Boondoggle or boon? Looking back at Whistler’s hydrogen-bus pilot and why it failed Published March 10, 2021 BC Hydro/Handout When the world came to Whistler in 2010, it got a glimpse of a hydrogen-powered future. In time for the Olympics, the resort town got a fleet of 20 hydrogen fuel-cell buses. Four years after the games, the zero-emissions fleet was sold and replaced with natural-gas-powered buses. Story continues below advertisement Critics called it a $94-million boondoggle. But Whistler’s pilot paved the way for more than 3,000 hydrogen buses on roads worldwide today, even though we don’t have any in Canada yet, a hydrogen industry expert said.