Batch 1
Batch 2 buses - Equipped with USB Ports, only 15 were ever acquired and all 15 were allocated to
SMRT
upon registration. Although identical in appearance to the Batch 1 E500s, if one looks closely they can spot a pair of hammers on the upper deck above the front seats, something which only E500 Batch 2 buses have. The easiest way to spot these buses is to look out for the SG plate - only Batch 2 buses have them. Alternatively, one can look out for Lush Green E500s running on
SMRT
routes - all SMRT - owned E500s are painted in the Pixel Livery, with TTS buses being painted Lush Green. If the E500 spotted is a Lush Green one under SMRT, it is a sure sign that it is a batch 2 bus. Also, Batch 2 buses are installed with tinted windows - something only Batch 2 ADL E500 buses have.WHERE TO FIND THIS BUS:
Batch 1: Woodlands, Choa Chu Kang Interchange or Bukit Panjang ITH would be your best bet, these interchanges are SMRT-majority and therefore higher chance of spotting an Enviro 500, especially on routes such as
190
, 67
(CCK), 972
, 180
, 176
(BPITH), 169
, 856
, 963
, 966
(Woodlands). During peak hours they may appear on 172
(Boon Lay INT). Alternatively, one may hunt from Bukit Batok or Clementi Interchanges, since they are Tower Transit Singapore(TTS)-majority and appear on routes such as 106
(very common), 189
(peak hours), 96
, 41
, 143
, 98
. On weekends they might appear on 66
.Batch 2: With 15 in service divided evenly among the 3 SMRT depots(KJDEP, WLDEP, AMDEP), they can be tricky to find. Most commonly observed on
964
, rarely appearing on 963
, 187
, 188
,856
, or on other services fron Woodlands InterchangeMAN NL323F (A22) (Euro V Specifications)
WHERE TO FIND THIS BUS:
The first of the 4 major bus types in Singapore, they are very common and can be found at places where SMRT or TTS operates, especially Woodlands, Bukit Batok, Boon Lay, or Choa Chu Kang Interchanges.
Very recently, a single unit,
SG1720L
, was assigned to Go-Ahead Singapore(GAS) and is a permanent bus on 68
running from Pasir Ris to Tampines, making the MAN A22 the third bus type to be operated by all 4 PTOs, joining the O530 Citaro and the Volvo B9TL(WEG2) buses to share this distinction.
MAN NL323F(A22) (Euro VI Specifications)
WHERE TO FIND THIS BUS:
With many of these buses being progressively delivered, enthusiasts will not be short of opportunity catching these buses in action. Notable routes which have this bus as a mainstay of that route include
53
, 102
,124
, 151
, 242
, 851e
, 167e
, 913M
, 960e
, 966
,969
, 991
and 386
, with other routes occasionally seeing this bus type.MAN NG363F(A24)
SMB388S - the demonstrator MAN A24 unit, easily distinguished by the use of a Gorba EDS, compared with the Mobitec EDS used on production batch buses, and the red-white livery that is exclusive to this MAN A24 unit - all other A24s are painted in SMRT's Pixel-Red livery
WHERE TO FIND THIS BUS:
With only 40 of these buses in service, the best places to hunt them are at Choa Chu Kang and Woodlands Interchanges, where they are most commonly spotted on feeder services. In addition, trunk routes
184
and 858
have these buses as a mainstay in their fleet. 10 examples were allocated to SBS Transit
as part of the Seletar Bus Package, and they are a common sight on feeder services operating from Yishun Bus Interchange.MAN ND323F(A95) Euro V Specifications
Batch 1 - note the treeguards at upper deck level
Batch 2 - Shares mostly the same design with Batch 1 buses, but can be distinguished by their plate numbers starting with "SG" instead of "SMB" for Batch 1 buses. Also note the absence of treeguards which are installed on Batch 1 buses and is therefore one of the most distinctive traits of Batch 2 buses.
Batch 3 facelifted - Distinguished by the use of larger headlights adapted from SG5999Z
Batch 3 facelifted(improved) - note the slight difference in headlights, otherwise specifications are identical to earlier Batch 3 buses, only applies to buses registered SG5835M-SG5920A and SG2017C
WHERE TO FIND THIS BUS:
Batch 1 - Harder to spot, the best place to find them is at Yishun and Sembawang Interchanges, where it can be found on
854
, 883
and 856
. Woodlands Interchange is a good alternative, Batch 1s occasionally appearing on 169
, 856
,963
. One particularly special but hard to spot bus from this type would be the demonstrator unit, SMB5888H, which uses Ster NewCity seats, with a distinctive design, while Vogelsitze System 750/3 seats are used on other buses of this type, sharing these seats with buses that are procured by SMRT. 
SMB5888H. Note the absence of treeguards which means she can be very difficult to distinguish from a Batch 2 unless one takes a closer look at the number plate. As mentioned above, the easiest way to spot her is her seats - she uses Ster NewCity seats which are distinctly different from the Vogelsitze 750/3 seats found on most buses in Singapore.
Batch 2 - Commonly found on high-capacity routes from Woodlands, Choa Chu Kang or Bukit Panjang such as
67
, 172
, 180
, 187
, 190
, 963
, 966
, 169
, 856
.Batch 3 Facelifted - Easy to spot from Woodlands once again, many SMRT services from here and even
168
(SBST) uses this bus. Buses of this type operated by Go-Ahead Singapore
(GAS
) can be spotted at Punggol or Pasir Ris, with no fixed route - they can appear on any GAS route that routinely deploys DDs. One special bus from this batch is SG2017C - she is the only MAN A95 Batch 3 bus to adopt the Euro 6 standard which makes her stand out from her other cousins of the same batch.
SG2017C - the only Batch 3 MAN A95 to adopt the Euro 6 standard.
MAN ND323F(A95) Euro VI Specifications
WHERE TO FIND THIS BUS:
With many of these buses being delivered, enthusiasts will not be short of opportunites to catch them in action. Ever since they have been introduced into servicenin May 2018, they have become a ubiquitous sight all over the ialand and can be found on many routes. Notable routes include
5
, 851e
, 89
, 161
, 102
, 37
, 70
, 117
, 920
, 991
, 903
, 964
, 857
, 172
, 176
, 178
, 187
, 960e
, 969
, 856
, 965
,966
, 2
and 6
, just to name a few, as well as on many feeder routes from Choa Chu Kang and Woodlands InterchangesMAN Lion's City DD L 3 Door Concept Bus
WHERE TO FIND THIS BUS:
Registered as SG5999Z and was assigned to BNDEP. She underwent trials with SBST on
7
and her trial was expected to end on 3rd October, but it was extended and as of 17 January 2019 she is still on the roads at her regular timeslots. With LTA acquiring 100 new 3 door buses from Alexander Dennis and MAN, it is believed that this bus has successfuly passed its trial, although it has not been reacquired by LTA and SBS has continued operating on 7
, so enthusitasts are not short of opportunities when hunting this bus.Visually she is the easiest bus to spot; look out for the larger double-leaf doors at the rear, where the second staircase is, and the larger window near the mid-section of the bus offside. In addition, while other buses utilize orange-coloured characters on their EDSs, SG5999Z is the only bus which uses a white and bright-blue font on its EDSs. Also, her bumper is painted black, similar to the Batch 2 of A95 buses, but at the same time she uses larger headlights which were eventually adopted by the Batch 3 A95s and slightly modified for use on the Euro VI MAN buses(MAN A95 Batch 4 and MAN A22 Batch 4). On the inside, apart from the second set of staircases the easiest way to distinguish her is her seats - she is the only bus in Singapore to use beige-coloured Vogelsitze Revo S seats, which come with headrests.
Mercedes Benz O405G(Hispano Carrocera Habit)
WHERE TO FIND THIS BUS: See below
Mercedes Benz O405G(Volgren, Type 1 & 2)
Type 1
Type 2
WHERE TO FIND THIS BUS:
All Mercedes Benz O405Gs, regardless of bodywork, can be very commonly found on feeder services from Choa Chu Kang or Woodlands, as well as being a staple on services
184
and 854
. During peak hours, some buses might perform trunk services such as 172
, 190
, 169
and 856
(Editor's note: it has been confirmed that the O405G Volgren depicted, TIB1183G, has been de-registered and scrapped as of 29 September. Rest In Peace, TIB1183G, and thank you for your 18 years of service.)
Mercedes Benz O530(Citaro), SBS/GCM Batch
WHERE TO FIND THIS BUS: The second of the 4 major bus types in Singapore, they are operated by all 4 PTOs(one of only 3 bus types to have this distinction) and can be found everywhere, especially Changi Airport, where a fleet restriction is in place, only allowing Citaros to operate on services to Changi Airport(with the exception of
858
, which is allowed to operate the MAN NG363F(A24) Bendy Buses owing to route requirements.)Mercedes Benz O530(Citaro), SMRT Batch
WHERE TO FIND THIS BUS:
Very uncommon compared to its SBS and GCM cousins(as covered above), Sembawang Bus Interchange seems to be a nest for these buses as many feeder services operating from here utilize these buses and therefore is by far the best place to spot these buses.
Mercedes Benz OC500LE
WHERE TO FIND THIS BUS: Service
975
from Bukit Panjang ITH has many of these buses(including SMB91Y, the only OC500LE equipped with a Mobitec MobiLED EDS). Alternatively, this bus is easy to spot on 172
as well, with a few other services having fewer buses of this type such as 700
and 167
Scania K230UB
WHERE TO FIND THIS BUS: The third of the 4 major bus types in Singapore, they can be found in many interchanges which are operated by SBST and this bus is especially popular on feeder routes. One of the biggest nests for this bus seems to be Toa Payoh Interchange, with feeders operating out of this interchange operating an exclusive to a near-exclusive fleet of this bus type, and from which Trunk Route
157
operates, which uses many K230UBs as well.Scania K310UD
WHERE TO FIND THIS BUS: Commonly known as the KUD, this bus was acquired by SBST and operated on several routes as part of a trial. However, with the completion of the transition to the Government Contracting Model(GCM), this bus, along with all one-off SBS demonstrator buses were taken off the roads and converted to training buses based at Hougang Depot(HGDEP), making this bus, along with the Volvo B9TL(Gemilang), Scania K230UB Demonstrator(SBS8033D) and the Volvo B7RLE particularly elusive as they can only be spotted training around Hougang. One good was is to hunt outside HGDEP, although it is advised to hide at the nearby defunct bus stops as the security guards have a tendency to chase people away if they stay there for too long.
Volvo B5LH
WHERE TO FIND THIS BUS: As of May 2019, all 50 units have been registered and delivered to
SBS Transit
and SMRT Buses
and are a mainstay on 272
, 93
, 59
, 920
and 859
.Volvo B8L
WHERE TO FIND THIS BUS: This bus, registered as SG4003D and assigned to Seletar Depot(SEDEP), can be found on SBST Service
71
. Of all the bus types listed here, she is the easiest to find on bus spotting apps as despite being a WAB, it is actually listed as a Non-WAB DD by LTA and thus stands out from all other buses in the fleet of Service 71
.Volvo B9TL CDGE
WHERE TO FIND THIS BUS: Overshadowed by its cousin with Wright Gemini Eclipse 2 Bodywork(see below), this bus type is nevertheless relatively common and can be found on many routes operated by SBST which utilizes high-capacity buses routinely.
On Saturday, 6 October, a single CDGE-bodied B9TL, SBS7368U, made her debut in the Lush Green livery adopted by the BCM, a first for the B9TL CDGE. A permanent bus on
198
, she is the first unit to receive this new paintscheme. It is expected that more will be repainted in days to come.
Volvo B9TL WEG2
WHERE TO FIND THIS BUS: The fourth and final of the 4 major bus types in Singapore, and arguably the most common bus on the road today, it can be found everywhere and is one of 3 bus types to be operated by all 4 PTOs in Singapore.
Volvo B10BLE
WHERE TO FIND THIS BUS: As mentioned in this article, B10BLEs can only be found in the west. However, due to the extremely limited numbers of this bus(12 to be exact), one would still have a very hard time spotting it. The best is to spot it from Clementi Interchange during the peak hours to increase one's chances of spotting this bus, where it may run on routes
99
, 156
, 151
and 175
, with other routes having a rare chance of operating this busVolvo B10M Duple Mestec DM3500
WHERE TO FIND THIS BUS: This bus type was due for retirement in Christmas of 2018 and 2 days before, the last of these buses performed their final service routes before being pulled out of service for good, hence ending the era of the B10Ms plying our roads.
Volvo B10TL(Super Olympian)
WHERE TO FIND THIS BUS: Once again, as mentioned in this article, Super Olympians can be very easily found on routes operating solely in the East area such as
69
, 25
, 88
, 59
, 5
and 9
, with other services operating fewer buses of this type.(Editor's note: the picture above depicts SBS9846T(BNDEP SP) running on Svc
7
, however on this occasion it was a replacement bus for the MAN Lion's City DD L(SG5999Z, BNDEP 7/7A) which had broken down. On normal occasions this occurence is virtually impossible as there are no routes utilizing Super Olympians which venture to the West and it is therefore extremely rare for a Super Olympian to make an appearence on this route. See this post for more information.)BONUS CONTENT: Dennis Trident III, the bus that disappeared quietly
