Yangon is going EV all the way. EV private vehicle boom has been encouraged by the government through the abolition of import taxes on EVs. The imports become so popular that some auto traders are setting up entities to operate taxis from unsold stocks. Then came the coaches. Some of the popular coach companies are using EV tour buses to ply Yangon – Nay Pyi Taw route.The tide is not ending there. Now, another company has planned EV buses to be used in public transportation service in Yangon, said an official of the company.
“It is still underway. We need to seek approval for some requirements. The process is very strict so we need to ensure making our proposal more complete,” he said. Power Eleven Company is willing to test EV buses in YBS service so that weaknesses and advantages can be identified, and current buses are old, he said.
“We can identify weaknesses and advantages if we test it now. We will use EV buses in YBS services. It is very expensive and no one will consider trying it. But we won’t give up. It is less possible but we need to acquire feasibility. The problem is the project is very expensive so it might be difficult to ensure cost-effective. But we have planned to run on a trial so that we can identify its feasibility. It was not easy to run air-conditioned buses last seven or eight years, but we acquired feasibility to implement but lost as expected. However, we will have to try again after making calculations based on the data we acquired. It is impossible to do public transport like a commercial business,” he said.
