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The 20 electric public buses made by Yutong on Singapore\u2019s roads cannot be remotely controlled by the Chinese manufacturer, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Nov 17.<\/p>\n
The buses also do not support over-the-air software updates, LTA added in response to The Straits Times\u2019 questions about the cyber security of such buses, following a report by Norwegian public transport operator Ruter.<\/p>\n
Ruter said in late October that tests on the electric buses suggested that Yutong could remotely turn them off.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis could be exploited to affect the bus,\u201d its report said. The operator now plans to introduce stricter security requirements and step up anti-hacking measures.<\/p>\n
The 20 Yutong buses in Singapore have been operating smoothly on public bus services in Singapore since 2020, LTA said.<\/p>\n
Yutong\u00a0buses here are used by public bus operators Tower Transit Singapore, Go-Ahead Singapore and SMRT, according to Land Transport Guru, an independent website focusing on Singapore\u2019s public transport system.<\/p>\n
Acknowledging Ruter\u2019s report, LTA said: \u201cWe note Yutong\u2019s public clarification that its buses cannot be remotely controlled or deactivated.\u201d<\/p>\n
It noted that Yutong said the data collected is used solely for vehicle maintenance and to improve performance.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere there are electric buses with over-the-air updates elsewhere, they are carried out only with the operator\u2019s explicit approval and do not affect vehicle control systems,\u201d LTA said.<\/p>\n
The authority said the electric buses it procures must comply with international regulations that require manufacturers to roll out secure design, risk management and software update management processes throughout the vehicle\u2019s lifespan.<\/p>\n
LTA also requires that its contractors take strict data protection measures.<\/p>\n
LTA said it\u00a0will work closely with all bus suppliers and follow up with the necessary checks to ensure that risks associated with external connectivity are properly mitigated. It has\u202fmet Yutong and other electric bus-makers, BYD and Zhongtong.<\/p>\n
Yutong\u2019s website states that the company has sold nearly 110,000 buses to more than 100 countries across Europe, Africa, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region.<\/p>\n
Ruter said it will introduce stricter security requirements and step up anti-hacking measures following its tests in August, which suggested that Yutong had access to the buses\u2019 control systems for software updates and diagnostics.<\/p>\n
The tests \u2013 in which the buses were driven in underground mines to strip away external signals \u2013 were conducted on brand-new Yutong buses and on three-year-old vehicles from Dutch bus manufacturer VDL.<\/p>\n
Ruter said the tests showed that the Dutch buses did not have the ability to conduct over-the-air software updates, while the Chinese-made buses did.<\/p>\n
The Guardian reported that the UK will also investigate whether hundreds of Chinese-made buses can be controlled remotely by their manufacturers, and whether buses made by Yutong could be vulnerable to interference. This comes amid increasing concerns over Beijing\u2019s involvement in British infrastructure, the report said.<\/p>\n
Denmark\u00a0also opened an investigation after the Norwegian findings.<\/p>\n
Note: <\/i><\/b>This article was written by Vanessa Paige Chelvan and first appeared in The Straits Times on 17 November 2025. Additional reporting by Lee Nian Tjoe.<\/i><\/p>\n
Source: The Straits Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n