Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Hong Kong to get first electric double-decker bus designed to handle hilly terrain

Hong Kong to get first electric double-decker bus designed to handle hilly terrain

Battery-powered double-decker bus from Bravo Transport can accommodate 113 passengers and could be ready for service by midyear.

A major bus operator in Hong Kong has unveiled the city’s first electric double-decker vehicle that is specially designed to handle hilly terrain and meet commuter demand for air conditioning on public transport.

Bravo Transport, the holding company of Citybus and New World First Bus, is the second franchised transport firm to launch electric buses this week, as operators aim to meet the government’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.

The operator plans to replace its entire fleet of 1,700 buses with zero-emission models by 2045, five years ahead of the target.

Quality control supervisor Chan Kwoon-yui shows the electric battery modules located on the lower deck of the bus.


The electric double-decker bus, currently the only one procured by the company, will be introduced to Hongkongers through a series of community events next month before starting road trials. The company hopes to launch the bus into service by midyear.

The bus was developed in a collaborative effort by Bravo Transport and Chinese company Wisdom (Fujian) Motor Company, and designed with Hong Kong’s road and weather conditions in mind.

Bravo Transport chairman Cliff Zhang said the development of the electric bus was part of the operator’s long-term plan to help the city move towards carbon neutrality.

The transport industry is responsible for 18 per cent of Hong Kong’s carbon emissions, of which the franchised bus sector accounts for 2 per cent. Bravo Transport currently operates more than 1,700 buses plying over 300 routes on Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories.

The battery-powered double-decker has a reduced capacity of 113 passengers, compared to the 130 in diesel-fuelled buses, due to the placement of the battery on the lower deck. Each full charge takes about 2½ hours.

“The zero-emission buses come at a 40 per cent premium, but we aim to find a funding model for our buses so we will not pass on the cost to our customers,” said chief operations officer Richard Hall, comparing the cost with that of a diesel-fuelled bus.

The electric bus is designed with Hong Kong’s road and weather conditions in mind.


Earlier this week, another transport operator, KMB, launched a fleet of 16 new electric single-decker buses into service, with plans to introduce electric double-decker buses to its routes by early next year.

KMB’s electric double-decker buses are made by Chinese carmaker BYD and British manufacturer ADL. Compared to KMB’s model which boasts 300km (190 miles) of driving range for the same amount of charging time, the electric bus developed by Bravo Transport has a shorter range of only 200km.

However, the driving range is a conservative estimate as it depends on a variety of factors, such as the number of passengers on board and whether the bus is travelling on flat or hilly terrain, according to Vincent Fung, Bravo Transport’s operational and engineering director.

Bravo Transport will also import the city’s first hydrogen-fuelled bus in July. The company will run trials for both electric and hydrogen-fuelled buses simultaneously to gather more data before coming up with a zero-emissions transport plan for the city.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×