Electric buses are too expensive for the government to introduce, transport minister Anthony Loke has said, according to BFM News.
Costs for purchasing EV buses are twice as much as those for purchasing conventional buses, and that “if it were possible, we would want all bus fleets to be EV bus fleets,” Loke told the Dewan Rakyat. A further challenge is that there are not enough charging points to ensure the electric buses are fully utilised, he added.
The transport ministry also welcomes ideas for ways to obtain more affordable electric buses for public transportation, Loke said in the Dewan Rakyat session. “We welcome ideas, just as how Sarawak has introduced its first hydrogen-powered bus service under a joint pilot project,” he said.
1. It is too expensive for the government to introduce electric-powered buses, says Transport Minister Anthony Loke.
“Kos untuk membeli bas EV satu kali ganda lebih mahal daripada bas biasa. Kalau boleh, semua fleet kita nak bas EV,” he told the Dewan Rakyat. pic.twitter.com/HnrLEjm0rI
— BFM News (@NewsBFM) October 11, 2023
In another area of public transport, Loke said that he welcomes groups who can provide transportation services for residents in rural areas with low bus ridership. On that front, the ministry is introducing Demand Responsive Transit in areas where the public can receive transport services via a mobile app, The Star reported.
Separately, minister of investment, trade and industry Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz wrote in a Facebook post that the Malaysian government is aiming for 20% of public transportation permits to be for electric vehicles, as part of Malaysia’s National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR).
The National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR) was launched in August, and looks to reinforce Malaysia’s commitment to achieve its net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions aspirations by as early as 2050. By that year, Malaysia is looking at two- and four-wheeled electric vehicles forming 80% of industry volume in their respective categories.
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