Australian distributor Foton Mobility has delivered two hydrogen fuel cell buses to Transit Systems Australia.
The vehicles were ordered in May 2021 and are the first hydrogen buses to join the Transit Systems fleet, alongside its 60 electric buses.
This step follows the transport provider’s experience operating hydrogen buses in the UK as Tower Transit.
Transit Systems Chief Operating Officer, Greg Balkin said:We successfully operated hydrogen fuel cell buses in London for over 7 years, and have continued to leverage that experience, knowledge and contacts to pave the way for a diesel-free bus fleet in Australia.
We are confident that our efforts will further drive the performance of hydrogen fuel cell and battery electric technology and accelerate the deployment of more sustainable public transport in Australia.
The buses are equipped with a fuel cell system developed by SinoHytec and Toyota and were produced by Chinese manufacturer Foton.
Globally, Foton has supplied over 1,100 buses of this model, including the 450 which were provided to the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022.
Neil Wang, CEO, Foton Mobility Australia said:Given our vast land and need for immediate carbon emission reduction in the transport area, hydrogen fuel cell buses are an important part of the mass transport landscape.
Our bus operator clients are ready to make the leap to hydrogen and have scope to include them in their fleet. Transit Systems was our first client to take on the Zero Emissions challenge in battery electric buses - and now in hydrogen city buses.
