A fleet of electric and hydrogen-powered buses will be rolled out for the first time in Abu Dhabi next month as part of the Capital’s green public transport service, a senior official from the Integrated Transport Centre (ITC)-Abu Dhabi said during the ‘The Journey to Net Zero Forum’ organised by Khaleej Times on Tuesday.
Anan Alamri, section head at ITC’s Alternative Sustainable Mobility, Public Transport Affairs Sector, said the zero-emission buses are part of Abu Dhabi’s target to convert 20 per cent of public transportation in Abu Dhabi green by 2030 and 100 per cent environment friendly by 2050.
The number of buses and specific routes that will be served by the electric and hydrogen-powered buses were not yet revealed by Alamri but she confirmed that the buses will be deployed only within Abu Dhabi and bus fare will remain the same. She added charging stations have already been installed at the bus depots.
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Unlike traditional fossil fuel buses, electric and hydrogen-powered buses does not emit harmful pollutants and greenhouse gases. Hydrogen buses, in particular, only emit water vapour.
Speaking during the panel discussion on ‘Building Tomorrow: Pioneering Renewable Energy, Circular Economy, Smart Construction, and Sustainable Mobility for a Greener Future,” Alamri said it would be the first time that hydrogen buses will be made available to the public in Abu Dhabi.
She added young Emirati engineers were earlier sent to China and South Korea to study how to operate and maintain hydrogen and electric buses.
Meanwhile, in December last year – during Cop28 – ITC-Abu Dhabi deployed an all-electric fleet of nine buses shuttling passengers from Terminal A of Abu Dhabi International Airport to the COP28 venue at Expo City Dubai.
Ateeq Al Mazrouei, director of the planning department at ITC, then said it was the first time electric buses were used “for intercity bus transportation between emirates, running 24 hours a day”, adding|: “Covering a distance of 520km a day, the electric bus operations helped reduce carbon emissions by 3.7 tonnes per day.”