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BYD Company Limited has delivered all 15 fully electric buses to integrate the BRT Sunway Line, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. On June 01, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak announced the beginning of operation of the BRT Sunway Line as of June 2015 – at a press conference held by Malaysia’s Public Transportation Company Prasarana and its subsidiary Rapid KL, along with Sunway Group, the country’s largest construction company.
The Sunway Line is the first battery electrified BRT system in the world, consisting of 15 eco-friendly battery electric buses running a 5.4km route on elevated bus lanes, and comes to provide a better and more integrated transit service for the residents of Kuala Lumpur’s adjoining townships of Bandar Sunway and UEP Subang Jaya, connecting hospitals, universities, commercial, shopping and residential areas. 500,000 residents are expected to benefit from the system. Malaysian authorities place great importance on environmental protection and have taken substantial measures to control pollution and emissions, as shown with the development of this watershed BRT project.
BYD’s battery electric bus runs 250km on a single charge, using the company’s proprietary fire-safe, non-toxic iron-phosphate battery with in-wheel hub motors and regenerative braking. It offers a silent and comfortable ride, without the uncomfortable jerks and vibrations common to combustion buses. The bus had been tested and demoed for nearly two years in Malaysia, and by exceeding all requirements to run the BRT Sunway Line, in February 2014, BYD won the Prasarana bidding and was tendered the order to supply all 15 new battery-run electric buses for the project. BYD’s delivery of these buses to such a significant public transportation project not only indicates the company’s substantial steps towards its sustainability goals, but also its technological and market maturity.