Repaired road ripped up by Edinburgh’s ‘super buses’ is wrecked again

One of the 'super buses.' Pic: Michael Gillen.

The Evening News reported how huge marks were gouged into the surface of Gilmerton Dykes Street at the bus terminus.

Drivers told how the road was patched up within days but now photos have emerged of fresh furrows in the surface.

One driver said: “It’s a gradual thing as the new buses turn around. I passed two days after the initial damage and it had been repaired.

“There were cones out also but you just knew it would happen again. It’s started to break up again but not too bad at first.

“But I was driving past on Sunday and there were already big marks in the road where the repairs had been done.”

Photos taken at the weekend show trench marks in the new tarmac laid by workmen to cover the previous damage.

Lothian Buses ploughed £11.3m into its new fleet of 42 six-wheelers – the UK’s biggest buses – earlier this year.

The 100-seater Alexander Dennis Enviro400 XLB vehicles were launched in March, carrying up to 129 customers each.

They were first rolled out on service 11 between Ocean Terminal and Hyvots Bank and service 16 between Silverknowes and Colinton.

The Enviro400 XLBs were designed with a front and middle door for passengers to disembark to speed up services and ease congestion.

Improvements also included high-backed seating, wifi, USB charging, mood lighting and audio-visual stop announcements.

Alexander Dennis’ Enviro400 XLB is the first bus in the UK to be mounted on Volvo’s three-axle B8L chassis, powered by the 350hp Euro 6 D8K engine.

The first coach was handed over to Lothian Buses managing director Richard Hall last November in a ceremony in Falkirk that was attended by Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity, Michael Matheson.

The Evening News reported earlier this week that council leader Adam McVey had blamed social media “trolls” for the majority of pothole complaints.

City road chiefs previously attributed the damage on Gilmerton Dykes Street to “wear and tear” from all vehicles with amounts of traffic on the rise.

A council spokeswoman said: “We are aware of concerns being raised by a member of the public and will continue to monitor the situation.

“The city inevitably faces significant wear and tear from increased volumes of traffic and vehicles of various sizes.”

Bus bosses, meanwhile, said damage to the stretch of Gilmerton Dykes Street predated the roll-out of their flagship fleet. Lothian Buses’ roads and streetworks planning manager, John White said: “Damage to the road surface in this area has been evident since before the introduction of the new Enviro400 vehicles.

“We continue to work closely with The City of Edinburgh Council, who as the Roads Authority, are directly responsible for road repairs.”

A council spokesperson said: “We have been carrying out ongoing maintenance in this area to ensure it is safe, and we are currently looking into a long term solution for the road surface.”