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Toyota Fuel Cell Bus Begins Operations in Toyota City, Japan

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You’ve probably heard of Toyota’s upcoming Mirai fuel cell vehicle, but we bet you haven’t heard about the Toyota fuel cell bus. This vehicle is the result of a collaboration between Toyota Motor Corporation and Hino Motors, Ltd, and began service in Toyota City on January 9th of this year. How’s that for starting 2015 in style?

Toyota fuel cell bus

The Toyota fuel cell bus

The bus is fitted with the Toyota Fuel Cell System—the same one found underneath the hood of the Mirai. This system uses both fuel cell and hybrid vehicle technologies that allow it to run on clean, renewable energy. Since the bus is quite a lot larger than Toyota’s sedan, it’s been equipped with eight high-pressure hydrogen tanks, two fuel cell stacks, and two motors. This will allow the Fuel Cell System to power the bus without any trouble that could be caused by the vehicle’s size.

On top of providing emission-free public transit, the Toyota fuel cell bus has been developed to enable it to supply power to buildings in case of emergencies.

Toyota fuel cell bus

To begin with, the bus will make three round-trips daily (except for Mondays), and future fuel cell buses could be added based on the vehicle’s feasibility. Additionally, the bus will be used as a shuttle between event venues on January 15th during Toyota City’s World Environment Week.

If the Toyota fuel cell bus is successful in Toyota City, we could very well be getting a glimpse of the future of public transit.