KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 — Prasarana Malaysia Berhad (Prasarana) through Rapid Bus Sdn Bhd (Rapid Bus) plans to add nearly 300 buses including 100 electric buses involving an allocation of RM180 million, in 2024.

Prasarana president and group chief executive officer Mohd Azharuddin Mat Sah said the first phase of the plan to increase the number of buses would only involve Rapid KL services following high demand from people in the federal capital.

"We will start opening tenders in the first quarter of 2023 and the provision provided also covers the work of upgrading the infrastructure and electrical cables at the station depots for the charging process.

"By the first quarter of 2023, Rapid Bus aims to have 1,183 buses operating every day. The number of buses is still very small compared to other countries with efficient public transport like Singapore,” he told Bernama.

Mohd Azharuddin said the company would introduce 45 electric mini buses measuring seven to eight metres in length and 55 large-sized buses measuring 10 to 12 metres.

Mohd Azharuddin said Rapid KL had tested the electric buses for the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Sunway Line using two selected bus routes for three months from April to June 13.

The routes were Route 400: Damai Perdana to Lebuh Pudu Hub via Bukit Bintang and Route 650: Taman Desa to Pasar Seni Hub.

"We are confident that we will be able to move these 100 electric buses, in parallel with the improvement in the rail system in the future, thus offering an optimal service to public transport users,” he added. — Bernama