All on board: Palma de Mallorca’s first hydrogen-fuelled bus arrives from Poland

THE days of polluting public transport are nearly behind us, and Palma City Council has shown that they’re on board with a hydrogen bus scheme. The city’s first zero-emission hydrogen vehicle was unveiled on Wednesday, February 1.

During a meeting on Wednesday morning, the Councillor for Transport, Francesc Dalmau and the Manager of the EMT transport service took a look at the city’s prototype hydrogen bus. The bus which had just arrived from manufacturers in the Polish city of Poznan is one of five hydrogen-fuelled buses in the council fleet.

Palma has become the second city in Spain, after Barcelona to take the pioneering step of using zero-emission hydrogen vehicles thanks to the European Green Hysland Mallorca project, which will use hydrogen generated on the island. The five buses costed an estimated €1 million each.

Dalmau spoke at the launch event saying “We are taking another step towards sustainable mobility. Palma will be a pioneering city in terms of zero-emission public transport. We are also prioritising user comfort with these buses that make less noise and have gentler braking systems”.