By Zaki Salleh
TAIPING: The electric bus service (EV) of the Taiping Municipal Council (MPT) will operate for a trial period of three months from May 1 to July 31.
The EV Bus route involves the Heritage Trail around Taiping Town for a distance of 11.5 kilometers (km).
On Monday to Friday, four trips are provided starting at 9 am, 11 am, 3 pm and 5 pm.
The bus frequency is increased to five times on Saturdays, Sundays including public holidays or school holidays with an extra at 1pm while the other schedules are the same.
Each trip takes 1 hour 21 minutes and is provided by a tour guide giving information on the various locations of the Heritage Trail.
The EV Bus journey starts from Taiping Zoo & Night Safari and stops for 10 minutes at four places, namely Raintree Walk, Jam Menara, Casual Market and Galeri Perbandaran Taiping.
The EV Bus journey ends at the Burmese Pool and passengers will be taken back to Taiping Zoo & Night Safari.
The EV Bus, which has a capacity of 22 regular passengers and one disabled passenger, is an initiative of several local and foreign companies since 2015.
The fare will be charged from August after the end of the trial service.
Bus tickets are available at the Taiping Zoo & Night Safari Ticket Counter with a price of RM20 for adults and RM10 for the elderly, children and people with disabilities (OKU).
At the beginning of the operation, tickets will be sold with 30 percent discount rate until December 31.
This EV bus was donated by the Japanese government through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The launch of this EV Bus service is expected to boost the tourism industry in Taiping Bandar Warisan which will be celebrating its 150th year next year.
