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10 electric double-decker buses hit S’pore roads; all 60 electric buses to be deployed by 2021

SINGAPORE — Electric double-decker public buses are now running on Singapore roads for the first time on Tuesday (Oct 27), the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said.

Double-decker electric buses are being used for bus services 83, 189 and 983.

Double-decker electric buses are being used for bus services 83, 189 and 983.

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SINGAPORE — Electric double-decker public buses are now running on Singapore roads for the first time on Tuesday (Oct 27), the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said.  

The 10 buses ply the bus service route 83, which is operated by GoAhead; service 189 by Tower Transit, and service 983 by SMRT. 

The vehicles were supplied by the Yutong-Nari consortium from China as part Singapore’s move towards a cleaner bus fleet by 2040. 

The buses are part of a procurement of 60 electric buses — 10 double-deckers and 50 single-deck buses — costing S$50 million. 

The single-deck buses have been progressively arriving in Singapore since the fourth quarter of last year with 15 already deployed, LTA said in an update on Tuesday.  

The rest will be fully deployed by next year.

When all electric buses are operational, carbon dioxide emissions from public buses will be reduced by about 7,840 tonnes a year. 

This is equivalent to the emissions from 1,700 passenger cars in a year.

Passengers may expect quieter bus journeys as an electric bus generates an ambient noise level of around 75 decibels — three decibels lower than that of the current Euro 6 diesel buses being used. 

LTA said that these electric buses will help the authority understand the operational and technical needs of such vehicles under Singapore’s tropical climate and traffic conditions.  

CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE 

The electric buses are supported by two types of charging infrastructure: Plug-in charging and pantograph charging.

A total of 40 buses will be powered by the plug-in charging method, which requires buses to be manually plugged with charger guns after the end of service.  

Showcasing the chargers, which have been built at Bulim Bus Depot in Jurong West, LTA said that the buses are charged at between 90kW and 150kW for two to four hours. 

On a full charge, they can run for 200km to 300km. 

Buses that use pantograph charging are charged for 10 to 15 minutes during their layover period at bus interchanges, at a higher power input of up to 450kW.

These buses will feature a connector on its roof that can be inserted into a pantograph charger mounted overhead at designated parking lots. 

Buses that use pantograph charging have smaller batteries onboard and a shorter operating mileage of up to 48km for each charge, LTA said.

Related topics

double-decker electric bus LTA carbon footprint environment

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