KUCHING: The city’s free hydrogen bus service officially starts today, running from 7am to 7pm along two routes.
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said the buses would for all locals and tourists.
“The routes are the Downtown Heritage Loop of about 14 km and the Damai Loop of approximately 67 km,” he said during a press conference after launching the bus service at Riverside Majestic Hotel here yesterday.
The Downtown Heritage Loop covers Kuching Waterfront, Central Timur, Ban Hock Road, Riverside Majestic Hotel, Kubah Ria, and the Malay Kampung Heritage Area.
The Damai Loop encompasses Riverside Majestic Hotel, Sarawak Museum, Satok, Petrajaya, and Damai Central.
Abang Johari said this was a pilot project to promote tourism and public transportation. More buses may be added in the future.
He said that the buses were equipped with H2Sarawak App developed by Melvin Ong, chief executive officer of Karuna Sarawak.
“The buses also come with high speed WiFi and the latest e-portal which consists of in-bus entertainment and e-shopping platform,” he said.
He said the Hydrogen Bus App is the first in Malaysia to deploy a citywide implementation of ‘Beacons’ which allow push notifications of offers, promotions, and historical landmarks.
“Tourists will be able to know where they are and can just stop at certain destinations and see all the places of interest along the way,” he explained.
According to him, the Hydrogen Bus App is also the first in the state to be integrated with Google Transit which gives users real time schedules of bus arrivals and connecting points.
“This will pave the way for fully integrated routes and a live schedule of Sarawak’s public transport system,” said Abang Johari.
The hydrogen buses are the first of their kind in South East Asia.
The chief minister said this initiative was a joint effort of the Transport Ministry and Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) to promote a reliable, affordable, safe, and eco-friendly public transportation system.
Earlier, Abang Johari launched the bus operation. He, was accompanied by a number of ministers, assistant ministers, invited guests, and members of the media on a 30-minute tour on the three buses.
The tour took them past Kuching Waterfront and Sarawak Museum, and along Datuk Ajibah Abol Road, Satok Road, and more.
Also present during the event were Transport Minister Datuk Lee Kim Shin, Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian, Utilities Minister Datuk Seri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom; Minister in the Chief Minister’s Office (Integrity and Ombudsman) Datuk Talib Zulpilip, Transport Assistant Minister Datuk Dr Jerip Susil, and SEDC chairman Tan Sri Datuk Amar Abdul Aziz Husain.
