Man says new electric bus is uncomfortable, not senior-friendly

SINGAPORE: A man took to social media to express his dissatisfaction with the design of the new three-door electric buses. He questioned certain features on the bus as they seemed to not be very senior-friendly, which is important in an ageing society.

In a post on the COMPLAINT SINGAPORE page on Jan 17, a Facebook user wrote that it had been his first time to board one of the new electric buses.

However, he added that “Short distances already feel uncomfortable, and the layout is designed in such an unfriendly way. High curb all the way. Seeing those elderly need to ‘climb up’ to sit, or is this design prepared for future floods?”

Some commenters agreed with the post author, saying that they also found the bus uncomfortable and pointing out that how the bus was designed did not seem to make sense to them. Others, however, defended the LTA, saying that there must have been reasons for why the buses are how they are.

In November 2023, the LTA published an announcement about the “electrification of Singapore’s public bus fleet” taking a step forward with 240 electric three-door single-deck buses and 120 electric three-door single-deck buses.

“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,” the authority added.

Read also: S’pore deploys first electric bus for vaccinations and medical screenings

On Oct 24, 2024, LTA said that with the addition of 10 more electric buses in December, Singapore’s total would reach 70 buses, which should mark substantial progress in the effort to reduce carbon emissions and modernize its public transport system.

The buses have been designed for greater safety and accessibility and are equipped with advanced features such as high-definition cameras and digital displays in place of traditional rear-view mirrors.

“In line with our target of a 100 per cent cleaner energy public bus fleet by 2040, LTA aims to electrify half of our public bus fleet by 2030. To achieve this target, LTA will be procuring more than 2,000 electric buses over the next five years,” the authority added.

The Independent Singapore has contacted the post author for further comments or updates. /TISG

Read also: New batch of electric buses to hit the roads in December, improving accessibility and safety