Japan is expected to have nearly 80 hydrogen fuel cell buses by the end of March, The Gas Review reports.
According to investigations by the Japanese publication, there are 33 fuel cell buses in service as of the end of the last fiscal year, and a further 45 will be placed into service this fiscal year.
In Japan, the Ministry of the Environment is subsidising the introduction of fuel cell buses. The subsidy covers half of the cost of the vehicle for the first introduction and a third of the cost for companies that have previously introduced fuel cell buses.
However, even with the subsidy, purchasing a fuel cell bus still places a large burden on a company, so from this fiscal year, a system for renting fuel cell buses from lease companies is being adopted.
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