Singapore to roll out 660 new electric buses from end-2026 with step-free aisles

Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced on November 4 that 660 new electric buses will be progressively deployed for passenger service from the end of 2026, replacing diesel buses reaching the end of their statutory lifespan. The fleet comprises 360 single-deck and 300 double-deck buses — Singapore's first large-scale purchase of electric double-deck buses — with the double-deckers using a three-door, two-staircase design to smooth boarding and alighting. The contracts are worth S$322.2 million in total. (Cover photo is a file photo of a BYD electric bus on a Singapore street.)

Step-free aisle answers commuter complaints

The biggest change is accessibility: advances in battery technology let the new buses use a full low-floor design with no steps along the main passageway, while steps up to the seating platforms are generally capped at 230 mm (300 mm for seats above the wheel arches), making it easier for seniors and less mobile commuters to board, move to the back and alight. The change answers direct feedback: about 420 electric buses now in service have been undergoing modification works since October 2025 after passengers complained that the steps to the seats were too high, some reaching 33 cm.

Longer range, staircase lights and a rear display for safety

Battery range has also improved: single-deck buses can travel up to 310 km on a charge (up from 280 km) and double-deck buses up to 240 km (up from 215 km). Double-deckers get green and red lighting on the staircases — red while the bus is moving, warning passengers to avoid the stairs, and green when it is stationary — plus a colour electronic display at the rear alerting surrounding road users when the bus is about to turn, stop or move off. That feature, recommended by the Bus Safety Tripartite Taskforce set up in 2024, will be activated in 2027. Single-deck buses seat up to 32 passengers and double-deckers up to 67, with extra foldable seats at the wheelchair bays.

Half the public bus fleet electric by 2030

Four suppliers won the contracts: ST Engineering Mobility Services with China's CRRC, BYD (Singapore), Cycle & Carriage Automotive with Zhongtong Bus, and the Yutong consortium, with an option to buy 50 more buses. Once all 660 are deployed, Singapore will have 1,140 electric buses in its public fleet. The LTA aims for electric buses to make up half of the public bus fleet by 2030 and a 100 per cent cleaner-energy bus fleet by 2040. As of the end of 2024, Singapore had 5,841 public buses.

(Sources: Land Transport Authority factsheet, November 4, 2026; The Straits Times, November 4, 2026.)