Malaysia field testing Chinese electric bus

Wants to encourage Malaysians to use public transport more.

The bus was built by Chinese automaker BYD Co. Ltd., and is called the K9 in China. Hong Kong is currently field testing another BYD-made electric bus that it sees as part of a solution to the city’s choking air pollution. Malaysia’s goal is to get some 2,000 of these green buses on Malaysian roads by 2020. It expects the first electric bus to ply its route in Kuala Lumpur by the middle of 2014.

Some two million people live in Kuala Lumpur, and more than 300,000 people ride a bus every day. Malaysia is working with Japanese electronic appliance maker Panasonic Corporation and other firms to build more charging stations for the electric bus and other electric vehicles.

There are currently 20 charging stations in and around Kuala Lumpur. The pilot project involving the electric bus trial is part of a push to slash Malaysia’s carbon emission by 40% by 2020, and to reduce traffic congestion by boosting the use of public transportation.

The government said the initial tests will compare performance between electric buses and diesel buses to determine whether it makes economical and environmental sense to turn to battery-powered buses.

The focus of the study is primarily on energy consumption and environmental impact. The electric buses will be expected to travel 250 km on a single charge. Their lithium iron-batteries could take five hours and forty minutes to be fully charged.