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 of 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.
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.
| Tenderer | Electric Buses | Charging Solution Offered |
| BYD (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. | 20 BYD K9 (Gemilang) | 150kW Overnight Cable Charging (ABB) @ Seletar Depot |
| ST Engineering Land Systems | 20 Linkker LM312 | 450kW Overhead Pantograph (ABB / OppCharge) @ Bedok ITH & Bukit Panjang ITH |
| Yutong-NARI Consortium | 10 Yutong E12DD 10 Yutong E12 |
90kW Overnight Cable Charging (NARI) @ Bulim Depot &Â Loyang Depot |
The CRRC TEG6125BEV03 electric bus previously on trial with Go-Ahead Singapore used NARI chargers at Loyang Depot.
November 2023 Procurement
On 25 November 2023, LTA awarded the contract to procure 360 units of 3-door single deck electric buses with an option of 60 additional buses (later announced in October 2024 to have been exercised) to 2 tenderers, namely:
| Buses | Awarded to | Contract sum | |
| 1 | 240 + 60 option exercised single-deck electric buses (BYD BC12A04 / Depot charging) |
BYD (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. (Contract PT601A) |
S$108.1 million (prior to option) |
| 2 | 120 single-deck electric buses (Zhongtong LCK6126EVG / Depot charging) |
Cycle & Carriage Automotive Pte. Ltd. (partnered with Zhongtong Bus) (Contract PT601B) |
S$58.3 million |
In addition, the LTA also awarded a separate tender, titled Electric Vehicles Charging System (EVCS) for Electric Buses (Reference no.: BD401), for installing charging infrastructure at various bus depots and bus interchanges to support the procurement of these buses.
| Chargers | Awarded to | Contract sum | |
| 1 | EV chargers at Sengkang West and East Coast Bus Depots (240 dual-gun 360kW chargers at Sengkang West Bus Depot) |
Busways Pte Ltd/Shell Singapore Pte Ltd Consortium (Contract BD401A) |
S$31.3 million |
| 2 | EV chargers at Gali Batu Bus Depot | Presico Engineering Pte Ltd (Contract BD401B) |
S$14.8 million |
Trial Buses
In line with LTA’s ongoing efforts to rapidly electrify the public bus fleet, many bus manufacturers have offered electric buses to LTA for trial. The following list includes 3-door buses designed for the Singapore market but yet to be offered to LTA for trial/commenced revenue service:
As of 10 Nov 2024:
| eBus Model | Registration | Units Supplied | Type | Bus Operator | Years in Operation |
| Ankai G9 |
SG4009M | 1 | 3-Door SD | SMRT | 2023–2024 |
| BYD B12A03 |
SG4013A | 1 | 3-Door SD | SBST | 2023– |
| BYD K9RC |
SG4005Z | 1 | 2-Door DD | SBST | 2022–2023 |
| BYD BC12A05 (B12DS) |
TBC | 1 | 3-Door DD | — | — |
| CRRC eD12 |
TBC | 1 | 3-Door DD | — | — |
| CRRC TEG6125BEV03 |
SG4006X | 1 | 3-Door SD | GAS | 2021–2023 |
| FTBCI FBC6120BRS7 |
SG4012C | 1 | 3-Door SD | GAS | 2023– |
| King Long XMQ6127 |
— | 1 | 3-Door SD | — | — |
| MAN Lion’s City E |
— | 1 | 2-Door SD | Sold to Private Operator (Leisuire Frontier) | – |
| LexSWITCH E12 SD | — | 1 | 3-Door SD | — | – |
| Scania e-Bus | TBC | 1 | 2-Door SD | — | — |
| Volvo BZL – SC Neustar City | SG4007T | 1 | 3-Door SD | TTS | 2023–2024 |
| Zhongtong LCK6126EVG (N12) | SG4010H | 1 | 3-Door SD | GAS | 2023–2024 |
| Zhongtong LCK6126EVGS (N12D) |
TBC | 1 | 3-Door DD | — | — |
Procurement Update
In an update by LTA in October 2024, LTA mentioned that they will be procuring more than 2,000 electric buses over the next five years to achieve the target of electrifying half of the public bus fleet by 2030.
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
- New Electric Bus Features for Safer and Inclusive Journeys – Land Transport Authority
You forgot to list Volvo B9TL CDGE in the buses to be replaced
Why is there no elecric buses in Bukt Merah area? I hope there are mor eelectric buses there in the future rather than concentrating them in the newer estates
i hope LTA to buy MB Citaro EV or Volvo BZL SD & DD
i hope to LTA buy more BYD K9 E12 E12DD LM312 Volvo BZL & MB Citaro EV
I think it is a good step to make all buses electric however we worry about the maintenance of such buses and the cost to maintain the charging ports to these buses.