Electric buses to serve Singapore commuters from 2020

Channel NewsAsia 24 Oct 18;

SINGAPORE: Electric public buses will hit the roads from 2020, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Wednesday (Oct 24) as it announced the award of S$50 million worth of contracts to three suppliers.

Sixty buses, of which 10 are double-deck, will provide commuters with quieter and smoother rides, said LTA.

It added that the buses will progressively arrive in Singapore from next year, with the final batch due in 2020.

"These buses will also be equipped with new Passenger Information Display Systems, which provide commuters with audio and visual information about their journey," said LTA in a media release.

The first contract, worth about S$17 million, was awarded to BYD (Singapore) for 20 single-deck electric buses.

The second contract, worth about S$15 million, was awarded to ST Engineering Land Systems for 20 single-deck electric buses.

Yutong-NARI Consortium won the third contract worth about S$18 million to supply 10 single-deck and 10 double-deck electric buses.

LTA said that in evaluating the bids, various aspects such as the companies' relevant experience, track records, technical capabilities and compliance with local regulations were considered.

"The three winning bidders had submitted high quality and competitive proposals and as such, the tender was eventually awarded to multiple suppliers to allow LTA to test out different charging technologies available in the market," said the transport authority.

It added that the first 60 electric buses will help authorities understand the operational and technical challenges that come with the wider deployment and maintenance of electric buses in local weather and traffic conditions.

Details on the deployment of the electric buses will be announced later.

Last year, it was announced in Parliament that LTA would call tenders to buy 50 hybrid buses and 60 electric buses as part of Singapore's push towards a more environmentally friendly transport system.

Source: CNA/ad(gs)


60 electric buses worth S$50m to hit the road in 2020
FARIS MOKHTAR Today Online 23 Oct 18;

SINGAPORE — Sixty electric buses from three suppliers will hit the road in 2020, providing commuters with quieter and smoother rides, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Wednesday (Oct 24).

The buses, worth S$50 million, will arrive in Singapore from next year and the routes they will ply will be announced at a later date.

The LTA said it awarded the tender to multiple suppliers in order to test the different charging technologies available in the market.

The three suppliers of the electric buses are:

BYD (Singapore), which will supply 20 single-deck electric buses in a contract worth S$17 million. BYD is a Shenzhen-based automaker

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

Yutong-NARI Consortium, a Chinese consortium, which will supply 10 single-deck and 10 double-deck electric buses in a contract worth about S$18 million.

The buses, which will be equipped with systems that provide commuters with audio and visual information about their journey, are part of the LTA’s efforts to build a more environmentally friendly public bus fleet.

Last year, the LTA bought 50 diesel hybrid buses from Volvo East Asia for S$30 million and said the buses would be put in service by the second half of this year.

Former Second Minister for Transport Ng Chee Meng said in March last year that an issue with pure-electric technology is that it is not fully proven yet for tropical climates, due in part to the vehicles consuming a lot of energy for air-conditioning.

The 60 electric buses will help the LTA to better understand the operational and technical challenges that come with the wider deployment of such buses under local tropical weather and traffic conditions, it said.

In evaluating the bids, the LTA said it considered factors such as the track records of the firms, their technical capabilities, adherence to requirements and compliance with local regulations.


Contracts worth $50 million for 60 electric buses awarded to 3 firms: LTA
Tee Zhuo Straits Times 24 Oct 18;

SINGAPORE - The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has awarded tenders to three firms for 60 electric buses, in its latest move to introduce more green vehicles for public transport.

The total sum of the three contracts is $50 million.

The buses will arrive in Singapore starting from next year, with the final batch delivered in 2020, LTA said in a statement on Wednesday (Oct 24).

Details of deployment of the buses will be announced closer to the implementation date, it added.

BYD (Singapore) and ST Engineering Land Systems were both awarded contracts for 20 single-deck electric buses, worth $17 million and $15 million respectively.

Yutong-NARI Consortium was awarded an $18 million contract for 10 single-deck and 10 double-deck electric buses.

LTA awarded the tender to multiple suppliers to test out different charging technologies available in the market, the authority said.

It considered various aspects when evaluating bids, including relevant experience, track record, technical capabilities, flexibility of solutions, adherence to requirements and compliance with local regulations.

The procurement of the electric buses is part of the authority's efforts to build a more environmentally friendly public bus fleet, LTA added.

"These buses will also be equipped with new passenger information display systems, which provide commuters with audio and visual information about their journey," it said.

Wednesday’s announcement is a further step in the Government’s plans to make public buses more environmentally friendly.

LTA first tested an electric bus on a public route two years ago. The Straits Times reported in August 2016 that LTA was working with Shenzhen-based BYD and bus operator Go-Ahead Singapore on a six-month trial for such buses.

It was announced in Parliament March last year that LTA would be expanding its trial of green buses by calling tenders to buy 50 hybrid buses and 60 electric buses.

Then Second Minister for Transport Ng Chee Meng said: “A problem with pure-electric technology is that it is not fully proven yet for tropical climates, in part because vehicles operating here consume a lot of energy for air-conditioning.”

In October the same year, the authority said it was planning to buy 50 Volvo diesel-electric hybrid buses for $30 million.