ComfortDelGro clinches S$20m contract to run electric shuttle bus services at NTU from September

SINGAPORE: Transport giant ComfortDelGro will operate a fleet of about 20 electric buses at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) campus from September. 

The "multi-year contract", valued at about S$20 million, will see ComfortDelGro Bus serve four routes within NTU, running between 7:30am and 11pm daily, including public holidays.

The announcement on Monday (Feb 14) comes three months after ComfortDelGro won a S$30 million contract to operate electric shuttle bus services at the National University of Singapore (NUS) campus.

In a media release, ComfortDelGro said it would also be setting up a command centre on campus to oversee operations, deploying a transport management system with an "array of digital tools to enhance operational effectiveness and improve commuting experience".

"These include a ridership counter to monitor passenger occupancy rate, a built-in GPS system to track bus location, and also closed circuit televisions (CCTVs) on the buses to manage incident reporting," the company said.

"Data collected from these tools will be consolidated into the Fleet Management System, where commuters can get real-time location of buses, arrival times as well as passenger occupancy rate via the Commuter App, and where bus schedules can be monitored and optimised," it added. 

“We are excited and grateful that NTU has given us the vote of confidence to operate their shuttle services," said ComfortDelGro Bus CEO Stephen Chow, adding that the company intends to roll out "state-of-the-art fleet management and user-friendly interfaces" at both the NTU and NUS campuses. 

NTU administration senior vice president Tan Aik Na said: “Switching to electric buses for our campus shuttle service offers a greener way to travel for our community and is a reflection of the university’s commitment to decarbonisation and sustainable development under the NTU Sustainability Manifesto."

Ms Tan noted that in line with its sustainability plan launched last October, the university aims to achieve carbon neutrality, as well as a 50 per cent reduction in carbon emissions, by 2035. 

ComfortDelGro Bus aims to electrify 20 per cent of its private bus fleet by 2025 and convert its entire fleet to electric buses by 2030.

In January, ComfortDelGro announced plans to introduce up to 1,000 fully electric taxis in Singapore by 2023. ComfortDelGro ENGIE - a joint venture with the French energy firm - has also begun installing its first batch of electric vehicle charging points at three housing estate car parks in Jurong West, as well as at the Urban Redevelopment Authority Centre.

Its London subsidiary Metroline operates both electric and hydrogen powered buses, while CDC Victoria, its subsidiary in Melbourne, currently has 45 petrol-electric buses. 

"The electrification and digitalisation of bus services at NTU is one of the ways in which we are accelerating our sustainability efforts," said Jackson Chia, CEO of ComfortDelGro Taxi as well as the company's private mobility group. 

"We are now looking into providing the much needed infrastructure to accelerate the full electrification of our taxi and bus fleets by 2030," he added.