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Volvo Super Olympian, also known as B10TL, is the low-floor replacement of the 3-axle version of Volvo Olympian double decker (its 2-axle version was replaced by Volvo B7TL). There are 492 12m buses and 100 10.6m buses in KMB, and 103 12m buses in NWFB.
History
Volvo Super Olympian was conceived in 1998. The chassis was sent to Hong Kong for UITP held in the same year, and then the chassis was sent back to UK.
In 1999, a prototype for Kowloon Motor Bus passed the tilt test of the Transport Department in May 1999 and was ready to be introduced. It was licensed in August 1999 as JE1672, numbered 3ASV3 and used as the official bus of the cover of KMB annual report 1998.
On the other hand, the body assembly of NWFB's first batch of Super Olympians was finished and painted in Scotland, and all buses were introduced in 1999.
Chassis
The chassis of Super Olympian was based on Volvo Olympian. The front radiator was moved to the back of the first axle for 12m version, or in front of the second axle for 10.6m version (it was due to shorter wheelbase). Due to the change of chassis design, the steering function of the second axle was no longer used. However, the suspension is soft, making passengers comfortable. The overall design is ideal for long-distance routes, such as 68X, 968.
A 11.3m version of Super Olympian was also available, but none were built.
Initially, the B10TL chassis were built in Volvo's factory in Irvine, Scotland. After the closure of the factory in mid-2000, production was moved to Wroclaw, Poland.
The engine was Volvo D10A285. The power of D10A285 was only 285hp, compared to 305hp of Cummins M11-305E used on Neoplan Centroliner and Dennis Trident 3, and 335hp of Cummins ISMe Euro III used on Dennis Trident 3/Enviro 500.
There are several nicknames of this bus model, which mean that the bus is not powerful enough. The most common are 豬, 扒 and 豬扒 (The latter is made from the word "Super").
Exterior
The body fitted on most of the bus was Alexander ALX500, which is also used on Dennis Tridents. Out of all 492 buses of KMB, 21 of them use Volgren CR223LD.
As the main components were placed at the front to facilitate low-floor design, there is a long T-place of 3.40m, which is suitable for T-banner and allover advertisements.
On the other hand, the rear indicators are also different from Trident. Indicators outside the engine compartment were supplied by Volvo.
Interior
Driving cab
The driving cab of Super Olympian was similar to that of Olympians. There was also enough space for the Octopus card system.
Decks
For 12m version Super Olympian, there were 8 seats on the low-floor area for KMB ones, and 7 for NWFB ones.
But for 10.6m version, the low-floor area is occupied by the exit door and the wheelchair space, and there are no seats on the low-floor area. There are horizontal seats at the lower deck due to the radiator and air tanks, and a pair of them was "raised" due to the ___location of the grid.
Due to the tradition of Olympian, the corridors of the decks were wide. The handrails were curved.
Air-conditioning
The air-conditioning was made by Denso. But about 3 of them (including KMB 3ASV119) have Sütrak air conditioner.
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Services
Kowloon Motor Bus
The first batch of 3ASV
The first batch, numbered as 3ASV1-61, was introduced in 1999 and allocated to long-distance routes such as 81C, 68X and 968. The Volvo engine and the transmission take advantage of long-distances. They were equipped with Volvo D10A285 engine, ZF 4HP590 gearbox and plastic route display. All of them, except the prototype 3ASV3, had narrow 2+2 seats on the upper deck which were unpopular among passengers.
The second and third batch of 3ASV
On the second (3ASV62-91) and third (3ASV92-141) batch, the route display was changed to electronic route display and the gearbox was changed to ZF 5HP590. The buses were allocated to 42A, 89X, 101, etc. When 43B added air-conditioned buses on 2 October 2004, some of those buses were used on the route.
3ASV78 (JP6375) was the 3000th Walter Alexander-bodied bus supplied to KMB. 3ASV141 (JZ6467) was the first KMB bus to meet Euro III emission standard.
The fourth to final batch of 3ASV
The fourth to final batch of Volvo Super Olympians (3ASV142-492) entered service in 2001 and 2002. All of these buses had their chassis built in Poland. They had their D10A285 engines built to meet Euro III emission standard and had ALCOA front wheels. 21 of these buses were fitted with Volgren CR223LD body.
They were allocated to most routes, including 6 (passengers complained that TransBus Enviro 500s were allocated to this route just less than a year later), 42C, 277X, etc..
3ASV492 (KW1624) is the last bus of this model. This does not mark the end of Volvo low-floor buses. Volvo also offered B9TL prototype to KMB. KMB has 1 B9TL with TransBus Enviro 500 bodywork.
The 10.6m version (ASV1-100)
The first batch of the 10.6m version bus were introduced in 2001 and were numbered ASV1-49. They are equipped with D10A285 Euro II engines.
ASV50, which was put into service in 2002, was a prototype short-wheelbase B10TL (chassis built in 1999), and also the only short-wheelbase B10TL built in Scotland. It is equipped with an Euro III version of D10A285 engine and ZF 4HP590 gearbox rather than 5HP590 in other ASVs.
ASV51-100 are known as the second batch, they are equipped with the Euro III version D10A285 engines as well. The two batches are almost identical, but the second batch has a slightly different interior - this batch has a moulded panel shield and the floor is coated with a new texture. However, only 24 of the batch had been put into service in 2003. The remaining 26 were stored for more than 1 year, and they were put into service since late 2004.
KMB route 64K, which runs between Yuen Long and Tai Po via Lam Kam Road, had used these buses in the past, but they seem incapable of running on Lam Kam Road, so they were replaced by Dennis Trident of the same length, which are more powerful. Routes 92 and 96R, etc. also use this version of Super Olympian.
New World First Bus
NWFB bought 103 Super Olympian in 5 batches, all are 12 metres long.
The first batch (5001-5040) were introduced in 1999. Then the second batch (5041-5060), which have their side route number boxes moved to lower position, entered service in 2000/2001. 5060 was the first Super Olympian chassis built in Poland.
The third batch (5061-5079) of NWFB Super Olympian, entered service in 2001, were equipped with the Euro III version of D10A285 engine and ALCOA front wheels. They were followed by the fourth batch (5080-5089) later in the same year, among this batch of buses, 5080-5086 had their registration numbers originated from ex-CMB buses and service cars. The final batch (5090-5103), introduced in 2002, had their rear route number boxes raised to the above of the emergency window.
When the first batch were introduced, they were allocated to 8P, 680, etc. In 2001, when NWFB got the right to open routes in Tseung Kwan O (route 79x-series), the second batch of buses were allocated to these routes, 694 (now running at a loss), 792M (formerly 792), 796B, 796C, 796M (cancelled right upon the commencement of MTR Tseung Kwan O Line) and 796X (formerly 296X of KMB) use or used those buses. The last batch were allocated mainly to routes 82 and 682 serving the Chai Wan district.
Singapore orders
Super Olympian buses are also in service in Singapore. In Autumn 1999, Volvo delivered one Volgren CR222LD-bodied B10TL (body assembled in Australia) to Singapore Bus Service as demonstrator. This bus had electronic display and the chassis was built in UK. It was registered SBS9888Y and entered service in October 1999.
Later, Singapore Bus Service (now SBS Transit) ordered 51 Volvo B10TL chassis. They had Voith DIWA863.3 gearbox, rather than ZF 5HP590 gearbox in SBS9888Y, and unlike the examples introduced at the same time in Hong Kong, their front wheels were not ALCOA products. On the other hand, only the chassis of SBS9810X was built in UK, the others were built in Poland.
Among these 51 buses, 50 of them were fitted with Volgren bodywork and registered SBS9800A-SBS9849K. The body of SBS9810X was assembled in Australia, and it was equipped with electronic display, other bodies were delivered to Singapore as kits. SBS9800A entered service in April 2002 and the others entered service in early 2003. The last one was fitted with ComfortDelgro Engineering bodywork, it was registered SBS9889U and finally entered service in March 2005.