Hydrogen fueling challenges lead to Sunline bus service interruptions

Jonathan Yslas uses public transportation on a regular basis, namely services offered by Sunline Transit Agency.

Over the past couple of months, however, Yslas has become concerned with changes he's noticed that have impacted his commute. "One day the bus was 2 hours late and the following day it didn't come at all. I had to catch another bus," explained Yslas.

Another issue he said he's encountered has been drivers not stopping for riders at bus stops.

In May, Sunline announced that it was implementing service changes and cited the nationwide bus driver shortage as the reason for the adjustment.

However, more recently Sunline has been grappling with a hydrogen shortage. The company sent a statement to News Channel 3 which noted "hydrogen fueling challenges during the last couple of months have caused SunLine to have service interruptions."

20% of Sunline's fleet is made up of hydrogen buses. The company said it is working with Nel Hydrogen to dispatch technicians and engineers to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. However, the company did not provide a timeline as to when the issues will be resolved.

A spokesperson for Sunline said updates regarding changes to service/interruptions for the upcoming week are posted on Sundays at sunline.org or the myStop app. Updates are also communicated via the company's social media as new information becomes available.