Electric bus trial runs in Bangkok

BANGKOK  A real-time test of an electric bus developed by Thailand’s King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology and the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority was introduced, Thursday.
The experimental electric bus will serve a route that runs between the KMITL campus to the Ladkrabang Airport Link station. The campus is close to Suvarnabhumi airport.
The pilot programme may one day see the prototype developed into commercial vehicles that could replace BMTA aging diesel buses, but unfortunately for the city’s long suffering commuters it could just as easily fall foul of city hall politics.
inside no 8Bangkok urgently needs an environmentally and modern bus service that interfaces with the BTS, Airport Link and MRT electric train services.
The BTS skytrain has already reached its maximum capacity and suffers from massive passenger congestion at peak hours. The city has to upgrade its bus services to take the strain off skytrain service, but the state of BMTA buses, the standard of drivers and road worthiness are deplorable.
Electric buses are seen as a clean and safer alternative for city commuters.
According to the National News Bureau of Thailand, the electric bus developed by KMITL is fitted out in a modern design and can travel up to 250 kilometres on a single charge, with a top speed of 70 kmph. The bus requires four to five hours to fully charge and comes equipped with ramps for wheelchair users, as well as a global positioning system (GPS) for commuters to track its location.
inside no 8.1There are over 3,000 buses operating in Bangkok many of them over 20 years old. Replacing them with electric buses would reduce diesel fuel consumption by 120 million litres per year and reduce carbon emissions by 0.32 million tons per year.
KMITL and the BMTA signed an agreement 19 May to expand the initiative, share engineering research.

sourced:ttrweekly.com