By Zaki Salleh
TAIPING: The hopes of visitors coming to Taiping to experience riding the electric bus (EV) were dashed as the service has been temporarily suspended.
A visitor from Rawang, Selangor, Ramlan Razali, said he came with his family to Taiping to stroll around and visit interesting places.
This included riding the EV bus, which he considered an interesting experience.
“Unfortunately, the EV bus service has been temporarily suspended by the Taiping Municipal Council (MPT).
“The EV bus is indeed an attractive facility as it takes us through the Taiping Heritage Trail.
“Perhaps I will come back another time to experience this,” he said.
Similarly, a visitor from Bukit Beruntung, Syed Mokhtar Syed Ali, mentioned that his wife and children wanted to ride the EV bus.
“We only found out that the EV bus service was suspended after we arrived here.
“If there was information in the media, we might have known earlier,” he said.
Meanwhile, a check on the Taiping Municipal Council (MPT) Facebook page informed that the MPT EV Bus service has been temporarily suspended since July 3 due to technical disruptions.
However, it was not stated when the service would resume.
Previously, the MPT EV bus operated on a trial basis for three months from May 1 to July 31 last year. Starting from August 1, the service operated on a paid basis for the public.
This made MPT the first local authority in the country to own and manage an EV bus.
The bus, fully powered by electricity with a capacity of 22 passengers, was donated by the Japanese government through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
