Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA) has committed to having a 100 per cent cleaner energy bus fleet by 2040, and will be purchasing only cleaner energy buses henceforth.
As part of LTA's vision to reduce the carbon footprint of public transport, 60 electric buses were procured under a tender awarded in October 2018. The tender comprised 20 single-deck electric buses each from BYD and ST Engineering Land Systems, as well as 10 single-deck and 10 double-deck electric buses from the Yutong-NARI Consortium.
These buses have been progressively arriving in Singapore since the fourth quarter of 2019 and will be fully deployed by 2021.
LTA said in a press statement that the 60 buses will help the authorities understand the operational and technical challenges that come with the wider deployment and maintenance of electric buses under Singapore's tropical climate and traffic conditions.
This will in turn enable LTA to calibrate its approach in adopting electric buses in the future.
Besides environmental benefits, passengers can also expect quieter bus journeys and more commuter-friendly features on these buses. The new buses are also equipped with passenger information display systems for showing route-specific information such as upcoming bus stops and destinations.