Transport bosses were left red faced yesterday after another of Europe’s newest hydrogen buses broke down – the second in the space of 24 hours.
The vehicles have being introduced across Aberdeenshire as part of a £19million green initiative, led by Aberdeen City Council and backed by the Scottish Government.
The first to encounter “technical issues” broke down on Thursday – just a day after the UK’s first hydrogen production and bus refuelling station officially opened in Aberdeen.
And yesterday another member of the 10-strong fleet broke down in at a bus stop in the Rosemount area of the city.
Passengers on the First Bus-operated X40 to Kingswells were forced to wait for a replacement service yesterday as repairs were made at the stop on Midstocket road.
Aberdeen City Council yesterday defended the buses and said it had anticipated a few hiccups in the early stages.
“It is to be expected that early teething problems will emerge and the solutions will assist in the further development of this important new clean technology,” said a spokesman.
The Stagecoach bus that broke down on Thursday had to be towed after it ran into problems on a test run from Kingswells to Westhill.
Stagecoach later confirmed the fault was due to a fuel issue and said it had asked the manufacturer to make checks on the rest of the fleet.
Six of the 10 vehicles are operated by Stagecoach on the X17 Aberdeen city centre to Westhill route, while First Group operates four on the X40 Kingswells to Bridge of Don park-and-ride route.
The hydrogen fuel cell buses only emit water vapour and have reduced carbon emissions and air pollution compared to their diesel counterparts.