Mohd Nasir (second from left) receiving Menara Prasarana’s Fire and Rescue Department Safety Certification from Nor Hisham while Idzqandar (left) and Noraina look on.
Fire risks, safety training held before vehicles serve Kuala Lumpur, Penang routes by 2030
A FLEET of 1,045 eco-friendly electric buses for Kuala Lumpur and Penang’s urban network will be rolled out by 2030.
Prasarana Malaysia Bhd group chairman Tan Sri Mohd Nasir Ahmad said the plan was geared towards creating a green transport ecosystem.
“We only have 15 electric buses on the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Sunway Line now which have been in service since 2015,” he said.
The BRT Sunway Line is an elevated busway linking several stations between the KTM Komuter and Kelana Jaya LRT lines.
Mohd Nasir said the company would strengthen safety training and enhance employee competency to manage potential operational risks involving electric vehicles (EV).
Operating electric buses on a large scale requires structured training and a deep understanding of initial response actions in the event of a fire or emergency involving the vehicles, he added.
Basic training and exposure to electric bus fire suppression would be provided to operational staff to ensure they could act quickly should an incident occur along service routes.
“Competency will be a key issue in everything we do.
“Staff will be trained first, from bus crew members to those responsible for understanding fire suppression for electric buses.
“We will not start electric bus operations unless we are fully prepared.
“From the briefing earlier, including procedures and policies, we will ensure that everything is properly followed,” he said at a press conference.
Earlier, Mohd Nasir launched the Prasarana Risk Management Awareness Campaign with the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) at Menara Prasarana, Ara Damansara.
Prasarana health, safety, environmental security and sustainable development group chief officer Idzqandar Abu Bakar and risk, governance and compliance management head Noraina Mustapha were also present.
The six-month campaign, themed “My Risk, My Responsibility”, focuses on creating a culture of safety among employees.
It includes training sessions, technical briefings, operational risk assessments and exposure to emergency procedures, ensuring that everyone understands their role in detecting, reporting and addressing potential safety incidents at an early stage.
Mohd Nasir said the campaign emphasised staff awareness of early warning signs and importance of immediate action to ensure passenger safety.
JBPM director-general Datuk Seri Nor Hisham Mohammad said fires involving electric buses would require a different approach as the affected unit would usually be completely destroyed once ignited.
Therefore, he said, the main focus was to prevent the fire from spreading to other vehicles or nearby structures.
“Drivers of electric buses need to identify early warning signs such as acrid smells or system alerts before stopping the vehicle and evacuating passengers.
“When an electric bus catches fire, it will be destroyed because of its electronic components.
“The priority is ensuring the system allows the driver to open the doors manually, evacuate passengers and alert people nearby,” he said.
Nor Hisham added that the joint training with Prasarana focused on early risk assessment, including actions that could be taken if an incident occurred at the depot or charging area before firefighters arrive.
In addition, he said, depot and charging station safety assessments were also being reviewed as high-capacity direct current (DC) charging operations require more detailed monitoring.
“We are looking closely at depot safety because buses will return to the depot or charging station.
“If one unit catches fire, we must remove the others that have not caught fire to prevent the fire from spreading,” said Nor Hisham.
