Prasarana is targeting to have a fully electric bus fleet by 2037, reports The Star. The transition is set to be implemented in phases, taking into account infrastructure preparedness, energy supply systems, operation costs and service needs.
“There are no plans to procure new diesel-powered buses. The focus will instead be on acquiring electric buses for future fleet expansion and replacement,” a Prasarana spokesperson told the English-language daily when contacted.
Prasarana subsidiary Rapid Bus has awarded a contract for the procurement of 250 EV buses. The first batch is expected to begin operations next month. The Sunway Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service has been using EV buses since its 2015 inception – it’s the world’s first BRT with fully electric buses on an elevated route.
“This implementation demonstrates that electric bus technology is both viable and effective within the local operating environment,” Prasarana told The Star.
Transport minister Anthony Loke said earlier this year that at over RM1 million a unit, EV buses are on average almost twice as expensive as diesel buses to procure.
By 2030, Prasarana aims to roll out 1,045 EV buses, or 30% of its entire fleet, in KL and Penang.
Rapid KL EV bus at IGEM 2023
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Who owns Prasarana? KWSP.
Who owns KWSP? MOF.
Who the boss of MOF? PMX.
Tq PMX for giving us buses which are silent and zero emissions.
I suddenly feel better
Hey there….I guess there is no one in the writing room that had recently board the Sunway BRT…since due to some unexplained reasons (most probably Prasarana being Prasarana meant thyt didn’t really procure the replacement battery for the 10 year old electric buses) and also to increase it frequency, had been utilizing diesel buses as well (or even fully utilizing diesel buses based on the few observation that had been made) for the past few years…
2037? Might as well say 2073?
Syukur, hopefully, we can hit this milestone early! A diesel version is perfect for long-haul drives on the new Pan Borneo Highway. It’s great to see infrastructure and vehicle options coming together for the Rakyat’s benefit—definitely a win for connectivity under the current leadership’s efforts.
It feels out of place and is arguably the least of the issues. Resources would be better spent on upgrading the infrastructure or implementing a more well‑structured system — for example, increasing the frequency of buses, regardless of the powertrain used.