Toyota Motor Corp. delivered the first fuel cell bus (FC bus) sold under the Toyota brand to the Bureau of Transportation of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. The Toyota FC Bus, as it is named, will be put into operation as a Toei route bus in March along with a second bus that is scheduled for delivery in the same month.
Toyota plans to introduce over 100 FC buses mainly within the Tokyo area, ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The increased use of FC buses in urban areas is expected to help raise the level of understanding by the general public regarding the use of FC buses as a form of public transportation, according to the company.
The Toyota Fuel Cell System (TFCS)1, which was developed for the Mirai fuel cell vehicle (FCV), has been adopted to provide better energy efficiency in comparison with internal combustion engines, as well as to deliver superior environmental performance with no CO2 emissions or Substances of Concern (SoC) emitted when driving. In addition, the FC Bus is compliant with Non-Step Standards2, making for easy boarding and exiting by elderly people and young children.
The bus also uses a high-capacity external power supply system. With a power supply capable of a 9 kW3 maximum output, and a large capacity of electricity supply at 235 kWh4, the FC bus can be used as a power source in the event of disasters, such as at evacuation sites such as in school gymnasiums5 or, its electricity supply can also be harnessed for home electric appliance use.
