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Text by Nurul Asyiqin
Photo by NTU Singapore
- A fleet of 19 electric campus buses will be fully deployed in NTU by December
- Two new electric buses have already been rolled out on the campus
- A new Smart Mobility Experiential Centre has been launched to monitor ridership trends
A fleet of 19 electric campus buses will be deployed in NTU by December, with some as early as this month, said bus vendor ComfortDelGro on Wednesday (Nov 16).
The new buses will replace ComfortDelGro’s current fleet of traditional buses that were deployed in September. Two new electric buses have already been rolled out.
The buses, which can carry around 25 seats, with additional space for standing passengers, are navy blue in colour. Students can also charge their digital devices using the charging ports and wireless charging pads located near the seats.
Unlike the current fleet, the new buses are equipped with a passenger information display system that indicates its location on the campus bus route and the upcoming bus stop, said ComfortDelGro in a statement.
The buses are equipped with data trackers that feed real-time information to the new Smart Mobility Experience Centre (SMEC) located beside Boost Juice Bar in North Spine Plaza.
The data, which will also be pooled from the NTU Omnibus mobile app, will help the centre monitor ridership trends and deploy more buses when needed.
ComfortDelGro said: “For example, more buses may be deployed to specific routes when there are spikes in ridership which will also help mitigate overcrowding at bus stops.”
Mr Jackson Chia, chief executive officer of Private Mobility Group, ComfortDelGro said: “With the ability to collect and analyse data in real-time, we are better able to improve the scheduling and the deployment of our electric bus fleet.”
The SMEC is open to the public and students can share their feedback directly with ComfortDelGro there.
Visitors can also learn about ComfortDelGro’s fleet management systems through displays set up at the centre.
Passengers can also track how much their carbon footprint has reduced each time they take the electric bus by recording their journey on a tablet at the SMEC.
The launch of the new electric buses and SMEC is part of NTU’s long-term goal of reducing its carbon footprint by 50 per cent and becoming a smart campus, said Ms Tan Aik Na, senior vice president of administration at NTU.
