The Bus Is My Other Car.

Scania K230 joyride

On 1 Nov 07, the Scania K203, officially commenced public service. The K230s are Singapore's first single-deck Wheelchair Accessible Buses (WABs) with Euro 4 engine, Seven buses were deployed on service 100 and two on 174. I met Kai Hong for a joyride on service 100 (SBS8138K) from Harbourfront to Serangoon.


The bodywork looks nice, objectively speaking, although it is a Malaysian bodywork - Gemilang. However, I was quite upset over the number of seats - 29 only. And the fact that I have to take one step to get to the rear of the bus. More steps to the penultimate row and one more to the last row. Sitting at the last and penultimate row gave me a headache, because I was seated too high up to look out of the window. Space above the front wheel was also wasted because no seat could be placed above the wheels. Two wheelchair compartments seemed too many for me. But after reading SBST's press release about how two wheelchair friends can finally travel together, I decided that it is time myself, as well as other Singaporeans, show more compassion.

The Scania K230 feels like a Sentosa Volvo B7RLE, probably 先入为主, because the latter is a zero-step bus with a similar layout. The Scania K230 doesn't feel like a public bus because of its similarity with a Sentosa leisure bus, as well as the Sengkang LRT. The purple handrails are so reminiscent of the SKLRT! The beige interior, including the window frames, make the bus look like an LRT. It's more gross with the beige frames since the windows are relatively short lengthwise and long heightwise. I made a joke with Kai Hong that Hwa Chong students will blend into the K203s on service 174.


Lastly and most disturbingly, the engine (sound) lacks the 'soul', which Kai Hong called it, compared to older buses. Whatever happened to the melodious engine sound of the older buses? Even the the Volvo B9TL (second newest bus in SBST) engine sounds more interesting. The K203 engine sounds very electric vehicle-like - something like a LRT. The Scania K203 is nonetheless comfortable and environmentally-friendly, but lacks the "soul" that some bus fans crave for.

Verdict: 3.5/5 Stars for Scania K230.

Pictures: Courtesy of http://off-service.blogspot.com and Wikipedia

posted by 23degreecelsius @ 3:00 PM