Lee: Ridership of 25,564 on hydrogen bus from Sept 2020 to Oct this year

A TOTAL ridership of 25,564 passengers has been recorded from September 2020 to October this year on the trial run of the hydrogen bus service, the State Legislative Assembly was told.

“Currently the vendor registration for the H2 (hydrogen) feeder bus is ongoing.

“Tender contracts involving the scope and requirement for H2 Feeder Bus Depot Infrastructure Design, delivery of H2 Feeder Bus and Integrated System as well as the requirements for H2 fuel supply is being finalised,” Transport Minister Dato Sri Lee Kim Shin said in his winding-up speech.

Lee also informed that in January 2020, the state government through Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) had launched the trial run for three hydrogen buses in Kuching to prepare hydrogen bus as the future public bus, including as feeder buses for the Autonomous Rail Transit (ART) system.

Responding to Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong who raised concern on the buses’ operation in Kuching, he said the total number of hydrogen buses required to complement the ART service is not 100.

“The number of buses can only be finalised when the operation plans are firmed up and they will be provided in stages according to the ART development phases,” he added.

As the hydrogen bus is a new technology, he said trial runs have been carried out with the manufacturers to test the technical suitability of the buses to run in the state’s climate condition.

This will enable his ministry to prepare itself to respond to any technical challenges in a holistic manner, Lee said.

“The number of technical issues faced is considered typical for any similar size buses in the market, whether they are battery, electric powered buses or powered by diesel engines.

“Our technical team, assisted by the manufacturer’s team of engineers and technicians, has addressed the issues which are standard in nature,” he added.