Civic Exchange creates roadmap for hydrogen-powered buses

The paper provides a business model to support the government’s green transformation roadmap and timetable for public buses.

Civic Exchange has created an innovation-supportive business model to support the government’s green transformation roadmap, in a white paper to be released by yearend.

The white paper, titled “A Pathway for the Deployment of Hydrogen in Hong Kong’s Public Buses,” also comes with a timetable for public buses. 

It was funded by the Strategic Public Policy Research Funding Scheme of the HKSAR government and administrated by the Chief Executive Policy Unit.

The white paper will also provide a total cost of ownership analysis for hydrogen fuel cell, battery electric, and diesel buses that are mandatorily retired from service and compare the business models of bus operations in London, Singapore, and Hong Kong to achieve zero vehicular emissions.

“Bus companies will have a maximum of eight years to develop a comprehensive plan that outlines the fleet transition pathway, the necessary infrastructure, and the associated annual costs required for the transition,” said Evan Auyang, chairman of Civic Exchange.

The bus franchises in Hong Kong established their own zero emissions targets back in 2022, despite facing challenges such as a ridership decline following COVID-19.

The white paper examines Hong Kong’s earlier service transition experiences to forecast implications in farebox revenue shifts and overhaul its bus franchise model for total fleet decarbonisation.

The revision also seeks to replace conventional fuel buses with hydrogen fuel cells and battery electric vehicles to reduce roadside franchised bus emissions, which contribute 2% of Hong Kong’s total carbon emissions to date.

“To decarbonise the franchised buses, Hong Kong should incorporate bus operation scenarios from various cities into Hong Kong’s business model and meet the five requirements, namely the zero-emission goal, scalability, fare predictability, service differentiation, and non-franchise revenue earnings that go beyond a financial way,” said Lawrence Iu, executive director of Civic Exchange and principal investigator.

Furthermore, the white paper also recommends a ten-year innovation-supportive business model that emphasises the advancements in low-carbon technology.