Citaro To Be Tested for South East Asian Market

Just one month after announcing it has delivered ten new Citaro articulated buses to Keisei Bus, one of the top mass transit companies in Japan, Daimler revealed the first Citaros are now undergoing tests in Singapore with the SMRT transport authority (Singapore Mass Rapid Transit). This will make the Citaro the first low-floor bus in Singapore and in the whole South-East Asia.

In fact, the TIBS (Trans Island Bus Singapore), which subsequently became part of SMRT, was in 1996 the first operator to run Mercedes-Benz articulated buses in Singapore.

The company currently operates 900 urban buses in its local public transport fleet, of which 770 are buses based on the Mercedes-Benz OC 500, O 405 and O 405 G chassis.

The Mercedes-Benz Citaro is now in its second generation, There have been more than 27,000 units have been built since series production began in 1998. Launched at the UITP Congress in Stuttgart in 1997, the Citaro registered record sales of some 4000 units in 2009.

The range now comprises 28 different variants that allows a custom-made solution to be found to suit every customer’s needs. This scope extends from the 10.5-metre long compact Citaro K through to the four-axled large-capacity articulated CapaCity bus, at 19.54 metres long, derived from the Citaro modular system.

“This unique concept means a solution can be found within the Citaro range to meet any public transport requirement at all from either urban- or rural-bus operators,” a company statement reads.