The city’s two public bus operators will put a total of 360 new-energy public buses, purchased in the current quarter, into service in the next quarter to promote the use of new energy vehicles (NEVs), the Transport Bureau (DSAT) said in a statement yesterday.
According to the statement, 200 of the extended-range e-buses were bought by TCM and 160 by Transmac.
According to specialist websites, extended-range electric vehicles have a plug-in battery pack and an electric motor, as well as an internal combustion engine. The electric motor is used for driving the wheels, while the internal combustion engine is only used as a generator to recharge the battery when it is depleted.
According to the statement, the bureau is monitoring the public bus companies to ensure that they are implementing their six-year service agreements signed with the government, which took effect last year and will expire at the end of 2026.
According to the agreements, since July 1 this year, the average age of the vehicles must not be more than 7 ½ years, and any vehicle in operation must not be older than 10 years, and vehicles older than 10 years must be subject to mandatory withdrawal.
After the new e-buses have come into operation, the two bus operators will have to phase out their old buses while maintaining the total number of buses in operation, the statement said.
As of last month, the two bus companies had 306 NEVs in operation, including TCM’s 250 and Tranmac’s 56, accounting for 33 percent of all public buses in operation in Macau, the statement said.
With the commissioning of the new batch of new e-buses, the proportion of new-energy public buses in operation in Macau will increase to over 60 percent, the statement noted.
The statement said that the bureau will continue to closely monitor the replacement of new energy buses by the two bus companies to promote safe, comfortable and environmentally friendly bus services for passengers.
These two undated handout photos released by the Transport Bureau (DSAT) yesterday show extended-range e-buses operated by TCM (above) and Transmac, at the public bus parking area in Nape. The e-buses were manufactured by Suzhou-based Higer Bus, except the two seen on the right-hand side of the Transmac buses which were produced by Zhengzhou-based Yutong Bus.
