Pranee Sugasorn is an acting-director with the BMTA and she presided over the launch ceremony for the bus outside the CentralWorld shopping complex. She told reporters covering the inauguration that the outlay when buying electric buses is triple that of those with natural gas engines, but the BMTA would soon recoup the extra expenditure with lower fuel costs.
Ms Sugasorn further explained that if the trials were successful, she would ask the board of directors to give the green light for the purchase of 500 more. The prototype bus is owned by the Loxley Corporation and has a range of 250kms on one full five-hour battery charge.
The bus is fitted with 29 seats and a hydraulic platform to give wheelchair users and the elderly easy access. Over the month of trials, the BMTA says the general public can ride for free between 09:00 and 15:00.
The first test run is on Route 511 between Pratunam and Wat That Thong until 9 June. On the 10 and 11 and between 15 and 18 June, the bus will operate on Route 141 which links Chulalongkorn University to Pho Thong. Between 19 and 30 June, the bus will ply Route 63 between Victory Monument and Khae Rai.
Prototype electric bus tested on the streets of Bangkok
News in Asia
Tuesday saw the first Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) electric bus begin trials on the streets of the Thai capital city. The public transport operator will put the vehicle through road trials on three different routes over the coming month.