Thursday, October 1, 2026
Intercity Transit will procure up to two tube trailers to support its hydrogen bus fleet.
The Intercity Transit Authority (ITA) authorized General Manager Emily Bergkamp to sign a $4,780,950 contract with Powertech USA, Inc. to acquire the trailers, which will be used for the transport and storage of hydrogen fuel. The authority made the decision at a meeting on Sept. 16.
The contract includes service for mandatory inspections, routine maintenance, staff training and technical assistance. The terms initially run for five years and can be renewed on a yearly basis as many as five times.
Intercity Transit Procurement Coordinator Brenden Houx described the trailer as a truck carrying a stack of 47.5-foot tubes with interconnected plumbing.
Intercity Transit Fleet and Facility Director Jonathan Yee added each trailer can hold nearly 1,000 kilograms of hydrogen, which together with storage units at the agency’s hydrogen fueling station, will allow storage of one to two weeks of fuel.
Expected delivery of the first trailer is by the end of 2026. The agency will first evaluate its performance in real-world operations before deciding on the delivery timing and specifications of the second unit.
Houx said the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is going to reimburse approximately 80 percent of the costs for the contract as part of its broader support for Intercity Transit’s fuel cell electric bus demonstration project.
Under the initiative, Intercity Transit purchased five, 40-foot hydrogen fuel cell electric buses for $8.95 million in 2024. It then contracted a firm for $4.6 million in 2025 to work on the installation of an interim fueling station at its Pattison Street headquarters in Olympia.
The authority also approved the purchase of 22 Toyota Sienna hybrids for $1,030,000 to replace aging van pool and staff vehicles.
The van pool program aims to lower barriers to carpooling by providing clients with the vehicle, gas and toll fees. The paid service is available to groups of three or more people sharing a similar commute.
The contract with Toyota Yakima was secured through a contract facilitated by the Washington State Department of Enterprise Services.
The purchase is supported by a $259,706 grant from WSDOT’s Public Transit Rideshare program, which funded the purchase of seven vehicles.
7 comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here
BillSpencer
This is a waste of money! Hang up wires and run trolleybusses or just stick with hybrids.
Thursday, September 24 Report this
olyhiker
Spend, spend, spend. And our taxes go up, up, up.
Friday, September 25 Report this
TheVirtualOne
More taxpayer-funded save the planet baloney by the greeners. After they fail, this will all be trashed, sent for scrap recycling, and come back to using established motorized vehicles and infrastructure More insane spending by leftist politicians have who have wasted millions on lab experiments.
Friday, September 25 Report this
NotIgnorant
Whine, whine, whine. All you fools do is complain when others come up with solutions to challenges. What an ignorant bunch.
5 days ago Report this
TheVirtualOne
IgnoranceIsBliss - Spend your own money on lab experiments, not the taxpayers. The real challenge is getting the idiots who are wasting our money on dead-end pet projects out of office.
5 days ago Report this
Grateful
They are preparing for the new station being installed at E. Martin and Meridian (East Martin Way Gateway Station), once they get the roundabout installed.
5 days ago Report this
36098501
To be added to the list of unintended consequences of Intercity Transit's budgeting and decision making process.
Previously JOLT articles about fuel and budget concerns with comments.
https://www.thejoltnews.com/stories/intercity-transit-making-progress-on-hydrogen-fueling-storage-system,27085?
https://www.thejoltnews.com/stories/intercity-transit-to-reimagine-its-bus-network,19165?
3 days ago Report this