Overview
- Osaka Metro began relocating more than 100 idled electric buses from a Joto Ward parking lot on Monday, with a goal of finishing by the end of June.
- The operator had already abandoned all 190 buses after inspections found defects and drivers described control glitches, including steering that sent the bus the opposite way.
- Osaka Metro bought the fleet from EV Motors Japan, which had a Chinese contractor build the vehicles, and deployed 150 at the Expo and 40 on city on-demand routes before pulling them.
- The company recorded a 6.7 billion yen loss tied to the failed rollout, and its president said the vehicles would be moved quickly.
- Regulatory fallout includes an October transport ministry inspection and an 85-bus recall, and Osaka Metro says the method for disposing of the vehicles is still undecided.