Bus emits smoke in Punggol, forcing passengers to alight, Singapore News

He added: “The affected bus was towed to the depot for inspection. Preliminary checks found that coolant had leaked from a PVC pipe onto a hot component.

“This produced vapour that appeared to be smoke. There was no fire. Investigations are ongoing to determine the cause of the leak.

He also thanked passengers for their patience and co-operation during the incident.

Bus fires

After watching the video, some netizens wondered if the bus model is a Mercedes-Benz Citaro, which has been involved in several cases of bus fires this year.

In the first half of 2026, at least three cases of public bus fire involving this bus model were reported, according to the Ministry of Transport. No one was injured in the incidents.

In February, an SBS Transit bus went up in flames along the Pan Island Expressway (PIE). A month later, another SBS Transit bus caught fire while travelling along Tampines Expressway (TPE). A third bus was engulfed in flames near Woodgrove Primary School in May.

Responding to a parliamentary question in August, Senior Minister of State for Transport Murali Pillai said investigations showed that fire incidents involving Mercedes-Benz Citaro buses were caused by failures of different parts.

There is no indication of a common underlying cause, and the parts involved were also within their manufacturer-recommended useful life, he added.

As a precaution, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) also instructed public bus operators to carry out additional inspections on the Mercedes-Benz buses, and no abnormalities were found.

The authority is working with bus operators to improve the inspection regime for older buses and assess whether additional preventive measures can be implemented to reduce risk of fire, he said.

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yeo.shuhui@asiaone.com