SINGAPORE — Electric buses that will ply Singapore roads from next year were on display at Ulu Pandan Bus Depot on Monday (Nov 11).

Compared with existing diesel-fuelled buses, the entire front half of the new e-buses — up to the exit door — consists of reserved seats.

The front entrance does not have a centre pole, to allow easier access for parents with open strollers.

The capacity is also reduced — from 35 sitting and 56 standing on a regular diesel bus, to 28 sitting and 52 standing for a single-deck e-bus. A double-deck e-bus can accommodate 120 passengers, compared with 133 for the diesel version.

The buses were unveiled on the sidelines of a graduation ceremony for a group of technicians after completing a certification course.

Sixty of these electric buses will progressively begin operations starting early next year, as part of a shift towards “cleaner energy” buses. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) aims to have its entire fleet comprise of such buses by 2040.

When these 60 buses are deployed, the annual CO2 carbon emissions reduced from buses will be equivalent to that of 1,700 passenger cars.

LTA said that electric buses have lower CO2 carbon emissions than regular diesel buses, and can provide commuters with a “quieter and more comfortable” travel experience.

With an electric motor, the ambient noise level on the electric buses will be around 75 decibels, 3 decibels lower than that of a typical diesel bus in the current fleet.

Also on display was a diesel bus that had been converted to an electric version, a result of a trial to determine the feasibility of such conversions.

WHERE ARE THE BUSES FROM?

The fleet of electric buses are from three suppliers and cost S$50 million.

The suppliers are:

• ST Engineering Land Systems, which will provide 20 single-deck buses for a sum of about S$15 million.

• BYD (Singapore), which will supply 20 single-deck buses for S$17 million. BYD is a Shenzhen-based automaker.

• Yutong-NARI Consortium, a Chinese consortium, which will supply 10 single-deck and 10 double-deck buses for about S$18 million.

BYD and Yutong-NARI buses take approximately two to four hours to be fully charged, which allows it to travel for about 200 to 300km.

Specifications for the buses from ST Engineering have not been released.

The retrofitted electric bus takes about 10 minutes to charge and can travel for about 48km.