First Aberdeen and Aberdeen City Council have announced that their new fleet of hydrogen-powered buses have completed 100,000 miles in just four months.
Switching to the hydrogen fleet of buses has prevented 170,000kg of CO2 emissions from being released into the city’s air.
First Aberdeen and the council are working together to tackle air pollution to benefit the environment and resident’s health.
Michelle Thomson, bus driver at First Aberdeen, said driving the buses is an “absolute joy” and people will often hop on just to enjoy the experience.
She added: “It’s been especially lovely during lockdown, too, as the buses are so quiet that socially distancing passengers wearing masks can still have a natter from either end of the bus. As drivers, it makes us much more in tune with what’s going on onboard, so we’re able to deliver the best in customer service.”
Aberdeen bus passengers were the first in the world to ride on the hydrogen-powered double-deckers when they launched in January.
Each vehicle is expected to save 80 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year as the exhausts only emit water. Aberdeen also makes its own hydrogen to fuel the buses using electricity made from wind power.
City council co-leader Douglas Lumsden, said: “Transforming the city’s carbon footprint on a large scale is no easy feat, but we’re committed to making continuous progress and are proud to be leading the way in the transport industry with First Aberdeen to bring our joint vision of low emission public transport to life.”