dennis Enviro500 buses were transferred to Tower Transit Singapore in 2016.
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  A Euro VI MAN A22 bus allocated to SMRT by the Land Transport Authority.
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  A Euro VI MAN A95 bus allocated to SMRT by the Land Transport Authority.
• 
  In 2015, SMRT Buses purchased 40 articulated MAN A24 buses. 10 units were transferred to SBS Transit in 2018.

• BYD C6 (Gemilang Coachworks)
• MAN NL323F Lion's City (A22) (Gemilang Coachworks)[44]
• Mercedes-Benz O530 Citaro (EvoBus)
• Mercedes-Benz OC500LE (Gemilang-Thonburi)
• Volvo B5LH (MCV Evora)
• Yutong ZK6128BEVG (E12)

• Alexander Dennis Enviro500 MMC[36]
• MAN Lion's City A95
• Volvo B9TL
• Yutong ZK6125BEVGS (E12DD)

• MAN NG363F Lion's City (A24) (Gemilang Coachworks)