The Practical Learning on Electric Bus Conversion to Support Carbon Neutrality Policy in Thailand’s Transport Sector

Climate change is one of the problems that affects the climate, natural disasters, and lives, economies, and industries around the world. Since the main cause is the combustion of fossil fuels, the transportation sector is a significant factor in causing these problems. Therefore, many countries, including Thailand, have policies to promote the increased use of electric vehicles. However, past measures have focused mostly on promoting the use of personal electric vehicles. For public transportation, buses are a major part of creating pollution and the problems of particulate matter with a diameter of less than 2.5-micron (PM 2.5), which is another major problem in Thailand because Thailand has many old buses. However, pushing transport operators to switch from internal combustion engine (ICE) buses to electric buses requires a large budget. Therefore, the conversion of old ICE buses into electric buses is one approach that can help promote the use of electric buses to become more possible. Another issue that makes transport operators afraid to switch from ICE buses to electric buses is the shortage of maintenance personnel. Therefore, this action research focuses on creating knowledge and practical skills related to electric vehicle modification and maintenance in the education sector. From the results of this practical research, the researcher was able to modify the old ICE bus into an electric bus and passed the test according to the research objectives.