Yong questions viability of using hydrogen buses for transport

KUCHING: Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong is seeking answers from the GPS government on how the public could have full confidence in the hydrogen-fuel bus service given what she claimed its unreliability and instability.

“The answer given by Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) chairman Tan Sri Datuk Amar Abdul Aziz Husain two days ago admitting that the hydrogen-fuel buses have been grounded to undergo full maintenance work speaks volumes that the hydrogen technology is still not viable, unstable and immature.

“SEDC also admitted that Sarawak does not have any local experts who specialised in hydrogen technology but has to rely solely on foreign technicians to carry out the necessary maintenance. For our case here, SEDC has to ‘beg’ the technician to fly all the way from China to fix the problem,” she said in a statement, yesterday.

Yong opined it is sad to see the state government spending millions of ringgit on the hydrogen-fuel bus project which included the construction of fuelling stations and production plants while many countries refrained from venturing into it as it is an unproven technology.

“Suffice to say, despite millions of Ringgit spent, the ordinary people do not get to enjoy any benefits out from it and that the core issue relating to public transport system in the major cities of Sarawak remains unsolved.

“The hydrogen-fuel bus started its trial run sometime in August 2019 but subsequently in less than two months, the service was suspended due to temporary halt at the hydrogen production plant and refuelling station.

“During January, 2020, the hydrogen bus went on the road again but shortly after that the service stopped due to technical issues,” she noted.

Yong also asked how the introduction of the hydrogen bus can solve the public transport system problem in Sarawak with the high frequency of breakdowns of the bus.