Green Roof on The Go !

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Singapore's first public buses with plants installed on their roofs - touted as the first in Asia - hit the road yesterday.

The Garden on the Move initiative by urban greenery specialist GWS Living Art was launched at Lakeside Garden.

Among the buses with the installed plants is one that was used for a shuttle service in the Lakeside area and will now be used to ply an SBS Transit route. The special service was used to ferry visitors to the Singapore Garden Festival Horticulture Show, which ended yesterday, to and from Chinese Garden MRT station and Lakeside Garden.

The initiative is part of a three-month study to see whether the temperature inside the buses can be lowered, potentially saving on fuel.

The study involves another nine buses used for SBS Transit services, including services 139, 145, 13, 39 and 45 which operate in places such as Toa Payoh, Tampines and Orchard Road. Some of the buses started plying the roads yesterday.

The buses are outfitted with a locally developed soil-less system called Gaiamat.

The initiative is funded by the Temasek Foundation and supported by the National Parks Board (NParks), Moove Media and the Singapore Green Building Council.

GWS Living Art founder Zac Toh said: "For me, cities should co-exist with nature. Through this project, we hope to raise more awareness of how 'green roofs' are important in a city."