Four buses are plying the SA01 route. — KK SHAM/The Star
FOUR Smart Selangor electric buses are currently operating along the SA01 route connecting Shah Alam KTM station to Section 7 in the city.
Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) allocated RM5.5mil to operate buses on the route for a period of three years.
“Operations of the buses along the route, which has the highest density and demand in the city, started in December last year.
“We are currently assessing a few factors before adding more electric buses to other Smart Selangor routes,” the Selangor Mentri Besar said during the launch of the buses at Hentian Akhir Bandar in Section 19, Shah Alam, yesterday.
Amirudin said the electric bus initiative would be introduced in Klang, Petaling Jaya and Subang Jaya due to the stronger financial strength of their city councils.
“The cost of running electric buses is higher than that of diesel buses.
“I believe it can be reduced by increasing the number of buses and areas they operate in, or even extending the contract.
“When the cost of running electric buses drops to the same or almost the same as diesel buses, I believe we can introduce them in more places.
“The state government can also provide some allocations to local councils to run electric buses by then,” he said.
Amirudin said the location of the charging station for electric buses was in Puchong, quite far from the SA01 route.
“We will seek support from Tenaga Nasional Bhd and relevant agencies to address this issue. We need to have a charging station nearby,” he said.
He added that electric buses released around 700kg less carbon dioxide into the air per day compared to diesel buses, so it was good for the environment.
On a separate matter, Amirudin said there would not be any amendments on the Collection, Discard and Disposal By-law 2007 during the ongoing Selangor State Assembly sitting.
“Amendments may be tabled by the relevant executive councillor in future sittings if there is a need,” he said.
When asked about the maximum RM2,000 penalty for illegal dumping under the by-law, which is relatively low, Amirudin said the effectiveness of enforcement should be considered besides the amount.
“For example, when we increased the maximum penalty under Selangor Water Management Authority Enactment 1999 from RM100,000 to between RM200,000 and RM1mil in 2020, many offenders still managed to escape punishment.
“Hence, we should look at the bigger picture instead of just focusing on the penalty.
“After all, our purpose is to prevent illegal dumping, not merely impose fines,” he said.
Present at the bus launch were Selangor investment, trade and mobility committee chairman Ng Sze Han and Shah Alam mayor Datuk Mohd Fauzi Mohd Yatim.
They took a ride on one of the electric buses to Bangunan Dewan Negeri Selangor after the event.
