Aberdeen City Council’s fleet of 25 hydrogen double-decker buses, which entered service in 2021 at an average cost of £556,000 per vehicle, has been largely acquired by First Bus at £30,000 per unit. The transaction represents a 94.6% loss in value over approximately three and a half years of revenue operation, during which hydrogen supply issues led to the vehicles being parked.
The council conducted a market test for the fleet and received multiple bids, including proposals to accept the buses for free and an offer of £1 per vehicle. First Bus’s £30,000 bid emerged as the highest from four competing proposals, establishing an actual market price rather than a theoretical valuation. This transaction provides concrete evidence regarding the secondary market for specialized zero-emission vehicles once their original operating model becomes commercially unviable.
First Bus has indicated plans to convert the acquired buses to battery-electric operation, though no formal conversion commitments have been publicly disclosed. The operator is well-positioned to undertake such work, having operated the Hydroliners since their introduction and already invested £12.7 million in 36 electric buses, including battery conversions of existing vehicles. The transfers are staged, with seven buses expected by March 2027 and the remainder during the following financial year.
The case highlights the importance of residual value and exit options in clean-transport procurement. First Bus’s low acquisition cost provides economic headroom to investigate battery conversion under favorable conditions, including access to existing charging infrastructure and experience with vehicle repowering. However, successful conversion would demonstrate salvage potential rather than sustained hydrogen bus value, with much recovered value coming from removing hydrogen-specific equipment.
The transaction outcome offers lessons for other stranded hydrogen fleets. Few operators will replicate First Bus’s advantages: young vehicles acquired at minimal cost, operated by the incumbent buyer with established relationships and existing battery-electric expertise. The critical question moving forward concerns whether First Bus can develop economically viable conversion packages under conditions substantially more favorable than those typically available to other fleets facing similar hydrogen bus disposition challenges.
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