More electric public transport to ply Singapore roads by 2030

Half of the public bus fleets will consist of electric buses by 2030, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Tuesday (Mar 8).

In 2016, Singapore’s land emissions peaked at 7.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e). 

As such, LTA will intensify electrification and sustainability efforts in an attempt to reduce peak land transport emissions by 80 per cent.

Over 400 diesel buses that will reach its statutory lifespan will be replaced by 2025. 

From now till 2030, new buses purchased by LTA will be primarily electric. Currently, 60 such buses have been purchased and deployed for operations. 

Similarly, at least half of the public taxis will be electric by 2030. Its statutory lifespans will be extended from eight to 10 years.

For private hire taxi services, 50 per cent of the GrabRentals fleet will go electric by 2030 as well. LTA said it will continue to work closely with private hire car operators to increase the adoption of Electronic Vehicles (EV).

To cater to the increasing adoption of EVs, there will also be at least three EV charging points stationed at about 2,000 HDB carparks islandwide by 2025.

A “large-scale tender” will be launched in the first half of 2022, with more ports will be progressively deployed accordingly as the adoption of EVs increases.

According to LTA, this is a “significant step” towards achieving its target of 60,000 charging points by 2030.

The upgrades will be financed by LTA through green bonds and the costs will be recovered from EV charging operators and EV users over the longer term. LTA is working with the relevant agencies to develop the implementation details.

New legislation to ensure safe and reliable EV charging will also be introduced, with public consultation set for later this year. 

Details of the public consultation will be shared on LTA’s website when ready.