1 in 2 public buses to be electric by 2030

Half of Singapore’s public bus fleet will be powered by electric buses by 2030, as announced in the Committee of Supply Joint Segment on Singapore Green Plan 2030 on 8 March 2022.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) aims to have half of its public bus fleet be electric by 2030. This is about 3,000 buses, as mentioned in a speech by Minister for Transport, Mr S Iswaran.

This is also in line with the Land Transport Master Plan 2040, where LTA has committed to a 100% cleaner energy public bus fleet by 2040.

All bus buys from now till 2030 will primarily be electric.
– Land Transport Authority

While earlier commitments to clean energy buses had left the door open for the possibility for hybrid or electric buses, this announcement is the first firm commitment that electric buses have been selected for the large-scale replacement of diesel buses.

Over 400 diesel buses will also be replaced by 2025 as they reach the end of the statutory lifespan.

LTA will replace over 400 diesel buses with electric buses by 2025.
-S Iswaran

These buses would include:

• Scania K230UB (Euro IV) – 501 units
  (Lifespan expiry Oct 2024 – Jan 2026)
• Mercedes-Benz OC500LE (Euro V) – 134 units
  (Lifespan expiry Jun 2025 – Sep 2026)

Currently, 60 electric public buses procured by LTA in 2018 are operating on Singapore’s roads. The contract, which was fulfilled by three tenderers, included a mix of charging solutions with BYD and Yutong opting for overnight charging at depots, and ST Engineering/Linkker buses opting for opportunity charging (via pantograph) at bus interchanges.

It remains to be seen which charging solution will be adopted by LTA at scale.

The CRRC TEG6125BEV03 electric bus currently on trial with Go-Ahead Singapore uses NARI chargers at Loyang Depot.

References

• Speech by Minister for Transport, Mr S Iswaran at the Committee of Supply Joint Segment on Singapore Green Plan 2030 – Ministry of Transport
• Land Transport Authority Facebook Post
• Reducing Peak Land Transport Emissions by 80% – Land Transport Authority