Estimated Costs to Fit Automated Ramps and Assistive Mechanisms in New Buses

Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Transport (a) whether the Ministry has conducted an estimate of the cost for new buses to be fitted with (i) ramps that can be automatically lowered for commuters in wheelchairs instead of ramps that need to be manually operated by the bus driver and (ii) kneeling mechanisms that allow the body or entrance door of buses to be lowered to facilitate boarding by the elderly or people with disabilities; and (b) if so, what is the estimate of these costs.

It can cost up to $8,000 to include an automated ramp on each new bus.

Since 2018, we have introduced the bus kneeling mechanism, which costs about $5,000 per bus, as a standard feature on all new public buses. To date, about 70% of our fleet has been equipped with this mechanism.