SVC 858 - D1 on MAN NG363F(A24) SMB8036E
Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2018 3:24 pm
With a change in my schedule which gave me the entire afternoon all to myself, I decided to dedicate it to counquering the ultimate bus journey - SVC 858 and film it all on camera. As a bonus, it was also to be done on one of only 3 NG363Fs in the 858 fleet for the novelty experience. Thus, after arriving at Woodlands Interchange on a 187 from Boon Lay, operated by a MAN NL323F(A22), I settled down into what would turn out to be a 40 minute hunt for the elusive MAN NG363F on 858.
(Just some background info, the MAN NG363Fs, commonly known as A24s, were procured by SMRT and were seen as direct replacements for the ageing Mercedes Benz O405Gs. A demonstrator unit, SMB388S, was delivered in April 2013 and began rotations on service 190 and was a direct replacement for TIB838H,the first ever articulated bus to hit Singapore's roads. Subsequently, 39 production units, SMB8001E - SMB8039Y were delivered. The bulk of these buses were deployed on the feeder routes operating out of Choa Chu Kang(3xx) and Woodlands(9xx). In November 2015, after various tests, NG363Fs began making daily appearances on SVC 858, which could not have been more welcome.)
(Being the longest continuous bus route in Singapore at 73.5km, 858, with its long route and complicated demand patterns, often experience heavy delays due to this service being the fastest link between the North of Singapore and Changi Airport. Bus bunching is a very common occurence on this route and ocassions which passengers at Punggol are unable to board an Airport-bound bus is very common. The extending of this route to serve Sembawang in 2010 only exacerbated the situation by adding even more demand. However, this service is uniquely difficult to increase capacity due to operational constraints. On other services, DDs can be deployed as long as the roads and the surrounding envrironment conditions permit it; however, due to the low headroom at Changi Airport Basement 1(which is where the bus stops), this is not possible. Deploying articulated buses was also not an option due to the large turning radius of the MB O405Gs, which prevented it from operating on certain sections of Airport Boulevard. Thus, only 12m rigid buses such as MAN A22s were allowed to operate on this route.)
(However, with the introduction of the MAN A24s, which have a tighter turning radius, SMRT began working with Changi Airport Group to test the feasibility of deploying articulated buses on this route. After many tests, MAN A24s finally began operating on 858 on the 29th of November 2015, with 3 buses being deployed. This makes 858 the first, and to date, the only service into Changi Airport to utilize articulated buses. It appears that a fleet restriction by the Airport is in place, with only 2 types of buses being permitted to operate into Changi Airport: the Mercedes Benz O530 Citaro and the MAN A24.)
After waiting for 40 mins, the wait paid off when a MAN A24, SMB8036E pulled into Woodlands Interchange after completing a rotation on 858. At the same time, the bus application I used indicated a "bendy" departing on 858 after 2 buses. Thus, after the first bus left, I joined the queue and skipped the next bus(both of which were Citaros) and sure enough, the next bus to depart on 858 at 1239H was the A24. Thus, after boarding, I took the frontmost seat on the left side of the bus(right behind the front doors, it is the best location to film a bus ride) and with that I settled in for the journey, which took 2hrs and 45mins.
Due to the timing which I was taking this bus, it was not packed up to maximum capacity and throughout the ride, seats were plenty and scattered. No bus bunching was observed during this trip. As usual, the bus captain took a toilet break at Terminal 2 before continuing on back to Woodlands. Nothing out of the ordinary was encountered during this trip(with the exception of a cameo appearance by the C151C at Yishun) and it was a textbook run, from Woodlands to Changi Airport and back, at least as routine as the juggernaut of all bus rides in Singapore.
At the end of the ride, the driver noticed that I had been on the bus since its departure nearly 3 hours ago and jokingly asked me if I would like to go for a second round. Though I was sorely tempted to(thank you, concession pass), I couldnt as I had other plans after that
but if given the time to, I would definitely go for round 2 
. And with that, my round trip from Woodlands to Changi Airport and back, spanning 73.5km in 2hrs and 45mins, was complete.
(I will post the photos and video of this trip as soon as I can, im still in the midst of editing the video to give it location tags)
*Background information taken from Land Transport Guru, copyright goes to them
(Just some background info, the MAN NG363Fs, commonly known as A24s, were procured by SMRT and were seen as direct replacements for the ageing Mercedes Benz O405Gs. A demonstrator unit, SMB388S, was delivered in April 2013 and began rotations on service 190 and was a direct replacement for TIB838H,the first ever articulated bus to hit Singapore's roads. Subsequently, 39 production units, SMB8001E - SMB8039Y were delivered. The bulk of these buses were deployed on the feeder routes operating out of Choa Chu Kang(3xx) and Woodlands(9xx). In November 2015, after various tests, NG363Fs began making daily appearances on SVC 858, which could not have been more welcome.)
(Being the longest continuous bus route in Singapore at 73.5km, 858, with its long route and complicated demand patterns, often experience heavy delays due to this service being the fastest link between the North of Singapore and Changi Airport. Bus bunching is a very common occurence on this route and ocassions which passengers at Punggol are unable to board an Airport-bound bus is very common. The extending of this route to serve Sembawang in 2010 only exacerbated the situation by adding even more demand. However, this service is uniquely difficult to increase capacity due to operational constraints. On other services, DDs can be deployed as long as the roads and the surrounding envrironment conditions permit it; however, due to the low headroom at Changi Airport Basement 1(which is where the bus stops), this is not possible. Deploying articulated buses was also not an option due to the large turning radius of the MB O405Gs, which prevented it from operating on certain sections of Airport Boulevard. Thus, only 12m rigid buses such as MAN A22s were allowed to operate on this route.)
(However, with the introduction of the MAN A24s, which have a tighter turning radius, SMRT began working with Changi Airport Group to test the feasibility of deploying articulated buses on this route. After many tests, MAN A24s finally began operating on 858 on the 29th of November 2015, with 3 buses being deployed. This makes 858 the first, and to date, the only service into Changi Airport to utilize articulated buses. It appears that a fleet restriction by the Airport is in place, with only 2 types of buses being permitted to operate into Changi Airport: the Mercedes Benz O530 Citaro and the MAN A24.)
After waiting for 40 mins, the wait paid off when a MAN A24, SMB8036E pulled into Woodlands Interchange after completing a rotation on 858. At the same time, the bus application I used indicated a "bendy" departing on 858 after 2 buses. Thus, after the first bus left, I joined the queue and skipped the next bus(both of which were Citaros) and sure enough, the next bus to depart on 858 at 1239H was the A24. Thus, after boarding, I took the frontmost seat on the left side of the bus(right behind the front doors, it is the best location to film a bus ride) and with that I settled in for the journey, which took 2hrs and 45mins.
Due to the timing which I was taking this bus, it was not packed up to maximum capacity and throughout the ride, seats were plenty and scattered. No bus bunching was observed during this trip. As usual, the bus captain took a toilet break at Terminal 2 before continuing on back to Woodlands. Nothing out of the ordinary was encountered during this trip(with the exception of a cameo appearance by the C151C at Yishun) and it was a textbook run, from Woodlands to Changi Airport and back, at least as routine as the juggernaut of all bus rides in Singapore.
At the end of the ride, the driver noticed that I had been on the bus since its departure nearly 3 hours ago and jokingly asked me if I would like to go for a second round. Though I was sorely tempted to(thank you, concession pass), I couldnt as I had other plans after that
but if given the time to, I would definitely go for round 2 
. And with that, my round trip from Woodlands to Changi Airport and back, spanning 73.5km in 2hrs and 45mins, was complete.(I will post the photos and video of this trip as soon as I can, im still in the midst of editing the video to give it location tags
)*Background information taken from Land Transport Guru, copyright goes to them
, arriving at Woodlands on a 187 operated by a MAN A95 Batch 2, having completed my mission (For more info, see this post: