Green buses replaced by diesel after battery fail

Energy-saving hybrid buses have been withdrawn from an Edinburgh route because the capital’s hills were proving too much for them.

The fleet of 15 electricdiesel double-deckers, introduced on Lothian Buses’ No 10 route seven years ago, have been withdrawn and replaced by diesel buses to the dismay of some passengers. Sources say the hybrid buses were having “battery issues” with the hilly route.

The buses, the first hybrid double-decker fleet to operate in Scotland, were launched at Holyrood in 2011 by the then transport minister Keith Brown. They cost £5 million, of which £1m was funded by the Scottish Government’s Green Bus Fund and were said to cut carbon emissions by 30 per cent. Councillor Jason Rust said: “This seems a pretty ridiculous turn of events”