SeaWorld Orlando intros hydrogen powered buses

SeaWorld Orlando has added two new hydrogen-powered shuttle buses to its fleet, which join similar buses running to Orlando International Airport and the Orange County Convention Center. The new buses are 12-passenger Ford E-450s powered by internal combustion V-10 engines modified to run on hydrogen rather than gasoline, and deliver a 99.7 percent reduction in carbon-dioxide emissions. They will be used to shuttle Busch Entertainment Corp. employees between Sea World Orlando, Discovery Cove, Aquatica water park, and the company's off-site offices. In the future, the company might uses the buses to transport guest back-and-forth between the three parks, however, this would only happen following the end of the hydrogen bus pilot program. "Right now, it's primarily going to be used for just allowing that movement of our employees between the three parks," said Kelly Bernish, SeaWorld's director of environmental health and safety. Bernish said SeaWorld wants to explore expanding the use of hydrogen fuel, or biodiesel fuel, vehicles throughout the company's fleet, following the lead of rivals Universal Orlando and Walt Disney World, which have already converted many of their vehicles to run on alternative fuels.