Toyota banks on Olympic halo for the humble bus to keep hydrogen dream alive

FILE PHOTO: Toyota Motor Corp. displays the company's fuel cell bus Sora during media preview of the 45th Tokyo Motor Show in Tokyo, Japan October 25, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo

TOKYO (Reuters) - Buses may not be the most glamorous mode of transport but at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games, they will represent Toyota Motor Corp's <7203.T> best bet for wider acceptance of hydrogen power - technology so far eclipsed by electric vehicles.

Japan's biggest automaker plans to roll out 100 hydrogen fuel cell buses to shuttle visitors between venues, a stepping stone to a big ramp up for the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022.