Rapid Penang will gradually replace buses in its fleet with electric buses this year, Bernama has reported. Under the first phase, 250 electric buses are expected to be delivered in stages from March this year until March 2027. This will be comprised of 75 buses for Rapid Penang, and 175 buses for Rapid KL, said transport minister Anthony Loke.
“To ensure the smooth operation of these EV buses, the government, through Prasarana, is developing EV charging infrastructure at Rapid Penang depots, and this process has already begun,” Loke said. The move is in line with Prasarana’s direction that focuses on the use of environmentally-friendly buses to reduce carbon emissions, and to enhance the quality of public transport services, he added.
There will, however, still be new diesel-powered buses to be pressed into service with Rapid Penang. The bus service in the state will receive the remaining 60 of 70 diesel buses is stages by the end of February, which will complete part of the final batch of 175 diesel buses, out of a total of 310 buses acquired by Rapid Bus since July 2025 for use in the Klang Valley and in Penang, the report wrote.
At more than RM1 million per unit, electric buses are on average almost twice as expensive as diesel buses in terms of procurement costs, the transport minister said.
This is part of the longer-term plan by Prasarana which aims to roll out 1,045 electric buses for Kuala Lumpur and Penang by 2030, or 30% of its bus fleet comprised of EV buses by that year. Beyond that, Prasarana is aiming for a 100% electric bus fleet by 2037.
GALLERY: Rapid KL EV bus, IGEM 2023
The post Rapid Bus to get 250 EV buses in Penang, KL this year appeared first on Paul Tan’s Automotive News.
