E-MAIL
AC Transit, the Bay Area publiv transport company, uses 6.5 million gallons of diesel per year, the company states. But during the coming years the amount of hydrogen used should be rising, while the amount of diesel should be reduced. AC Transit has spent the last 10 years testing and deploying three hydrogen fuel cell buses, and is now ready for more.
VAN HOOL hydrogen fuel cell bus
The first of 12 new VAN HOOL hydrogen fuel cell buses will begin arriving from Belgium at the end of April, doubling the number of fuel cell buses operating in the United States. They will run on multiple lines, which runs between San Francisco and Oakland. The company promotes a mix of energy sources, but officials argue that hydrogen is the best way to go, even if there"s a big near-term problem: the price of a hydrogen fuel cell bus. The new buses cost $2.5 million each compared to a standard diesel bus, which runs $400,000. At AC Transit the buses are described as research vehicles, they are working with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to monitor their performance.