Singaporean SBS Transit enters deal with Stratio to implement predictive maintenance fleet-wide  

Largest Singapore public bus operator SBS Transit has entered a cooperation with Stratio that “will boost service reliability of SBS Transit’s buses through a fleet-wide implementation of predictive maintenance technology”.

This marks the first-ever deployment of predictive maintenance of this scale representing 62% of Singapore’s public bus fleet, Stratio states. 

Powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) algorithms, the solution by Portuguese Stratio provides an early warning system that enables technicians to anticipate and correct faults before they can lead to bus breakdowns. 

SBS Transit goes with Stratio for predictive maintenance

In April 2022, SBS Transit started installing this system on 1,000 of its buses and experienced at least a 20% drop in bus breakdowns, according to the supplier.  With positive feedback, it has begun to install it fleet-wide where work is expected to complete by end-2024. With the deployment of this technology across more than 3,000 SBS Transit’s buses, its maintenance teams will gain real-time visibility over critical systems and components such as brakes, electric systems, and fluid levels, and will be able to remotely monitor data from over 200 vehicle parameters. This will effectively minimise downtime, save costs, and enhance passengers’ experience.

With this new phase of roll-out, Stratio adds, “the system will also be equipped with the ability to predict faults with the bus air-conditioning system where failures related to it rank among the top three leading causes of bus repairs. Being able to spot early signs of trouble to intervene would improve the commuters’ experience. With this added feature, which was jointly developed successfully between both partners in the initial phase, SBS Transit’s technicians will receive detailed fault reports whenever a deviation in the bus internal temperature is detected to enable them to carry out corrective works to maintain passenger comfort”.

The Stratio bus condition monitoring system will also be piloted on the electric buses that SBS Transit operates. This will mark a first for electric buses to be installed with a bus condition monitoring system locally. Significantly, it will monitor the state of health of the bus’ battery pack for operational efficiency and effectiveness. As part of the collaboration, both partners will also work on refining condition monitoring features that are better suited to Singapore’s weather and road conditions that could extend their lifecycle, support operations, and ensure a successful transition to zero emission buses. This will involve collecting relevant data as part of the process and this project is expected to complete by end-2025, says the Portuguese company.

SBS Transit looking to increase service reliability

Mr Jeffrey Sim, Group Chief Executive Officer of SBS Transit, said: “We are committed to bus service reliability as part of our efforts to promote public transport usage. It is also aligned with our sustainable mobility roadmap. With this bus condition monitoring system, we are able to anticipate faults and undertake predictive maintenance and contribute to better service reliability and elevate our passengers’ travel experience.

“SBS Transit is at the forefront of a global revolution in transport technology. We are thrilled to extend our partnership to expand cost savings and efficiency gains to their entire Singapore operation,” said Rui Sales, President and co-founder of Stratio. “This collaboration reinforces Singapore’s reputation for having one of the finest transportation systems globally,” he added.