First Bus pulls 30 electric buses from service over 'cracks in structure'

First Bus has withdrawn 30 electric buses from services due to “cracks in structure”.

The company has confirmed the buses have been taken off the road until the issue can be resolved.

While all the affected vehicles are electric, the company has said the issue is “completely unrelated” to the technology.

First Bus said the manufacturers have launched a thorough review to identify the root cause.

“A structural issue has been identified on some BYD AD Enviro200EV electric buses built in 2021. The affected vehicles have been removed from service as a precaution. Alexander Dennis is fully supporting the customer and, along with BYD as the relevant component manufacturer, has developed a rectification which is being applied to all affected vehicles to resolve the issue.”

Services across Glasgow are continuing to run as normal for customers.

A spokesperson for First Bus said: “We can confirm we have identified a technical failure in 30 buses, and all affected buses have been taken off service until it can be resolved.

“The 30 buses removed from service were all electric vehicles, and the issue was completely unrelated to electric vehicle technology.”

They added: “We ensured that this issue was addressed with the manufacturer as a priority. They have initiated a thorough review to identify the root cause and minimise any future technical issues.

“We are continuing to run services as normal across the city for our customers, thanks to the hard work of our teams in Glasgow and across the UK.”

A spokesperson for Alexander Dennis: “A structural issue has been identified on some BYD AD Enviro200EV electric buses built in 2021.

“The affected vehicles have been removed from service as a precaution.

“Alexander Dennis is fully supporting the customer and, along with BYD as the relevant component manufacturer, has developed a rectification which is being applied to all affected vehicles to resolve the issue.”