Bus technicians tackle electric bus diagnostics at LTA’s BusTech Grand Challenge as half of public buses set to go electric by 2030
Bus technicians from all four of Singapore’s public bus operators went head to head on electric bus diagnostics and high-voltage battery troubleshooting at the Singapore BusTech Grand Challenge on Saturday, 24 October 2026, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said in a news release. The biennial event, held alongside the RailTech Grand Challenge at ITE College West, was attended by Minister for Transport Jeffrey Siow, who presented awards to the winning teams.
According to LTA, eight teams from SBS Transit, SMRT Buses, Tower Transit Singapore and Go-Ahead Singapore competed in the bus technician category. They were assessed on technical competencies, diagnostic capabilities and compliance with safety requirements while working through practical challenges on electric buses and their high-voltage battery systems.
In a separate student category, 12 teams from seven Institutes of Higher Learning designed prototypes for an integrated Autonomous Passenger Assistance System intended to improve accessibility for passengers with diverse needs, using sensing, machine learning and automation technologies. The challenges were organised by LTA with the Singapore Bus Academy, the Singapore Rail Academy and the National Transport Academy, supported by NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute (e2i).
In his speech, published by the Ministry of Transport, Mr Siow said this was the fifth run of the BusTech challenge. He said some 6,000 buses must be kept fit for service islandwide, and that the bus fleet is being progressively electrified: by 2030, about half of Singapore’s public buses will be electric, and by 2040 the whole fleet will run on cleaner energy.
For bus engineers and technicians, Mr Siow said, this means learning to work with new high-voltage battery systems, electrical components and digital diagnostic tools, which he described as entirely different from maintaining a conventional diesel bus.
Much of the rest of the speech focused on rail. Mr Siow announced that from November 2026 the Singapore Rail Academy will bring LTA and operator training under one consolidated curriculum, extend training to technicians and operations staff, and introduce industry certification pathways, with a partnership with five educational institutions so that on-the-job certifications can count towards formal qualifications.
LTA also said e2i will hold a Public Transport Career Fair on 17 November 2026 at the Devan Nair Institute for Employment and Employability, with more than 600 vacancies from LTA and public transport operators, including roles for bus captains and bus technicians.
For fleet operators outside public transport, the event is a reminder of how the switch to electric heavy vehicles changes workshop needs. Maintaining high-voltage systems safely calls for different skills, tools and safety procedures from diesel servicing, and companies planning to add electric buses, lorries or vans may want to factor technician training into their transition plans.
Source: Land Transport Authority news release and Ministry of Transport speech, 24 October 2026 — Read the original
