Hydrogen buses resume operations after maintenance works completed

by DayakDaily Team

KUCHING, Feb 20: Sarawak Metro Sdn Bhd’s hydrogen-powered buses are back on the road to continue its trial operation service, after completing scheduled maintenance works.

The current hydrogen-powered buses will continue to operate free-of-charge on two dedicated routes; the Downtown Heritage Loop which runs daily, and the Damai Loop, which runs on the weekends. The Downtown Heritage Loop takes passengers around the city centre while the Damai Loop is from the city centre to Damai Central.

According to its press release, the trial operation service, which was introduced in 2020, is focused on gaining first-hand knowledge and experience of 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 have also served to provide valuable insights into sustainable and modern public transportation and has 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.

Reiterating the importance of the trial operation service, Mazli emphasised that it has provided Sarawak Metro with valuable insights into managing a fleet of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), particularly for public transport purposes.

“It’s a vital part of the process of adopting new technology such as hydrogen fuel cells towards the decarbonisation of the public transport sector, and from the data we’ve collected, we’ve also been able to better gauge the hydrogen buses’ performance in our tropical weather and the local terrain,” he added.

He pointed out that the data collected during the trial operation has been essential in determining the optimal design of the future hydrogen buses to support the Kuching Urban Transportation System (KUTS).

Mazli added that the trial operation has contributed immensely towards achieving Sarawak’s ambition of transforming the public transport sector through hydrogen technology.

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.

Details of the bus schedule are available on the Sarawak Metro website www.mysarawakmetro.com and the ‘H2 Sarawak’ mobile application. – DayakDaily

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