SMRT New Euro-V Mercedes-Benz OC500LE WAB bus (Part 1)
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6U have this strong air flow, but the air is either going nowhere, or going everywhere including blowing with massive force on the face, at the window and out of the door.
And there are the times that the aircon just shut itself to low mode with no more air circulation.
Talk of a silent ride with heat, suddenly wake up with 'Thank you for travelling on SMRT Buzzes' and then roaring aircon with the gale force blowing in the face. Then back to quiet again.
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Originally posted by eX.A.K.R.:
These have to be mechanical problems from the manufacturer of the bus (Mercedes-Benz in this case); if a bus is poorly-engineered, it will suffer from such problems. No matter how great or lousy the operator is, in such a case, if you are given a bus with inherent mechanical problems, it is bound to break down often and give headaches for everyone even if they are well-maintained, unless these inherent problems are rooted out at the core.
Still, that first-day breakdown is really unprecendented. I could expect that even such a poorly-engineered bus could have at least run for a few days before breaking down - as far as we all know, SMB 1H was brought out only once before being officially deployed; there was also a great deal of time in between for the mechanics to catch and fix any problems that might have occured in the period in between.
(I'm aware though that there is a rumour that the bus was brought out before it was registered and put on a limited trial on route 854 long before it was officially unveiled; even then, it was a limited trial, and if we assume the bus was brought back to the depot afterwards for storage, I could have expected them to do more internal testing to make sure all systems work as they should under real-world situations, and catch any problems that might surface.)
And, surely if SMRT knows how problematic this bus model is, why do they still want to purchase it as a fleet replacement? Unless the management were living in shells and didn't know anything about the problems the Australians were having, or the fact that they were looking to scrimp on new buses, they should not have bought buses with such a problematic reputation; unreliable buses don't leave a good impression with the commuters. SMRT's reputation is already through pit-bottom, but it seems like the management is only caring about their big fat profits year after year.
I cant tell you one reason why SMRT bought MB instead of other brands to protect the company's private info, but i can tell you, its due to the welfare of the bus drivers.
If a company dont care about profits, this company will fold up very soon. How can a company possibly run with huge losses? Hello. Common sense here. Unless its making a big gain in the market, but still heck about their bus services, i have nothing to say. However, do you have solid info that SMRT is really running in such a way?
Anyway, my last reply to this. Anything more please PM me. We will sort out there.
Back to the topic please. Thank you.
Oh ya, please use your brains in the right manner before you make any remarks on any company, particularly SMRT. This thread is for you to post about the OCs, not for you to make remarks on SMRT.
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Originally posted by Scania N113CRB luver:
No new bus, complain no new bus. Got new bus, complain design is copied, modified, etc. Is it really fun to rant about such stuffs? Think again please.
If you rant about the things im ranting about the OC500LE, which is poor aircon circulation, then maybe i would take in your complains or whatsoever. However, if you dislike the bus and make remarks on SMRT simply because of lousy design of the bus, i dont see any reason why you would do that. Do you take a bus simply because of its radical design, or would you rather take a bus that provides comfort for you throughout the journey?
The OC500LE is one the first few new buses that makes me sweat like as if im taking an ELBO.
If you read my post carefully, I never did complain about the design being copied. In faat, if they wanted to rip off the entire Volgren front, go ahead and take it, but at least do it in a manner that honours the original design; what they have done is to desecrate (I have never used such a strong word when it comes to design, mind you) the original Volgren design by copying it in such a sloppy manner, and then sticking such an out-of-place rear (which some has commented has been taken off one of Wright's designs) onto it.
As I have said earlier, I have not rode on one of these buses yet; this is just a first-impressions review based on what I feel about this bus from the exterior. A badly-designed bus doesn't automatically means it's poor in other areas; just look at the Volvo B7RLE demonstrator (SBS 8030L) from SBS Transit - that thing is even worse (for the love of all things holy, SBS Transit had better not buy huge numbers of that bus with that body or I could gouge my eyes out), but it compensates with an excellent interior layout (the rear, especially) and excellent performance (I took it once on route 174e, and the power was nothing short of amazing for a bus - even better than the Dennis Tridents, I dare say). If I had never rode SBS 8030L, I could give a really bad review of the bus regarding it's design.
And if you notice, it's not just the design I'm complaining about. The door closing chime just shouldn't be there at all. And it's not just the voice, really; vocal announcements coupled with a chime are just not suitable as a bus' door closing chime, where the chime sounds as the door closes, unlike a train where the chime sounds before the door closes. The way our buses operate in and out of stops is very different from that of our train system; I'm aware though that there are places where buses operate like a rail system, and trains operate like a bus system (you actually have to tell a conductor to let you off at a stop, and flag for the trains to stop at a station - the Staten Island Railway in New York uses that system for a few of it's stations).
I may actually look more favourably on this bus if I can try out it's performance myself and see if I like it (ZYX2005 once mentioned that cruising on the bus is like floating down the road). As I stated, this is just a first-impressions review and is not complete; my perception of the bus can still change. For me to hate a bus model this much at the first impressions stage though doesn't bode down well for this model.
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Originally posted by service_238:
Do the 854E/531 xover (parent 167) and that would be totally awesome!
:OAlot of times got OC doing 970S102 slot, does 300 & 590 in the morning one, but personally haven't heard of OC on 590 yet. LOL.
Originally posted by eX.A.K.R.:First, SMB 1H breaks down in the middle of an expressway in the middle of nowhere on route 190 on it's first day; now this.
Well done, Saw Phaik Hwa. Well done, SMRT. Keep "moving" people, and keep "enhancing" lives.
No idea what you are talking about. It was a normal rigid that broke down, not OC500LE which broke down. Quite common for a normal rigid to break down anyway, there are like, at least 3 breakdown incidents I hear of everyday in Yishun.Having said that, I don't think there's a need to be so anti towards SMRT. After all, the buses are there to stay, say at least 17 years. What can you do about it? Climb inside AMDEP and initiate a fire to burn them? Like we all said about the K230s: Live with it.
Yes I do feel the new way of formatting the EDS is strange, do hope they can revert back to old style, looks nicer then...
And let me share with you my experience for SMB 7S. That was on Thursday night. I joined in the front portion of the queue as I had already calculated, next bus 7S. Within 5 mins the queue grew out of the sawtooth berth. The bus, when it finally arrived after 10 mins, saw queues stretching to the berth behind it.
Well, end result = bus packed to the door. Left some passengers behind. And it was unable to pick up anymore passengers for the first 2 stops. One indian man tried to board by the rear and tapped his card, then got chased off by the SL... that was quite amusing but at the same time, it reflects that...
More needs to be done for our feeder services. Yes adding 1 full-day is a good sign of attending to feedback from our passengers, but I don't understand why they added 7S in instead of a bendy.
Overall, the entire scene looked ugly for the night, but it was offset by the powerful aircon of the bus, as well as its acceleration. Hitting 6th gear on Ave 11. That's something unique.
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Originally posted by ^tamago^:
heard 7S has a different back?
=OBut I've seen it a few times, nothing looks different to me leh!
With the only thing I noticed was that, front positioned EDS seems to have been shifted up a bit, hence a portion of the route details is covered up.
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Originally posted by TIB1224Y:
Yes the OC500LE are indeed not very bad. Not even compared to any buses, the fact that how it looks like will revolutionize how public buses are in Singapore.
Yes it might somehow look unproportionate. Windscreen seems to be too big. Engine sounds weak etc. But there are changes, positive ones that are aimed at bringing public transport here to a higher level.
Yes SMRT might be still cramming people on the buses. But by not giving them a chance, more time to prove themselves, we will not know.
One simple thing that rounds most of the doubts around; out of ten world cities that I went, seven to eight cram people on board buses and trains, majority in peak hours. They are either on par with Singapore, or even better. Take Tokyo as a good example.
The one thing that can revolutionize starts at the 'retarder stick' that helps the bus captain to slow the bus down instead of relying fully on the foot brake. By pulling the stick on the lower right toward the driver, the braking is effected. What exactly it activates, whether the retarder or the mechanical brakes itself, I am not sure. But it is a brand new thing not seen on other Singapore public buses yet.
Think most of us SMRT people are having very different opinions of the OC... Hmm...
For me, I also agree windscreen too big, but, engine is powerful! Like I said in my above post, 7S is quite a nice bus to ride on. Too bad perm feeder lah, it should go somewhere else to unleash its potential. Lolx.
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Originally posted by Oceane:
Think most of us SMRT people are having very different opinions of the OC... Hmm...
For me, I also agree windscreen too big, but, engine is powerful! Like I said in my above post, 7S is quite a nice bus to ride on. Too bad perm feeder lah, it should go somewhere else to unleash its potential. Lolx.
961. chiong down Woodlands Road.
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6U climbed the hill after PIE slip road towards Clementi while maintaining the 5th gear lols...
Quite some power generated from the engine, and the 'pushing force' up the the hill is quite awesome.
Well, 299 horses lols...
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sometimes,i dont see a need for SMRT to play de announcement,got alot of passengers when heard de "Doors Closing,Please more to the rear,Please hold on to the grabholes "all got de -.-" face lor..
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Originally posted by eX.A.K.R.:
If you read my post carefully, I never did complain about the design being copied. In faat, if they wanted to rip off the entire Volgren front, go ahead and take it, but at least do it in a manner that honours the original design; what they have done is to desecrate (I have never used such a strong word when it comes to design, mind you) the original Volgren design by copying it in such a sloppy manner, and then sticking such an out-of-place rear (which some has commented has been taken off one of Wright's designs) onto it.
The OCs uses the front design of Mercedes CapaCity, a 19.54m long articulated bus that can carry 193 passengers. You can do a search and compare the both of them, both have the same front design.
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Originally posted by Roderick a.k.a Guai Kia:
sometimes,i dont see a need for SMRT to play de announcement,got alot of passengers when heard de "Doors Closing,Please more to the rear,Please hold on to the grabholes "all got de -.-" face lor..
*Opens front door*
"Thank you for travelling with SMRT Buses."BTW, I think rumours are that SMB 7S is having a different set of tone of announcements. It's EDS also looks abit different from its brothers.
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Originally posted by eX.A.K.R.:
If you read my post carefully, I never did complain about the design being copied. In faat, if they wanted to rip off the entire Volgren front, go ahead and take it, but at least do it in a manner that honours the original design; what they have done is to desecrate (I have never used such a strong word when it comes to design, mind you) the original Volgren design by copying it in such a sloppy manner, and then sticking such an out-of-place rear (which some has commented has been taken off one of Wright's designs) onto it.
Thought it was said a few months ago that it was - for goodness sake - part of a CapaCity front from the Mercedes Benz CapaCity bus? It wasn't a ripoff from Volgren, it was TIBS who requested the design modification. At the very least, the design is based on Mercedes Benz products, not Volgren.I think SMRT Buses used the front as to make sure that they have a common identity at the front of the bus, e.g. three piece windscreen. The Volgren bodyworked buses were used in ads and stuffs, so no surprise if they wanted to use a common lookalike front.
If SMRT Buses bought CapaCity buses, then would you say MB ripped off the Volgren front?
From Wikipedia. The front on the current OC500LEs are flatter than the ones found below.
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Originally posted by TIB537B:
Thought it was said a few months ago that it was - for goodness sake - part of a CapaCity front from the Mercedes Benz CapaCity bus? It wasn't a ripoff from Volgren, it was TIBS who requested the design modification. At the very least, the design is based on Mercedes Benz products, not Volgren.I think SMRT Buses used the front as to make sure that they have a common identity at the front of the bus, e.g. three piece windscreen. The Volgren bodyworked buses were used in ads and stuffs, so no surprise if they wanted to use a common lookalike front.
If SMRT Buses bought CapaCity buses, then would you say MB ripped off the Volgren front?
From Wikipedia. The front on the current OC500LEs are flatter than the ones found below.
Even if SMRT buy Irisbus or VDL buses i'm pretty well sure some peoples complain this and that..How ungrateful spoilt piece of brats S'pore had produced.Shoot or chop me if you want i dun give a damm -
Originally posted by carbikebus:
Even if SMRT buy Irisbus or VDL buses i'm pretty well sure some peoples complain this and that..How ungrateful spoilt piece of brats S'pore had produced.Shoot or chop me if you want i dun give a damm
Anti SMRT people that want to spread their ideology that SMRT = bad, SBST = good. And I tell you, their logic is way super screwed. Simple reason is, most of these people live in SBST territory, so they know almost nothing about the current SMRT Corp, and they bluntly shoot without even getting their facts correct.Shouldn't SMRT-territory people be the one giving feedback about SMRT, and not SBST-territory people? It only makes sense if the above case is true. Unfortunately not, we see SBST-territory people forever the one complaining about SMRT, while SMRT people like us just shut up and say nothing. And the balance is so off, that when SMRT people try to explain something about SMRT, they often get flamed by SBST people who insist that they are correct.
So most people here are forced to adopt the flawed theory that SMRT is forever bad.
And I applaud you for your courage to be able to stand up to these people. Don't you think it seems wierd that Saw Phaik Hwa is always behind every wrong thing that comes in SMRT's way. How about the good things?
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Originally posted by carbikebus:
Even if SMRT buy Irisbus or VDL buses i'm pretty well sure some peoples complain this and that..How ungrateful spoilt piece of brats S'pore had produced.Shoot or chop me if you want i dun give a damm
Lol. I remember my SMRT SL friend once said Singaporeans very unappreciative when comes to buses. Singapore buses got aircon, got this got that and also very clean (as compared to other places), still complain so much. Should go other countries and try their buses and see how. -
Originally posted by carbikebus:
Even if SMRT buy Irisbus or VDL buses i'm pretty well sure some peoples complain this and that..How ungrateful spoilt piece of brats S'pore had produced.Shoot or chop me if you want i dun give a damm
There is no such thing as a perfect bus for Singaporeans lol. -
Just 2 random shots taken just now....
SMB9L on 854
SMB11D on 67
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Originally posted by SBS 233 X:
Just 2 random shots taken just now....
SMB9L on 854
SMB11D on 67
The buses now look like it's viewed from a mirror...>.< due to the new EDS layout aka Left hand drive buses. -
Originally posted by TIB537B:
The buses now look like it's viewed from a mirror...>.< due to the new EDS layout aka Left hand drive buses.
I'm more interested in the slightly slanted rego plate. Lol. Took picture of it on S812 yesterday and noticed the same thing too. -
Originally posted by Oceane:
I'm more interested in the slightly slanted rego plate. Lol. Took picture of it on S812 yesterday and noticed the same thing too.9L ar?
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Originally posted by TIB537B:
The buses now look like it's viewed from a mirror...>.< due to the new EDS layout aka Left hand drive buses.
Lol. And seriously speaking I am really not used to the layoutNeneponkey: Yes, SMB9L
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Originally posted by SBS 233 X:
Just 2 random shots taken just now....
SMB11D on 67
Do current buses used the same fat font for "SIMS AVENUE"?
Can't really remember but if it's not, it means that the details are newly programmed. Someone please kindly confirm. Thanks. -
Originally posted by Oceane:
Anti SMRT people that want to spread their ideology that SMRT = bad, SBST = good. And I tell you, their logic is way super screwed. Simple reason is, most of these people live in SBST territory, so they know almost nothing about the current SMRT Corp, and they bluntly shoot without even getting their facts correct.Shouldn't SMRT-territory people be the one giving feedback about SMRT, and not SBST-territory people? It only makes sense if the above case is true. Unfortunately not, we see SBST-territory people forever the one complaining about SMRT, while SMRT people like us just shut up and say nothing. And the balance is so off, that when SMRT people try to explain something about SMRT, they often get flamed by SBST people who insist that they are correct.
So most people here are forced to adopt the flawed theory that SMRT is forever bad.
And I applaud you for your courage to be able to stand up to these people. Don't you think it seems wierd that Saw Phaik Hwa is always behind every wrong thing that comes in SMRT's way. How about the good things?
Not that SMRT area residents don't complain. What I think is that most of the places people don't have much choice and are used to it. Is either SMRT Buses, Trains or LRT. At least that's the case for me.
For SBST area residents most of the time when they see SMRT services they will make comparison naturally, especially so for services that run parallel. A leopard will never change its spots. Even in this instance if the spots do change, it takes time.I agree that many of the misconceptions come about with the lack of exposure to SMRT Buses. To us, small changes or improvements made by SMRT is already detectable by us. But for SBST regulars whom are used to generally better frequencies than SMRT, it's kind of normal that SMRT seems to be the mediocre company here. Let's face it, how many service 161/168 one would see before a feeder service arrive? Easily 2.
No matter where we live in, we can't insist that both companies have no pros and no cons. As for the SPH issue... It is very normal for people to bring her name up as she represents SMRT. This is something we can never deny. In life scenarios like this happen too.But I have to admit that "anti SMRT" comments seem to be able to surface even with the slightest comments, and I really mean any comments, good or bad.
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Okay everyone. Today had my first OC500LE ride on S854 SMB9L 2.30pm trip from Bedok Int.
interior-wise, nice, clean, pleasing 3-colour tone with red/black and grey aircon ducts. Aircon also strong. so everything good.
the ride started fine. the female SL was very careful with the bus but i dont have complaints about that. she gave herself a very long braking distance and wide clearances too entering/exiting bus stops. reach SBST HG depot, S854 behind, a MB0405 caught up and overtake the OC500LE.
it clearly wasnt as jerky as the scania k230ub. even the 3rd batch of scanias jerk more than the OC500LE. so plus points for the merc.
to say the truth, this is not yet the time to talk abt the optimal performance of the bus as the SLs are still very cautious when they drive the OC500LE. maybe we've to give it a few more months. then they'll start to be more aggressive with their driving lol.
ride back to the east was a Scania K230UB on S39. obviously, the difference could be felt in the short span of time and my vote goes to the OC500LE. for fast rides on Scanias, one can try S27 late at night. 2nd last bus would be good(last bus must follow timetable mah).
to conclude, if you still havent ride it, take it! reading mine and other people's long comments are not similar to the personal experience you'll get. -
Originally posted by sinicker:
interior-wise, nice, clean, pleasing 3-colour tone with red/black and grey aircon ducts. Aircon also strong. so everything good.
Not time to comment on the cleanliness of the bus. Its just only a few days. I mean you don't expect to see aircon ducts with layers of dust. =X