The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has removed the requirement for mandatory fully low-floor interiors in its latest tender for 660 new electric buses (Contract PT602).
As of October 2025, the tender notice on the Government Procurement site GeBIZ was updated to remove the Full Low Floor requirement from a list of critical specifications required for the new buses.
The move marks a reversal in more than a decade of bus design policy. Since 2012, nearly all new public buses introduced in Singapore have featured a fully low-floor layout — a design favoured for its step-free accessibility and ease of passenger movement.
Earlier in October 2025, LTA disclosed plans to modify an earlier batch of 420 electric buses following public complaints about high internal steps and raised seating areas.
Low-floor bus challenges
Singapore’s transition to low-floor buses began in the early 2010s, following the earlier introduction of low-entry buses in the late 2000s to meet new wheelchair accessibility requirements. While low-entry buses offered step-free access only in the front and middle sections, the shift to fully low-floor models by SBS Transit and SMRT provided a continuously flat aisle and step-free interior for passengers throughout the cabin.
This era saw the introduction of familiar low-floor models such as the MAN A22 and A95, Mercedes-Benz Citaro, and Volvo B9TL, which quickly became the mainstay of Singapore’s public bus fleet.
Following the introduction of the Bus Contracting Model in 2016, LTA began directly procuring buses through tenders with tightly defined technical requirements. In recent years, this included specifications for fully low-floor layouts, three doors, and two wheelchair bays.
However, the combination of these requirements has proven difficult to achieve without compromise. The most recent batch — 420 three-door electric buses from BYD and Zhongtong — drew criticism from many commuters. Most seats could only be accessed by climbing steps as high as 34 centimetres, leaving only four out of 28 seats at aisle level. The design raised safety and comfort concerns, particularly for elderly passengers and those carrying heavy items.
In response, the LTA had acknowledged the shortcomings of the initial design, and also committed to modify these buses to reduce step heights. Modifications will be carried out from October 2025.
Rationale for change
Fully low-floor designs leave little room beneath the passenger cabin for large components. In electric buses, this area is occupied by the electric drivetrain, traction batteries, electrical systems, cooling systems, and wiring. While some components like batteries can be mounted on the roof, doing so has practical limitations due to effects on the bus’s centre of gravity, affecting stability.
As a result, to maintain a completely flat floor, manufacturers have had to raise seat platforms and build over wheel wells and equipment housings — leading to steep internal steps and narrower aisles toward the back. Although these buses remain technically “fully low-floor,” the design compromises have made them less comfortable and less convenient to move around.
By relaxing the requirement for a fully low-floor design, LTA gives manufacturers more flexibility to lower step heights, and hopefully improve overall interior ergonomics. This may result in a low-entry configuration, with one or two gentle steps mid-way through the cabin to accommodate underfloor components. Given the continued requirement for three-door layouts, the rear floor is unlikely to be as high as older low-entry models such as the Scania K230UB or Mercedes-Benz OC500LE.
Rather than a step backwards, this policy change could represent a practical shift to accommodate real-world design constraints of electric buses, while ensuring that bus design remains user-centric and friendly to Singapore’s ageing population.
Critical Criteria (PT602 tender)
Tender notice per Government Procurement site GeBIZ:
- Compliance with Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Construction and Use) Rules
- Right-hand drive electric buses
- A configuration with one entrance and two exits
Low-floor bus interior- Provision of two wheelchair bays
- Two staircases for double-deck bus options (Base Offer 2)
UK, European and Japanese buses will be better. Period.
All kaki langs mah persuade LTA to buy BYD and Zhongtongs, I prefer Japanese and European better..
I dont like cheap byd and chinese made buses. Look at the seams, they are full of silicon sealant. Also lool closely at thenplastic materials, they are elcheapo materials. I also dont believe in full electric as they ultimately still requirencharging which draws on the grid the power of which is generated thru gas turbine generating green house gas and not green. EV is a hoax. Eventually it will fail as it is a smoke screen to go green but its not in reality. Hydrogen powered vehicles are green.
Typical Anglo Saxon and short-sighted mindset. Throwing worries as an excuse to cancel the fundamental purpose for the proposed LT changes. Don’t act like over 60 years old and expect spoon fed by the government for everything.
There we go again. EV hoax. Classic.
Wonder who decided to purchase these buses without thorough assessment.
Other than high steps the seats look very ugly and the positions are awkward. Please also replace all the seats.
As a senior citizen above 60, my wife and I nearly tripped a couple of times boarding these useless buses !
Yeah, these buses make sing road look like peikin (beijing). Not thatnits bad, but not the right association politically in this era 😆
True. I get uncomfortable whenever stepped inside the public service electric bus. The layout design is terrible 😕.
Very squeezy design.
I reckon with this new flexibility, we will see buses whose 3rd door will have steps like MAN A95 3-door.
In the first place why even need a 3rd door for a 12m single decker bus? With the 2 wheelchair bays there already, thats already eating up alot of seats and worst still many are backward seats. The layout of the BYD B12 & Zhongtong N12 is honestly a big mess! Single deckers shouldnt need a 3rd door unless 12.5m given the lack of seats already. Should stick with 12.5m for 3 door buses to be honest. LTA blundered up big time with these ev bus purchases, hopefully the next batch of buses wont be that bad but im doubtful. I wonder why in the first place the steps couldnt be shorter like with the Citaros or A22s, theirs arent that high. Whats the point of low floor if theres still super high steps in the buses. These new ev buses i feel is even less elderly friendly then the ones we already have. The BYD & Zhongtong only have 4 seats at normal level, every other seats including the elderly friendly ones are high up, even Scania KUB is much better than these, the steps arent that high and if its the Euro V, it has about 7 seats at normal level. Did they not get feedback from the people that rode the demo buses back when they were on trial- how were these even accepted in the first place?
Exactly, lesser seats and lesser space due to the battery pack and it’s still 12m. Yet people still standing by LTA decision.
Scrap the EV. Dont go EV for the sake of EV. Its , lack of a better way to describe: stupid !
Honestly, after reading comments, I think LRA must promote bicycle further because EV also has serious achelles heel of needing charging. If the grid fails like heat wave and high spike air con consumption burns generator due to failure from overcapacity, the buses and trains all will stall and whole island is like lockdown.
In this regard, NS has failed because citizens refuse to maintain bicycle as instant backup option.
My dream is Singapore produce explosion proof e-bicycles because the PMD technology has potential (as shown by the escooters overtaking cars on Singapore expressway) and the future 24/7 lifestyle means substantial people might well be digital nomads and deal with west from Singapore based, so they will rely on electric bikes for affordable transport where COE and PHV are not within budget.
And even e-bicycles are probably better than buses, since by definition, they are optimally or better used, compared to public bus which has to operate with big reserve capacity and still cannot meet performance of personal e-bicycle 24/7 availability.
3rd door is quite a bad move. Reflects the intelligence of policy makers and leaders 😄😁😆😅🤣🤢🤮
Totally agreed..because the policy makers do not take public buses. They commute in other forms. If there is drone taxi,they will take it