The electrification of Singapore’s public bus fleet took a stride forward with the first large-scale award of contracts for new electric buses and the charging systems to support them. Announced by Acting Minister for Transport Mr Chee Hong Tat at the Singapore BusTech/ RailTech Grand Challenge today, two contracts to procure a total of 360 electric buses and another two contracts for the deployment of charging systems in bus depots at Sengkang West, East Coast and Gali Batu were awarded.
2. Details of the awarded contracts are as follow:
a) 240 electric three-door single deck buses to BYD (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. for a contract sum of about S$108.1 million;
b) 120 electric three-door single deck buses to Cycle & Carriage Automotive Pte. Limited for a contract sum of about S$58.3 million;
c) EV charging systems in bus depots at Sengkang West and East Coast to Busways Pte Ltd/ Shell Singapore Pte Ltd Consortium at a contract sum of about $31.3 million; and
d) EV charging systems in bus depot at Gali Batu to Presico Engineering Pte Ltd at a contract sum of about $14.8 million.
3. From December 2024, the new electric buses will be progressively deployed for passenger service to replace diesel buses that are reaching the end of their statutory lifespan. Charging systems will also be installed at the bus depots progressively from December 2024.
4. Tender submissions were evaluated based on a two-envelope process which looked at both quality and price factors. The price envelopes were only opened after the quality evaluation was completed. This approach ensures that LTA awards contracts to tenderers with high-quality and value-for-money proposals.
5. For the electric bus tenders, criteria such as the tenderer’s experience, track record, technical specifications of the proposed bus and compliance with local regulations, were factored into the quality evaluation. The contracts also include an option to procure up to 60 more electric buses if needed.
6. The awarded tenderers – BYD (Singapore) and Cycle & Carriage Automotive (partnered with Zhongtong Bus) – are all established bus suppliers. Each new 3-door electric single deck bus will be equipped with a passenger information display system to provide commuters with audio and visual information about their journey, integrated closed-circuit television (CCTV)-collision warning system, driver anti-fatigue system as well as a tyre pressure monitoring system.
7. For the charging system tender, the quality evaluation took into account the contractor’s project management plans and track record, as well as the technical aspects of the design and deployment of charging systems, which include compliance to Singapore’s technical standards, as well as service support for operations and maintenance. Following a holistic evaluation, LTA has awarded the contracts to Busways Pte Ltd/ Shell Singapore Pte Ltd Consortium and Presico Engineering Pte Ltd. The charging systems will be equipped with smart charging functions to optimise charging speeds and duration. In addition, they will also incorporate additional features such as real-time monitoring, diagnostic, control and reporting.
8. LTA is committed to having a 100% cleaner energy bus fleet by 2040. By 2030, electric buses are expected to make up half of our public bus fleet. This is the first batch of large-scale tenders for bus electrification. More tenders for electric buses and infrastructure upgrades to support their operation and maintenance will be called in the coming years.
