Last month, BYD Co. Ltd. won the bid to supply 15 new battery electric transit buses from Malaysia's Prasarana Transit. The 15 electric buses will be operated by Rapid KL, a Prasarana subsidiary, to be used as shuttle buses on capital of Malaysia Kuala Lumpur’s first BRT line exclusively for electric buses. As one of Malaysia's largest public transportation groups, Prasarana is responsible for the management and planning of Malaysia metro, buses and other public transportation assets. Prasarana is 100% state-owned.
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| Source: BYD |
Since last August, BYD’s 40 foot electric bus has been in trial operation in Kuala Lumpur. As a part of the trial, the bus was arranged to run on a 5.3 km - 7 station, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line operated by Rapid KL and the trial operation results are satisfactory and high complimented by Prasarana. According to the report, the range of the pure electric bus could be more than 400 kilometers per charge in Kuala Lumpur.
This January, after hosting the BYD pure electric bus trial operation launching ceremony, Mr. Datuk Seri Idris Haron, governor of the state of Malacca, drove the bus himself, and then put his thumb up and stated, “the electric bus is very comfortable and very quiet, we like this kinds of zero emissions bus." As the first all-electric bus introduced to the state of Malacca, the BYD electric bus will be operated in Bandar Hilir area for one to two months. BYD's pure electric bus had passed various local tests in Malaysia earlier.
A BYD representative said, "It’s a great honor for us to win the Malaysia’s first electric bus bid. Malaysia pays great attention to the sustainable development of public transport, BYD hopes to work closely with all of our partners like Prasarana to make the public transportation cleaner and quieter.” Actually, improving the quality of public transport has been incorporated into the national development program in Malaysia. The relative authorities think public transportation is one of the main reasons for urban air pollution, while BYD’s pure electric bus is considered to fit this reform direction.
BYD’s pure-electric bus employs many advanced technologies developed in-house by BYD’s expansive staff of more than 15,000 engineers. The advanced environmentally-friendly, Iron-Phosphate (or “Fe”) batteries, in-wheel hub motors and regenerative braking. The break-through BYD Iron-Phosphate battery is fire-safe and non-toxic: there are no caustic materials contained in the battery, no toxic electrolytes or heavy metals and can be completely recycled. The BYD electric bus delivers a host of operational and environmental benefits for public transport riders, operators and people in the community – it is very quiet and ensures a comfortable ride without vibrations, jerks or noise associated with the conventional buses and combustion engines. The bus can also drive for more than 250 km (155 miles) even in heavy city traffic on a single charge. The bus has completed more than 20 million kilometers of “in revenue service” and has been evaluated in many major cities all over the world.