page_title: Double-decker bus
section_title: Singapore
hierarchical_section_title: Double-decker bus / Southeast Asia / Singapore
caption_attribution_description: Preserved L888SBS was SBS Transit, Singapore SBS9168S. This bus was imported into the UK in 2013 after serving Singapore for 19 years, this vehicle has historical significance as it was the very last Leyland vehicle ever built; after chassis ON21080 rolled off the production line the Leyland marque became history. It's also the only complete Alexander Royale bodied Leyland Olympian left in existence since the other 199 in the batch were retired. It's bus rally debut in the UK was here at the Buses Magazine rally in Gaydon on 31/08/2014.
context_page_description: A double-decker bus is a bus that has two storeys or decks. Double-decker buses are used for mass transport in the United Kingdom, Europe, Asia and many former European possessions, the most iconic example being the red London bus, namely the AEC Routemaster.
  Early double-deckers put the driver in a separate cab. Passenger access was via an open platform at the rear, and a bus conductor would collect fares. Modern double-deckers have a main entrance door at the front, and the driver takes fares, thus halving the number of bus workers aboard, but slowing the boarding process. The rear open platform, popular with passengers, was abandoned for safety reasons, as there was a risk of passengers falling when running and jumping onto the bus.
  Double-deckers are primarily for commuter transport but open-top models are used as sight-seeing buses for tourists. William Gladstone, speaking of London's double-deck horse-drawn omnibuses, once observed that "...the best way to see London is from the top of a bus".
context_section_description: In October 1953, a single AEC Regent III double-decker from the fleet of the Kuala Lumpur-based General Transport Company was sent to Singapore for demonstration. It was used on service by the Singapore Traction Company for two weeks. After that, it was inspected by two Chinese-owned bus companies, and then sent back to Kuala Lumpur. However, no orders for double-deckers immediately followed.
  Although Sentosa was already operating several ex-London double decker buses such as the AEC Regent III RT and the Leyland Titan RTL from 1975 to the early 1980s, double-decker buses only made a major comeback in Singapore's public bus system on 13 June 1977 when Singapore Bus Service (SBS, present-day SBS Transit), introduced 20 Leyland Atlantean AN68 buses on route 86 which was launched by then-Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Communications Ong Teng Cheong that day. The success of the 1977 Leyland Atlantean buses led to SBS purchasing another 500 Leyland Atlantean AN68 buses from 1978 up to 1984 while also trialing several demonstrators such as the Volvo B55, Dennis Dominator, Scania BR112DH and Volvo B10MD Citybus concurrently. The next batch of double-deck buses was introduced from 1984 to 1986 and consists of the Mercedes-Benz O305 and the Leyland Olympian, both of which were bodied by Walter Alexander Coachbuilders with an R-type body. In 1993, the first air-conditioned 12-metre (as opposed to the average 10.5-metre length then) double-decker bus, the Leyland Olympian 3-axle was launched as the "Superbus". The original 200 "Superbuses" were followed by an additional 471 Volvo Olympian 3-axle "Superbuses" and 100 non air-conditioned Volvo Olympian buses from 1994 to 2000. The Volvo B10TL, the first stepless, ultra-low-floor "Superbus", was launched in 1999 while 20 low-floor Dennis Trident 3 buses followed in 2001. The first wheelchair-accessible double-decker buses, the Volvo B9TL, were introduced in 2006; by 2014, SBS Transit had over 1631 of these buses in service.
  SBS Transit's monopoly on double-decker buses in Singapore ended in 2014 when rival SMRT Buses ordered 201 Alexander Dennis Enviro500 buses. It was followed up with 16 MAN ND323F A95 buses in 2015.
  Some of the existing double-deckers owned by SMRT Buses and SBS Transit were transferred to new operators Tower Transit and Go-Ahead under the Bus Contracting Model. Subsequent orders of B9TL and A95 buses are being made by the Land Transport Authority, are painted in a lush green livery (rather than the operator-specific liveries of SMRT and SBS Transit), and are used by all operators. Currently, there are more than 3,000 double-decker buses in Singapore, all of which are air-conditioned and the majority wheelchair-accessible. Newer units introduced from 2018 onwards are also Euro VI-compliant and are equipped with USB charging ports and Visual Passenger Information Displays.
  In March 2017, the first three-door, two-staircase 12.8m long double-decker bus in Singapore was introduced by Tower Transit with the registration plate SG5999Z for a six-month trial period. After the trial, the bus was transferred to SBS Transit. The trial was successful and the Land Transport Authority purchased another 100 3-door double decker buses of the Alexander Dennis Enviro500 and MAN A95 builds in April 2019. In April 2018, SBS Transit introduced into service a single Volvo B8L registered as SG4003D. Fully electric Yutong E12DD double-decker buses will also be introduced by 2020.
  Outside public bus operations, open-top buses are also operated by Big Bus Tours. The New Routemaster from London also visited Singapore twice; once in 2014 and another in 2016.
caption: An ex-SBS Transit Leyland Olympian 3-axle bus as preserved in the UK after its retirement from Singapore in 2013
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