New EV buses in Bangkok likely early next year
New electric buses are likely to start operating in the city early next year if a 953-million-baht plan to hire private operators is not delayed, according to the state-run Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA).
BMTA chief executive Kittikan Chomdoung Charuworapolkul said on Thursday that the terms of reference for electronic bidding would be completed in August and the bidding could be held within September.
“We expect to pick the winners and sign contracts with them around late 2022. You can see EV buses in service within early 2023,” he said.
The BMTA, which operates public buses in Bangkok, plans to hire private firms to operate 224 electric buses to help boost its capacity for serving up to one million passengers per day.
Bus shortages have forced commuters to endure long waits, especially at night. However, the BMTA does not have enough budget to buy new buses to improve its service.
In February, the BMTA’s executive board approved the project to hire private firms to operate 224 electric buses with a budget of 953 million baht.
In order to ensure transparency of the project, the BMTA later decided to join the Integrity Pact of the Comptroller-General’s Department, Kittikan said on Thursday.
He said that the project’s bidding terms would be drafted under the observation of the Anti-Corruption Organisation of Thailand, in order to comply with the Integrity Pact.
“The drafted bidding terms will be reviewed in case of objection in order to ensure maximum transparency,” the BMTA chief said.
The use of the 224 EV buses is expected to help the BMTA save about 70 million baht in fuel costs per year, in addition to 160 million baht in annual maintenance costs.
At present, petrol and natural gas cost the BMTA about 1.5 billion baht per year while the maintenance costs are 1.6 billion baht.
