KUCHING: Sarawak Metro Sdn Bhd’s hydrogen-powered buses are back on the road to continue their trial operation service after completing scheduled maintenance works.
The trial operation service, which was introduced in 2020, has always focused on gaining first-hand knowledge and experience on these zero emission vehicles as well as to create greater public awareness on hydrogen mobility.
Sarawak Metro’s chief executive officer Mazli Mustaffa said the buses had also served to provide valuable insights into sustainable and modern public transportation and had since served over 60,000 passengers, with the numbers increasing every year.
“This is a clear demonstration of the growing awareness and acceptance of clean energy solutions among the public, especially in Kuching,” he said in a recent statement.
Reiterating the importance of the trial operation service, Mazli added the operation had allowed the company to have a clearer understanding of the workings of operating a fleet of hydrogen fuelcell electric vehicles (FCEV), particularly for public transport purposes.
“It’s a vital part of the process of adopting new technology such as hydrogen fuelcells towards the decarbonisation of the public transport sector, and from the data we have collected,
“We have also been able to better gauge the hydrogen buses’ performance in our tropical weather and the local terrain,” he added.
He further pointed out that the data collected during the trial operation had been essential in determining the optimal design of the future hydrogen buses to support the Kuching Urban Transportation System (KUTS).
“These future hydrogen buses will be the feeder buses providing the “first and last mile connectivity” for the Autonomous Rapid Transit (ART) system, once passenger service for Phase 1 of the KUTS project begins,” he said.
In the meantime, Mazli stated the current hydrogen-powered buses would continue to operate free of charge on two dedicated routes: the Downtown Heritage Loop which would run daily and the Damai Loop, which would run on weekends. The Downtown Heritage Loop takes passengers around the city centre while the Damai Loop is from the city centre to Damai Central.
“Besides the daily trial operation passenger service, the hydrogen buses have also catered for the needs of the various government agencies, the private sector, academia, as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
“Over the years, Sarawak Metro has hosted delegations from various organisations, including Rapid KL, Malaysia’s largest bus operator, which wanted to learn more about our hydrogen buses,” he stated, adding that the trial operation had contributed immensely towards achieving Sarawak’s ambition of transforming the public transport sector through hydrogen technology.
Details of the bus schedule are available on the Sarawak Metro website www.mysarawakmetro.com and the ‘H2 Sarawak’ mobile application.
