By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, March 11: Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong has called on the Sarawak government to reassess its plan to use hydrogen buses for the Kuching Urban Transportation System (KUTS), citing global failures and safety risks associated with the technology.
Yong highlighted that numerous cities worldwide have abandoned hydrogen bus projects due to high costs, operational inefficiencies, and serious safety concerns, including hydrogen-related explosions.
“It is impossible for Sarawak GPS (Gabungan Parti Sarawak) leaders not to be aware of this reality.
“GPS must avoid the risk of wasting taxpayers’ money on projects that have a high likelihood of failure, potentially becoming costly ‘white elephant’ ventures,” she said in a statement today.
She pointed to several international cases as cautionary examples. In Belgium, the transport company De Lijn discontinued the use of five hydrogen buses in Antwerp and dismantled its hydrogen refuelling station due to high costs and operational difficulties, made worse by the bankruptcy of bus manufacturer Van Hool.
Similarly, in Poland, the city of Poznan experienced simultaneous power failures across all 25 hydrogen-powered buses, forcing authorities to revert to diesel buses.
France also saw setbacks in hydrogen bus adoption. The city of Pau abandoned its hydrogen bus fleet after four years of operation due to excessively high maintenance costs. Meanwhile, in Montpellier, newly elected officials cancelled an order for 51 hydrogen-powered buses upon discovering that electric buses would be six times cheaper to operate.
In Canada, the Whistler hydrogen bus programme proved to be financially unsustainable due to exorbitant costs for fuel and maintenance, despite achieving only a 50 per cent reduction in emissions.
Iceland also discontinued its hydrogen bus fleet after European Union funding dried up. Similarly, in Australia, Perth abandoned its hydrogen bus trial entirely.
Concerns over safety have also been a major factor in the discontinuation of hydrogen bus projects. In Norway, a hydrogen refuelling station explosion in Oslo in 2019 led to the suspension of hydrogen buses and the abandonment of further trials in the city. In South Korea, a hydrogen storage tank explosion during testing in 2019 raised significant concerns about the safety of hydrogen technology for public transportation.
“These examples should serve as a clear cautionary tale. We are not against the improvement of our public transport system, but it is the duty of the Sarawak government to remain vigilant and ensure that public funds are wisely invested in sustainable, reliable and cost-effective solutions that benefit Sarawak in the long term,” Yong stressed. — DayakDaily
