Electric bus adoption still low due to high costs - Experts

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia is committed to significantly cut its carbon emissions, pledging to reach "net zero” by 2050.

To meet this ambitious goal, efforts must be complemented with a holistic approach to addressing the challenges faced by various sectors including the public transport industry, which is still conventional-based, experts said.

The public transport sector, for example, is the biggest contributor to annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as it is reliant on petrol and diesel compared to electric buses. Malaysia is committed to reducing the intensity of GHG emissions by 45 per cent by 2030.

Against the backdrop, they said, the shift to green mobility, which is expected to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) pollution from the atmosphere, will be an uphill task.

The latest data shows that CO2 emissions from the transportation sector including public transport accounted for 28.8 per cent of total fossil fuel combustion in Malaysia, well above the global average of 24.5 per cent.

In fact, the 2022 Audit also shows that the use of energy efficient vehicles (EEVs) for the land public transport is still low with only 66 electric buses (EV) nationwide compared to the developed world.

In Europe, for example, there are over 8,500 electric buses in operation while about 340 electric buses are registered almost daily in China, according to sustainable-bus.com.

This brings to the question, why is Malaysia still lagging behind in the adoption of electric buses when it has repeatedly stated its firm commitment to becoming a carbon-neutral nation. But the clock is ticking -with 26 years to 2050, it is worth asking how we will get there?

‘CUT THROAT’ PRICING

Transport industry experts opined that several factors have been identified as hurdles to transitioning to electrified vehicles among others, the highly competitive EV market as well as the ecological imbalance given that the prices of EV buses are still high, making it difficult for bus entrepreneurs to shift from conventional to buses that are energy saving and environment friendly.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke has earlier said that among the constraints faced by the government in increasing its EV bus fleet include the costs of purchasing EV buses which are double that of conventional buses.

According to President of the Pan Malaysian Bus Operators Association (PMBOA) Datuk Ashfar Ali, the price for each European EV can fetch as high as RM2.5 million while a China-made bus has a price tag of around RM1.8 million and these are all beyond the affordable range for most bus companies here.

While an allocation for electric bus acquisitions is provided for in the 2024 Budget, it is only eligible for companies under the Ministry of Transport such as Prasarana Malaysia Berhad.

Towards this end, PMBOA, he said, has applied for a special budget to be extended to companies and private bus operators conducting tour bus, non-stop bus service and express bus services to purchase electric buses.

These include incentives for purchasing or replacing with electric vehicles, accessories, etc as incentives for operators in response to the call by the government and in line with global trends toward green mobility.

"The selling price of an EV bus made in Europe before the pandemic was around RM900,000 and RM750,000 for China-made buses and today, the prices have doubled,” he told Bernama, adding that PMBOA is among the bus associations with over 120 bus companies under its operation, as well as over 1,000 registered bus drivers.

Other issues of concern are the total public charging facilities for EV nationwide which is still low especially in areas outside the Klang Valley and remote areas, and in fact, there are some locations with no public charging stations nearby.

Based on a random survey conducted by Bernama through the PlugShare application, most EV charging stations are focused on Klang Valley with over 70 stations; only a few stations are found in the central region, while in the east coast region, the stations are focused along the coastal areas.

In Sarawak, there are only 35 stations available while Sabah has only three charging stations that are functioning.

"Take for example a trip from Kuala Lumpur to Gua Musang, Kelantan. If an EV bus can only afford to cover a distance of 400 kilometres before its recharging time, it would be difficult if there is no charging station ahead.

"The situation will become critical during traffic congestions which would mean the electric bus energy consumption will increase at a faster rate,” he added.

STRATEGIC LOCATIONS

Based on the charging infrastructure, the government through the Low Carbon Mobility Development Plan 2021-2023 aims to build 10,000 units of charging facilities by 2025 and the commitment from the relevant parties is needed to realise this target.

Senior lecturer of Transportation Engineering at the Department of Civil Engineering, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Dr Ahmad Nazrul Hakimi Ibrahim said the initiative should be complemented with the availability of strategic locations, service providers and reasonable usage charge.

The provision for charging facilities along the expressways and suburbs should be emphasised for the long term given the growth potential of electric vehicles at such locations.

If such a proposal can be implemented, it would not be impossible for the government to realise the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR) which has set a national target, whereby 20 per cent of Malaysia’s annual new car sales would consist of electrified vehicles by 2030.

Describing the government’s commitment to achieving a carbon-free nation by focusing on the use of EV vehicles as a step in the right direction, he said previous studies also showed that EV has the potential of reducing CO2 emissions.

"About 30 to 50 per cent of CO2 emissions can be reduced with the use of EV based on previous studies, increasing fuel efficiency by 40 to 60 per cent as against conventional vehicles.

"When EV buses are charged using electricity from renewable sources such as wind or solar, the effects on the general environment will be reduced and hence contributing to a cleaner and sustainable energy ecosystem,” he explained.

At the same time, the government also needs to consider investing in EV research and development in addition to collaborating with local automotive manufacturers to reduce its dependence on foreign EVs.

MAINTENANCE COSTS

According to Ashfar, the repair and maintenance aspects should also be factored in as not many are skilled in this area and hence the costs of maintenance would be higher than conventional vehicles.

"EV owners need to refer to the manufacturer for repairs and maintenance and hence the service cost will also be higher.

"But, if local institutes or universities can produce more mechanics who are skilled in EV vehicles, more EV workshops can be set up and that bus operators will take the challenge by increasing their EV bus fleet,” he said.

Incentives for repairs and maintenance of EV buses, he added, should be also considered by the government to relieve the burden of the entrepreneurs and operators who are transitioning to environment friendly transportation and this will also accelerate the ecosystem for EV bus adoption in the country.

As proof that EVs can save operation costs and are environment friendly, Rapid Bus Sdn Bhd Chief Executive Officer Muhammad Yazurin Sallij shared the positive impact from its 15 EV bus fleet in Klang Valley which has been operating since 2015.

"This is the first EV bus in Malaysia (at that time) and can travel up to 250 km on a single charge and has been operating for almost eight years. It is still in good working condition given that it has a bus depot at BRT Sunway Complex which is equipped with an EV battery charging station and a workshop for repairs.

"Based on the experience and positive feedback from users toward the BRT Sunway Line, we are confident of adding more EV buses to our fleet at other routes in Klang Valley,” he said, hoping that more local bus companies will give their firm commitment to embracing the EV revolution in the future. - BERNAMA