Singaporeans who depend on buses for their daily commute would’ve noticed more and more electric buses on the road.
Their numbers are about to get even bigger as the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has purchased 360 more of these buses.
They will hit Singapore’s roads from December 2024.
Source: Ministry of Transport, Singapore on Facebook
Interestingly, all of them will have three sets of doors.
In a news release on Saturday (25 Nov), LTA said that two contracts had been inked to buy electric buses.
BYD (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. secured the first one for about S$108.1 million and will provide 240 buses.
Meanwhile, Cycle & Carriage Automotive Pte. Limited, which partners with Chinese bus manufacturing company Zhongtong Bus, won the second contract.
They will provide 120 buses for about S$58.3 million.
Source: Land Transport Authority – We Keep Your World Moving on Facebook, for illustration purposes only
That means the total amount both companies will pay for the 360 buses will be about S$166.4 million.
More electric buses mean a greater need for charging systems.
Thus, two contracts were awarded to install vehicle charging systems at three bus depots.
Source: Land Transport Authority – We Keep Your World Moving on Facebook
Busways Pte Ltd/Shell Singapore Pte Ltd Consortium will supply these systems at Sengkang West and East Coast depots, for a contract sum of S$31.3 million.
For the third location — Gali Batu Bus Depot — Presico Engineering Pte Ltd will install the systems for a contract sum of about S$14.8 million.
When the battery-operated buses are finally in operation, commuters can look forward to sitting on single-deck buses with three doors — one in front, one in the middle and one at the back.
The third door at the back will encourage commuters to move to the rear for better commuter flow.
Source: Land Transport Authority – We Keep Your World Moving on Facebook
Besides that, the new buses will have:
However, we will still have to wait for more than a year to get on the buses.
That’s because operators will progressively deploy them for passenger service only from December 2024.
The plan is for them to replace diesel buses that are reaching the end of their statutory lifespan.
Likewise, the installation of the new charging systems at the three bus depots will only commence progressively from December 2024.
According to LTA, this is the first time Singapore has awarded large-scale tenders for electric buses.
It probably won’t be the last, though, as the LTA aims to have a bus fleet that runs on 100% clean energy by 2040.
Thus, electric buses are expected to make up half of our public bus fleet by 2030, with the authority adding,
More tenders for electric buses and infrastructure upgrades to support their operation and maintenance will be called in the coming years.
The last time new electric buses were launched in Singapore was in August 2021, when 20 three-door buses were progressively deployed.
They were added to the existing fleet, which numbered just 40 at the time.
That means from December next year, Singapore will have a total of 420 such buses on the roads.
As they’ll soon be an increasingly common sight across the island, we’ll be looking forward to taking them more regularly.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from Ministry of Transport, Singapore on Facebook.
The crash was due to a bird strike, according to preliminary information.
The 8-year-old boy survived after his noose snapped while he was struggling.
They calmly picked apart the purported scammer's story by pointing out the inconsistencies.
Several stacks of half-burnt 1,000-baht banknotes were found after the fire was put out.
The woman's leg was reportedly severed in the accident.
Their family hopes the authorities can continue the search for their remains.