KUALA LUMPUR: Prasarana Malaysia Berhad through Rapid Bus Sdn Bhd (Rapid Bus) plans to add more than 300 buses including 100 electric buses involving an allocation of RM180mil, in 2024.
Prasarana president and group chief executive officer Mohd Azharuddin Mat Sah said the first phase of the plan to increase the number of buses would only involve Rapid KL services following high demand from people in the capital.
"We will start opening tenders in the first quarter of 2023 and the provision also covers the work of upgrading infrastructure and electrical cables at station depots for charging.
"Right now, we have a total of 1,540 Rapid KL buses but only 1,183 operate daily. The number of buses is still very small compared to other countries with efficient public transport like Singapore," he told Bernama.
Mohd Azharuddin said the company would introduce 45 electric mini buses measuring seven to eight metres in length and 55 large buses measuring 10m to 12m.
Mohd Azharuddin said Rapid KL had tested the electric buses for the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Sunway Line using two selected bus routes for three months from April to June 13.
The routes were Route 400: Damai Perdana to Lebuh Pudu Hub via Bukit Bintang and Route 650: Taman Desa to Pasar Seni Hub.
"We are confident that we will be able to move these 100 electric buses, in parallel with the improvement in the rail system in the future, thus offering optimal services to public transport users," he added. – Bernama
