| MAN A95 (Euro 6) – 3-Door Batch |
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| Manufacturer | MAN Truck And Bus |
| Bodywork | MAN Lion’s City DD (Gemilang Coachworks) |
| Years in operation | 2021– |
| Operators | TBC |
| Technical Data | |
| Length | ~12.5 m (TBC) |
| Engine | MAN D2066 LUH-58 |
| Transmission | TBC |
| Accessibility | Low Entry & Wheelchair-accessible |
| Emission Standard | Euro VI (EGR+SCR) |
In April 2019, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) procured 50 units of the MAN A95 (Euro 6) double-deck bus, configured with three doors and two staircases for smoother boarding and alighting.
These buses were procured under Contract PT342 (Procurement of 3-Door Euro 6 Double Deck Diesel Buses) for ~S$30 million. In total, 100 three-door diesel buses were procured, with Alexander Dennis fulfilling the other half of orders with its 50 Enviro500 (3-door) buses. Both bus types are expected to make their debut in 2021 (delayed from late 2020).
This is the sixth batch of MAN A95 (or MAN ND323F) buses supplied for Singapore’s public bus industry. Check out the main article: MAN A95 for more background information on the bus model.
Prior to the introduction of these 3-door buses, a one-off MAN A95 (3-Door) Concept Bus was commissioned by the LTA. Bearing the registration plate SG5999Z, it was first exhibited to the public in March 2016, and underwent revenue service trials with Tower Transit (Mar—Sep 2017) and SBS Transit (Apr 2018—Present). A similar 3-door single-deck concept bus was also built on the MAN NL323F (A22) chassis.
MAN A95 (Euro 6) – Third Production Batch (3-Door)
The 50 MAN A95 Euro 6 (3-Door) buses would be registered as SG6283Z – SG6332R.
| Basic Technical Specifications | |
| Engine | MAN D2066 LUH-58, 10518cc Twin-stage turbocharged & inter-cooled Power/torque rating of 235 kW (320 hp) @ 1900 rpm / 1600 Nm @ 1000 – 1400 rpm |
| Emission Standard | Euro VI-compliant MAN PURE DIESEL® Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) process and MAN SCRT Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) exhaust after-treatment process. Requires diesel exhaust fluids such as AdBlue. |
| Transmission | TBC |
| Bodywork | MAN Lion’s City DD Bodywork Chassis built in Germany, MAN’s Lion City DD bodywork supplied and assembled by Gemilang Coachworks, licensed by MAN. |
| Electronic Display Sign (EDS) | LECIP Electronic Display Sign Orange LED Matrix; Mounted on Front, Left side and Rear |
| PIDS | LECIP OBC-VISION Passenger Information Display System LED text displays, LCD display screens, interior speakers & exterior speaker |
| Driver Assistance | TNT Surveillance Anti-Fatigue system (T-DA Driver Alert Camera) |
| Additional Specifications | Tree Guards Masats door systems USB Charging Ports (with covers) Door movement area sticker Tree Guards |
| Licensed Capacity | Seating (Upper deck): 50 | Seating (Lower deck): 17 | Standing: TBC Not including 2 foldable seats, 2 wheelchair bays |
Specifications
Contract PT342 (Procurement of 3-Door Euro 6 Double Deck Diesel Buses) was put up by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on 15 May 2018 and awarded on 25 April 2019. Alexander Dennis and ST Engineering Land Systems would deliver 50 buses each, namely the Alexander Dennis Enviro500 and the MAN A95 (Euro 6).
Tender specifications for the three-door double-deck bus call for one entrance and two exit doors and the rearmost exit door must be behind the rear axle. In addition, the bus has two staircases and built in a low-floor design. Buses are also limited to a maximum length of 12.5 metres. These buses are also Euro 6 (or Euro VI)-compliant, representing the latest emission standards which came into effect since 1 January 2018 for all new diesel vehicles registered in Singapore.
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According to initial sightings in November 2020, the second staircase of the 3-door MAN A95 is located on the right side of the bus, with side- and rear-facing seats on the upper deck to accommodate a raised lower deck ceiling near the exit door. The rear overhang has also been lengthened to accommodate the third door, which is an outward-sliding single-leaf door. The existing wheelbase remains identical to the 12-metre MAN A95; in contrast, the wheelbase of the 12.8-metre MAN A95 (3-Door) Concept Bus was manually extended by welding extension bars in the middle.
Existing LTA requirements for new buses include two wheelchair bays; a Passenger Information Display System (PIDS) comprising LED text displays, LCD display screens and interior speakers; Advanced Driver Assistance System and Anti-Fatigue system; high-definition CCTV cameras; and automatic passenger counters at entrance and exit doors of the bus.
Transition to clean energy bus fleet
The 100 three-door double-deck buses under Contract PT342 are the last pure-diesel buses to be procured for the Singapore public bus industry.
Authorities announced during the Committee of Supply Debate 2019 that Singapore would commit to a 100% clean energy bus fleet by 2040. This commitment was further reaffirmed in the Committee of Supply Debate 2020 held in March, where it was announced that only electric or hybrid buses would henceforth be procured in line with this clean energy goal.
Design Features & Challenges
Prior to this tender, European bus manufacturers typically made fully-low-floor chassis targeted at their domestic left-hand-drive (LHD)-dominant market. As a result, drivetrain components are flushed to the left of the chassis to accommodate a full-low-floor design and an optional third door at the rear (example: Volvo B5LH drivetrain). The MAN A95 chassis is no different, with its engine and driveshaft on the left side of the vehicle. The drive axles used on the MAN A95 (ZF AV 133) are also configured only with the differential on the left side, thus requiring a left-side driveshaft connection.
Given that the tender called for a right-hand-drive (RHD), full-low-floor diesel bus with a third door at the rear overhang, bus manufacturers faced the challenge of modifying existing designs to fulfil this (relatively) small batch of buses in the most economical way. ST Engineering (Land Systems) and MAN managed to modify the existing MAN A95 chassis into a three-door bus without changing the drivetrain layout, but necessitated having a raised lower deck rear floorboard to accommodate underfloor components, particularly the drive shaft which lays between the engine and the drive axle.
As a result, the 3-door MAN A95 (Euro 6) buses are not fully-low-floor. The aisle area near the third door is raised by one step, and the additional headroom required on the lower deck protruded into the upper deck, necessitating a unique upper deck rear seating layout with side- and rear-facing seats.
Alighting from the rear door requires passengers to descend from two steps. A similar rear exit staircase is featured on the MAN Lion’s City SD 3-Door Concept Bus, but with three steps.
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The rear alighting staircase on the 3-door MAN A95 (Euro 6) buses faces the rear end of the bus. It is believed that feedback from the revenue service trial of the MAN A95 (3-Door) Concept Bus (SG5999Z) was unfavourable with regards to the safety of the front-facing alighting staircase, which put passengers at risk of falling forwards when the bus had to brake suddenly. A retractable barrier was retrofitted after its debut, which prevents upper deck commuters from accessing the rear staircase when the bus is in motion, and only opens when the bus is at a stop.
Under exemptions to existing Road Traffic rules, the 3-door buses under Contract PT342 are allowed to be longer than 12 m (max. 12.5 m), have a longer vehicle rear overhang (>60% of wheelbase allowed), have a greater turning circle (>19 m diameter), and have passenger doors narrower than 1.2m width (likely for the third door only).
Exemption for 3-door Omnibus (Click to expand)- 6(1) – The overall length of a motor vehicle, other than an articulated vehicle, shall not exceed 12 metres.
- 44(1) – Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), the overhang of a motor vehicle shall not exceed 60% of the distance between the plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle which passes through the centre or centres of the front wheel or wheels and the foremost vertical plane from which the overhang is to be measured as defined in rule 2.
44(2) – The Registrar may permit the overhang of a public service vehicle to be more than 60% but less than 65% of the distance referred to in paragraph (1). - 60(1) – Every vehicle shall be so constructed as to be capable of turning in either direction in a circle which does not exceed in diameter 19 metres.
- 77(1)(d) – Other than an emergency exit, every entrance and exit of a vehicle registered on or after 15 February 2006 but before 1 July 2019 as an omnibus shall be at least 1,200 millimetres and shall be fitted with a centre stanchion bar in such manner as the Registrar may specify.
- 77(1)(e) – Other than an emergency exit, every entrance and exit of a vehicle registered on or after 1 July 2019 as an omnibus shall be at least 1,200 millimetres.
MAN A95 Public Buses
| MAN A95 (Euro 5) | ||||||
| Batch | Number |
Registration | Engine | Gearbox | Introduced | Bodywork |
| Demonstrator | 1 | SMB5888H | MAN D2066 LUH-33 | ZF EcoLife 6 AP 2000 B | 2014 | MAN Lion’s City DD / Gemilang Coachworks |
| Production Batch 1 | 16 | SMB5889E -SMB5904U | 2015 | |||
| Production Batch 2 | 60 | SG5740C – SG5799J | 2016 | |||
| Production Batch 3 | 121 | SG5800M – SG5920A | 2017 | |||
| 3 Door Concept Bus | 1 | SG5999Z | 2017 | |||
| MAN A95 (Euro 6) | ||||||
| Initial Unit (Production Batch 3) |
1 | SG2017C | MAN D2066 LUH-51 | ZF EcoLife 6 AP 2000 B Voith DIWA 864.6 (SG6029S) |
2017 | MAN Lion’s City DD / Gemilang Coachworks |
| Production Batch 1 | 250 | SG5921Y – SG5998B, SG6000Z – SG6171M | 2018 | |||
| Production Batch 2 | 111 | SG6172K – SG6282B | ZF EcoLife 6 AP 2000 B | 2020 | ||
| Production Batch 3 (3-Door Batch) |
50 | SG6283Z – SG6332R | TBC | 2021 | ||
Photo Gallery
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Video
Retrieved from Facebook: Eunice Chia-Lim
Main Article:
See Also:
- MAN A95 – Lion’s City DD (3-Door) Concept Bus | Land Transport Guru
- 100 Three-door Double-Decker Buses Procured by LTA | Land Transport Guru
- MAN Lion’s City SD – 3-door Concept Bus | Land Transport Guru – MAN A22 low-floor chassis modified as a three-door bus, with alighting steps at the rear
External Links & References:
- LTA | News Room | News Releases | LTA Awards Contract for 100 Three-Door Buses to Two Tenderers (Accessed 25 Nov 2020)
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The post MAN A95 (Euro 6) – 3-Door Batch first appeared on Land Transport Guru.