INSTITUTE OF TRANSPORT AND LOGISTICS STUDIES

THE FUTURE OF BUS IN SUMMARY OF CONFERENCE IN , 19 NOVEMBER 2019

GEOFFREY CLIFTON, SENIOR LECTURER, INSTITUTE OF TRANSPORT AND LOGISTICS STUDIES 04 February 2020

KEY THEMES

The Future of in Malaysia conference brought together experts from industry, government, and consultancy. The key theme of the conference was that there is no such thing as an engineering based one size fits all BRT solution that can be simply copied and pasted from one city to another. Instead, solutions must be developed based on a deep understanding of the country and city contexts backed by local knowledge and experience both on the government and industry partner side fostering strong participation from all involved. It is very important for stakeholders to choose partners that display this understanding of the local context and understanding of the aspirations of stakeholders.

In terms of technology, electric propulsion is certainly going to replace traditional fuels such as diesel. However, the experts who presented in the conference suggested that currently, all electric fleets can work well for small stand-alone projects (e.g. ’s Sunway Line) or for small parts of larger projects. Outside the very specific context of China, proven low emission technologies provide the best combination of environmental performance, value for money and ease of deployment. Furthermore, these proven technologies offer compatibility with existing systems, work force skills and supply chains (e.g. availability of spare parts). A key theme of the conference was a recognition that the best decision for most cities would be to introduce BRT using proven technological systems and then upgrade to technologies such as electric propulsion or guidance systems once it comes time to renew the fleet in future years at which point in time, electric propulsion will be more mature technology.

SUMMARY OF SESSIONS

Welcome Speech from Mr Akash Passey, Senior Vice President of Volvo Bus Corporation

Mr Passey spoke about the great potential for growth of BRT in Malaysia and the steps that Volvo is taken to help realise that growth after recently celebrating its 500th bus sold in Malaysia. It was noted that Volvo has been in Malaysia for 50 years but has only recently begun selling buses in Malaysia. Volvo sees Malaysia as key country for its drive to help move from commuters from personal vehicles to clean safe integrated multimodal transport. Combatting road accidents is a challenge in many parts of Asia and congestion costs Malaysians RM20 Billion per annum. Congestion also takes time away from more productive activities, including quality time with families as Malaysians spend over 70 minutes on the road daily.

Mr Passey wanted the conference to celebrate the visible success of the Sunway BRT in Petaling Jaya and the upcoming Lighthouse project in Iskandar. Volvo sees these projects as facilitating a uniquely Malaysian perspective on BRT whilst benchmarking against the best in the world. Mr Passey noted the importance of combining this localisation with global experience in co-developing BRT. Volvo currently has 5000 buses operating on BRT globally and these transport 12 million passengers per day. Finally, Mr Passey spoke about the cost effectiveness of BRT compared to other modes of public transport and how a well-designed network can be as desirable for public as other forms of public transport.

The Future of Bus Rapid Transit in Malaysia

Opening remarks from Dato’ Mohamed Hazlan Mohamed Hussain, President and Group CEO, Berhad Dato’ Hussain discussed the Sunway BRT line which includes Malaysia’s first elevated guideway. Electric operation has proved successful on this relatively short route. The service is marketed by highlighting its high frequency and zero road congestion. Whilst there have been challenges created by the high investment costs, Dato’ Hussain noted that there are also opportunities to be seized and the dedication of the Malaysian people and stakeholders will make the BRT line a success. Speech by Ambassador of Sweden to Malaysia H.E. Mr Dag Juhlin-Dannfelt, Embassy of Sweden The ambassador explained the commitment of Swedish industry to safety, quality and environmental sustainability and emphasised the importance of sustainable transport modes to address climate change. The ambassador noted the strong relationship between Sweden and Malaysia since 1958 with both being free trade focused open economies. Malaysia has agreed to UN sustainable development goals which sets scene for an open, competitive, sustainable and healthy economy. Sustainable development is a hallmark of Swedish industry and Sweden is proud of Volvo’s contribution. The ambassador noted that Volvo is introducing the first Euro 6 compliant double decker buses in Malaysia and Volvo is collaborating with Malaysia on numerous road safety initiatives. The Ambassador finished by providing insights into the successful political and other relationships between Sweden and Malaysia in promoting sustainable development highlighting the importance of air quality and safety for the people of Malaysia. Speech by Transport Minister, Malaysia: YB Tuan Loke Siew Fook, Government of Malaysia The Minister discussed the Industrial Collaboration Program and its impact on the transport sector which has grown at over 5 per cent per annum for the last 15 years and accounts for 3.5 per cent of Malaysia’s GDP with growth expected to accelerate in the future. The Malaysian Government’s transport policy is to promote economic growth and social benefits, including accessibility and reduced environmental impact. It is the Minister’s view that BRT will be a transport milestone for growth and will directly contribute to Malaysia’s development towards a high-income country.

The Industry Collaboration Program is helping to identify capacity gaps and is seen as a long-term development partnership between all stakeholders. The Minister emphasised the importance of training for bus captains, staff and regulators and spoke of the need for workers to have passion and pride to serve the public with integrity. Government must empower workers to keep this up and to drive development of work force to make sure that the benefits of the infrastructure are captured.

The Minister also spoke about the challenge of encouraging the usage of public transport and the work of the Government in incentivising public transport through a number of initiatives. The billions of Ringgits spent on developing infrastructure will only be effective if the public transport usage increases. The most important initiative is around affordability of services, including offering reduced fares as a way of winning public support. An integrated monthly ticket for RM100 covering all Prasarana services in Kalang Valley has been introduced and more than 100,000 people have signed up. This requires greater subsidies for public transport and such subsidies are being implemented across Malaysia.

Additional cities in Malaysia, such as Sarawak and Johor Bahruare both planning to develop BRT including cross border linkages with Singapore. The Minister finished by discussing how the ICP creates a link between infrastructure and economic development with collaborations at both federal and state level in Malaysia. Keynote Speech ‘Potential of BRT as a Mass Transit Option in Southeast Asia’: Ms. Xiaomei Duan, Chief Engineer, Guangzhou Municipal Engineering Design and Research Institute This keynote speech discussed the best practice development of new BRT projects in Chinese cities and pointed out some of the lessons for cities in South East Asia with BRT projects and related urban transport planning initiatives. The presentation discussed the importance of having a vision for the broader city before starting construction of a new BRT system and matching the vision with detailed and comprehensive development and planning. Emphasis was also placed on the importance of planning the improvement of urban design alongside the development of the transport infrastructure.

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Four steps for best practice were discussed. 1. Conceptual and preliminary designs to take between six and nine months and cost between USD300,000 and USD600,000. 2. Detailed engineering design to take a further six to nine months and cost approximately 3 per cent of the total infrastructure cost. 3. Parallel construction, procurement and operational design to take 12 to 24 months: a. Construction of the project. b. Procurement, final operational design, bus procurement and institutional design. 4. Opening of the project and introduction of operation.

There was a recognition that these time frames reflect the situation in China where construction is able to move much more rapidly than in most other jurisdictions. Ms. Xiaomei also spoke about the need for commitment to transport, infrastructure and construction planning around the BRT network, particularly the need to ensure that street space is dedicated to the BRT service.

Ms. Xiaomei also brought in an international perspective and discussed some of the success stories both within and outside China. The cities discussed included Guangzhou with a relatively new network that is already achieving very high throughput, Cali in Colombia with its extensive network of services and Brisbane in Australia with a network that is achieving very high levels of usage in a city with relatively low public transport usage.

Also discussed was the issue of operation of BRT services with separate or integrated trunk and feeder routes. The key question here is whether to construct a system that is ‘closed’ with BRT vehicles only operating along the length of the corridor or to utilise an ‘open’ (also known as direct) system with buses serving routes outside the BRT system before joining the BRT corridor to continue the service. Brisbane, Yichang in China and the current proposals in Malaysia are open systems which provides a single seat journey to users and allows for the benefits of the BRT network to be spread more widely across a city. On the other hand, higher capacity or high floor buses can be used on a closed system and services may be easier to operate as they are better segregated from ordinary traffic.

Ms. Xiaomei provided the insight that the decision between an open and closed system comes down to the proportion of boarding and alighting expected to occur on the BRT corridor versus the proportion that is expected to occur off the BRT corridor. Where there are more trips starts or finishing off the corridor then a ‘direct’ service is best as it minimises the proportion of transfers. Where most trips are between origins and destinations on the BRT corridor then the operational benefits suggest a ‘closed’ system with feeder bus passengers transferring at BRT stations to the main BRT route.

Other benefits of BRT were also discussed. Prior to the introduction of BRT in Guangzhou there was a large degree of bus on bus and car on bus congestion. The new BRT took up 24 metres of the width of the road which reduced the capacity of the road to handle private cars. However, there are still three lanes of road space available for other traffic and the new route provides rapid boarding and alighting with capacity for up to 14 buses at a time.

Yichang was the second city in Asia after Guangzhou to achieve gold standard BRT and has a 23.9 kilometre network with 37 stations, 6 footbridges, 3 pedestrian tunnels and 50 at grade crossings for a cost of USD200million which would have provided for only 2 kilometres of metro rail. Alongside the development of the BRT system came investment in improved parking and an improved urban realm. This city is an example of BRT on a relatively narrow road (35 metres wide) but still allows 1 lane of road space on either side of the BRT. This is also one of the first cities to integrate BRT with an intercity bus terminal and the first BRT system in China to offer a central bike lane. One sign of the commitment required for this project was the removal of 2000 car parking spots as part of the project. The effectiveness of the project is demonstrated through the development of new high rise apartments alongside the BRT network and the reduction in car usage along the corridor from 40 per cent of trips to 30 percent.

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Keynote Speech ‘Practical Experience from Transjakarta’: Mr. Yoga Adiwinarto, Director of Engineering and Facility at PT. Transportasi Jakarta (Transjakarta) Transjakarta has one of the largest BRT fleets in the world and has grown from purely a trunk route system in 2005 to a fully integrated network with near complete coverage of the population. Transjakarta operates a number of differently branded services to service different markets. In addition to the standard BRT services the Royaltrans coach service brings customers from residential areas outside Jakarta to the BRT network, these buses are equipped with TVs, USB ports and reclining seats. The minibus Mikrotrans acts as a form of feeder bus service. Mr Adiwinarto emphasised the importance of off-corridor services as a way of maximising access to BRT services and to act as a catalyst for improving mobility options for the entire city. This has allowed Transjakarta to increase ridership dramatically compared to a standard BRT implementation. This is an example of a BRT project being used to transform the broader public transport network and establish higher standards of planning and service across a region.

In terms of contracting, Transjakarta directly operates 30 per cent of the bus fleet with the rest provided under service contract by other companies and co-operatives. This has proven to be challenging as there is a need to negotiate with both companies, co-operatives and co-operative members (who own the fleet). As a response, human capital and capacity development of co-operative members has been a priority for Transjakarta, particularly for bus captains who have needed to alter their traditional approach to bus operation for instance now that smoking on board is not permitted.

The second challenge for Transjakarta was creating physical integration with other public transport operators. The industry has traditionally placed more emphasis on competition rather than co-operation between different operators and developers of new transport infrastructure have traditionally viewed new projects as replacing existing public transport options. The new approach under the Transjakarta model is for new infrastructure to expand the overall network and so bringing existing operators into the new network creates challenges. This has been addressed through legislation and through Transjakarta taking a lead in promoting the new ethos.

Fleet transformation and upgrade is an ongoing process and the focus is currently on upgrading the micro bus fleet. This serves the added benefit of improving environmental sustainability and the brand image of public transport in general. The next goal is to have an entirely electric fleet by 2030 including all vehicles from micro buses through to BRT. This is an ambitious plan starting with 100 vehicles in 2020 with the electric vehicle fleet set to increase to 12,882 by 2030. To achieve this, all procurement will be electric from 2022 with the last diesel buses to be procured in 2021. Keynote Speech ‘The Value of Public Transport and Implementation of Value Capture’: Ms. Sue Chan, Head of UITP Asia Pacific Ms. Chan spoke about the industry bodies as a way to bring planners, regulators and operators together both regionally and internationally with UITP viewing its role as facilitating the exchange of ideas, the discovery of solutions and the forging of mutually beneficial business partnerships.

UITP has recently issued a policy brief on land value capture. The land surrounding new public transport infrastructure becomes more accessible and therefore more desirable which increases land values. This effect is increased with planning and development guidelines that encourage development alongside the public transport corridor. The value of the increase is also determined by the amount of public works and government development projects carried out in the area alongside the corridor.

Land value capture describes the ways in which governments or infrastructure developers can secure some of the increase in land values as a way to fund part of the costs of the new infrastructure. Harnessing land value capture requires rethinking of the way society and institutions value public transport. One key challenge is to make land value capture acceptable to a wide range of stakeholders and land users. The UITP argues that it is possible to introduce land value capture in a broad range of countries and contexts, but it requires work at an institutional level to ensure integration. Public Transport authorities must act across sectoral boundaries to develop a more favourable regulatory environment and should that land value capture adds another layer of complexity to projects. Furthermore, land value uplift does not always happen at the same time as project development and there may well be a mismatch between the timing of land value uplift and project development expenditure.

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Ms. Chan emphasised that land value capture is more than a funding channel, it is about creating the governance framework that integrates transport and land use. Ms. Chan spoke of a number of different project based mechanisms that can be successful: • The sale or lease of land by governments or developers directly captures land value uplift as the land owner is also responsible for the expenditure on the new project. • Joint development of land holdings between governments and the private sector is favoured by Japan. • The sale of air rights, which involves the government or infrastructure developer selling the right to develop the space above transport facilities. • Land and property taxes. • Betterment charges which are similar to land and property taxes but only apply to land alongside the transport infrastructure and is used by Melbourne City Loop and the Gold Coast Light Rail (both in Australia). • Tax increment financing is used by New York and Chicago in the USA and diverts future tax revenues to pay for current developments.

A case study of Hong Kong was discussed where railway and property developments are developed by linked corporations and over 90 per cent of trips are by Public Transport. In Hong Kong, fares are not seen as an ideal as a source of commercial revenue and that farebox revenue alone is not able to generate sufficient commercial returns to fund transport development. Instead, railway finance comes from property development and property rental. As a result, station commercial space contributes two thirds of commercial income. The Hong Kong government gives land development rights to MTR who pays a land premium and this allows the transport operator to make a profit.

Four principles for implementing land value capture were provided. Principle 1: Fostering Public Acceptability • This principle recognises that a mechanism that consists in imposing a fee is likely to encounter public opposition. • Land value capture implementation calls for an environment that makes land value capture legitimate and acceptable to the widest range of stakeholders, otherwise they will act as a barrier and raise a political risk. o Istanbul developed a mass transit system in the context of a scarce budget partially because they were able to create public acceptance of land value capture.

Principle 2: Valuing access • Public transport increases access by providing the public with the ability to reach a broader range of opportunities whether that is for employment, education, shopping, health, etc. • This principle states that moving away from valuing just time (mobility) to a model that adopts an accessibility perspective will help stakeholders and communities to develop a common language and set of priorities. • This principle also recognises that access to opportunities is unevenly spread and that it is reasonable for areas that are provided with greater opportunities to help fund those opportunities.

Principle 3: Managing land and transport jointly • This principle recognises that the greatest increase in land value occurs when land development and transport developments have integrated planning and management. • Whilst many projects are developed in isolation the challenge is to create conditions for collaboration. o Metrolinx in Canada’s Toronto and Hamilton area provides a good example where the objectives of the land use plans and transport plans were aligned at all levels of government.

Principle 4: Design consistent transport policies • Consistent policies and measures for the transport sector helps to legitimise land value capture. • Cities that regulate car use enhance the competitiveness of more sustainable alternatives including public and active transport modes.

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Keynote Speech ‘The BRT Business Model’: Mr. Frits Olyslager, Public Transport/Institutional Specialist Mr Olyslager defined Bus Rapid Transit as an integrated set of measures to improve the standard of road based public transport, including: • Higher quality services, • Higher service frequency, • Bus priority, • Greater use of information technology. • Institutional co-ordination, • Financially sustainable business model, • Greater management of risks, quality passenger information and facilities.

Buses have benefited greatly from new technologies, including in fare collection, bus location systems and passenger information systems but challenges exist with many cities: • Over promising the benefits of BRT in one city based on success stories in other cities which may have very different projects and circumstances. • Following BRT standards that assume ideal circumstances in other cities, rather than designing the best solution for the local context in co-operation with outside partners with strong international experience.

Whilst there are many different types of BRT service around the world, all successful BRTs have some common features. • Designing services that fulfil the needs of the city and are integrated with land use. • Integrating BRT into the overall transport and development strategies of the city which involves engagement with a variety of stakeholders. • Strong and capable institutional structures.

Mr Olyslager’s presentation reinforced the themes that had been introduced in the earlier presentations and strongly emphasised the need for governments to maintain or increase the strength of their institutions and regulatory structures to ensure BRT is successful. Governments as the key stakeholder need to draw on local innovation and local understanding of the policy and institutional context. Governments also have a key role in ensuring that there is a sound business model and again this is context specific with a tension existing between lower fares to help improve access for the less well-off and higher fares as a way to support financial sustainability.

Some lessons for successful implementation was also shared, including starting by improving the capacity of the existing transport operators and improving the existing network of services as a way to encourage the switch to public transport and to help ease the introduction of new transport modes and operators. Mr Olyslager saw this as a bigger priority than determining the appropriate contracting model as successful contracting requires strong institutional capacity. A commercially minded approach by operators who are customer focused and working to build customers and manage costs is another success factor. Operators bearing some of the risks helps this and it is possible to have commercially minded operators even where governments subsidise services.

Mr Olyslager also presented another example of a source of revenue for funding transport investment. Laos has introduced a paid parking system with the revenue hypothecated as subsidies for public transport. This encourages people to switch to public transport as a travel demand management measure but also acts as a source of funding for public transport.

Finally, there was a discussion about the triangulation of ridership, efficiency and fare level for financial sustainability. BRT is a good product that can be very popular amongst the travelling public, it is also an efficient mode compared to other forms of public transport. However, it is necessary to trade-off the level of service and the level of fares to ensure financial sustainability. Agreement on how to trade off service levels and fare levels to achieve financial sustainability can be hard to achieve unless there is a consensus amongst key stakeholders and this means finding consensus on the objectives at the start of the project.

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Keynote Speech ‘Humanising BRT Sunway Experience’: Mr. Muhammad Yazurin Sallij Muhammad Yasin, CEO Mr Yasin brought in the operator’s perspective and discussed Prasarana Malaysia Berhad and lessons from the BRT Sunway.

Prasarana has a vision to provide connectivity and mobility for all with a mission to increase public transportation usage through reliable, affordable, proficient, integrated and dynamic services on a sustainable basis. The importance of the work done to improve the institutional capabilities and resourcefulness of the Malaysian transport sector was emphasised by the conference speakers as this provides the sustainable basis for the development of new transport infrastructure.

Bandar Sunway serves a population of 418,000 in the Petaling Jaya district with 90 percent of the area being residential zones. The BRT Sunway line was built as an elevated corridor to avoid the high congestion during peak periods which would otherwise create uncomfortable and frustrating journey experiences and this also allowed the line to be built within an existing developed area. Because most of the area was already developed, additional development was not given as much emphasis in this project. The route itself is 5.4 kilometres with 7 stations and 15 electric buses serving an average weekday ridership of 14,000. It was opened in 2015 as a public-private partnership between Prasarara Malaysia Berhad and Sunway Berhad.

The BRT Sunway line connects two railway lines with residential, education, commercial, healthcare and hotels located along the length of the line. The location within a largely suburban area means that the BRT Sunway line fulfils a different role compared to other BRT systems worldwide that serve as a transit backbone in dense urban areas.

Mr Yasin’s definition of Bus Rapid Transit is similar to that presented by the other speakers: 1. BRT is fast, reliable, convenient, affordable and distinct from regular bus services. 2. A flexible but integrated package of facilities, systems and vehicle options tailored to local conditions and constraints. 3. The centrepiece of an urban redevelopment program.

BRT Sunway recognises that new populations are more susceptible to change and the large student population in the Sunway area provides a constant opportunity to win new customers. They have found that a generic campaign or promotion to all students is not as effective as campaigns targeted to new students during enrolment or new student intake and the growth in patronage is greatest around the time of new student intakes each year. They have also experienced the limitations of park and ride – this can help to grow patronage but only to a certain extent as only 11% of car spaces are turned over during day. They have instead found it best to invest in last mile connectivity to help riders reach their final destinations without motor vehicles.

Development opportunities were limited by the extent of existing developments on the corridor, but BRT has led to the creation of an activity centre at the middle of the line. When the project first opened, patronage on the Sunway was largely focused on peak hours. Now with the creation of intermediate destinations there is a noticeable increase in off peak hour patronage and a significant ‘Lunch hour rush’. This emphasises the impact of value co-creation and urban development.

Important evidence was presented on price elasticity and the need to carefully consider pricing strategies. Originally fares were set high as the view was that this was a price inelastic market (i.e. higher fares would not discourage ridership). However, the operators decided to experiment with several trials of free travel months. For instance, free weekend travel found almost 12,000 passengers per weekend hour. Another trial of half price fares around the opening of the new metro rail station achieved strong growth.

Assessment of the evidence led to a 20 per cent fare decrease in December 2018 and the introduction of the new My100 monthly pass since Jan 2019. This has led to an overall 40 per cent ridership growth year on year starting from March 2019 and the change in the marketing emphasis for the project. Marketing now emphasises the travel time savings for BRT rather than trying to position BRT as a ‘premium’ product.

Mr Yasin finished his presentation with a discussion of the importance of understanding the customers, creating efficient multimodal connections and creating destinations along the route to balance peak and off peak demand along with the need to account for price elasticities in setting fares.

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KEYNOTE SPEECH ‘VOLVO BUSES TECHNOLOGY AND SOLUTIONS’: MR. STEFAN WIDLUND, CITY MOBILITY DIRECTOR, VOLVO BUS CORPORATION Mr Widlund discussed the urban challenges of air pollution, congestion, noise, urbanisation, energy use, climate change and road safety. These issues are important globally and particularly important for Malaysia which has over 70 percent urbanisation.

This presentation emphasised the role of Bus Rapid Transit as part of mass mobility. BRT offers a distinctive image, high capacity buses, dedicated lanes, prepaid ticketing, the provision of stations or enhanced stops and improved telematics. The previous presentations emphasised the importance of working with knowledgeable industry partners so it is notable that Volvo has been working with BRT systems since the 1970s.

Mr Widlund discussed the success of BRT in Mexico City where BRT was introduced in a metro area which already had both metro and light rail systems. Now BRT is the best ranked transport mode in Mexico City which emphasises the value that customers place on well-designed BRT networks. There was also a discussion on how BRT is a very flexible mode which can respond to the unique contexts of each city. The importance of understanding the context of each city was emphasised by the majority of presenters during the conference.

The main part of the presentation was to discuss city strategies and goals and how these shape the transport solution. The design of a BRT system should account for the strategy of the city, whether it is to increase public transport modal share, build a reliable public transport network or reduce pollution levels.

Mr Widlund discussed why electric buses are not yet universal. Electric buses account for 17 per cent of buses globally but 99 per cent of the electric buses are in Chinese cities. The key factors limiting the introduction of electric buses outside China are the range of vehicles (i.e. the distance buses can travel before recharging or swapping batteries). Range is a particular issue in cities where air conditioning is necessary as it is throughout South East Asia. There is a balance between the cost of the and the range. The price of batteries per kilowatt hour (a measure of capacity) is going down but the need for more battery capacity per vehicles means that cost of electric buses is not falling to the same extent.

The cost and ownership of charging infrastructure can be a challenge if charging is to happen on public roads. Locating charging in depots solves this problem but creates a need for large electricity grid capacity at the site of depot and may require investment in grid. For these reasons, operators and governments need to recognise that specifying an all-electric fleet may add an extra layer of complexity to new projects and may have implications for the financial viability of the project.

Volvo strongly supports electrification but believes that there will be a transition period. There are very good alternatives to fully electric buses, for instance hybrid buses which allow for instant deployment and no need for new infrastructure. Hybrid buses can operate up to one kilometre on full electric mode at up to 50 kilometres per hour so provide for zero emissions in sensitive areas. e.g. around bus stops, historical or environmentally sensitive areas. There are many different types of alternative fuels but the Euro VI standard provides most of the pollution benefits of all electric vehicle operation at a much lower cost particularly if used with hybrid buses.

Mr Widlund concluded by stating that whilst electric propulsion is the future, for large scale BRT deployment, proven technologies are recommended. Diesel/Biodiesel have advantages over gas powered vehicles and electric buses can be used in smaller projects or for smaller parts of a bigger project.

CLOSING REMARKS: DATO’ ZILANI SAFARI, CEO OF TDA Dato’ Safari concluded the conference by discussing the fact that BRT carries nearly 30 million passengers worldwide per day but has only been recently introduced to Malaysia. This means that there is still a need to develop an understanding of BRT’s potential amongst key stakeholders and a need to ensure that BRT brings value for money for the public. Dato’ Safari concluded by stating the need to consider BRT as a whole eco- system, including vehicles and fuel across the entire life cycle. There is also a need for BRT to support other government initiatives, for instance by finding ways for BRT to support the palm oil industry. With the key being sustainability for both the environment and the economy.

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