Mark has called on the SNP to match Labour's ambition on green buses and create a £3 million fund to put greener, hybrid buses on Scotland's roads.

Hybrid buses use at least 30 per cent less fuel and emit nearly a third less carbon than an equivalent conventional bus.

The UK Government has set up a £30 million fund green bus fund to help bus companies and local authorities to buy new low carbon buses but as responsibility for transport is devolved, it is up to the Scottish Executive to set up a similar scheme here.

Mark said:

"The SNP needs to match Labour's ambition on green buses.  The UK Government has made clear its vision for greener public transport; we need the same commitment in Scotland.  

"Not only would this help reduce Scotland's emissions, but could provide a genuinely sustainable future for UK industries linked to public transport.

"The UK Government has shown real imagination in fostering the development of electric cars and is bringing forward £30 million to promote green public transport.  I urge the SNP to show the same vision."

Mark has campaigned very actively to maintaining local bus routes under threat such as the 13. Funding for local bus services used to be ring-fenced by the Scottish Government but since 2007 this has no longer been the case so there is a constant need to lobby the City Council just to maintain funding at its present level let alone support new initiatives like hybrid buses.

Electric cars

As well as green buses, the UK Government has also introduced a series of measures to support the development of electric cars.

In the last Budget, Alistair Darling introduced tax rebates on electric cars and now the Government has announced new investment to enable the UK car industry to develop low carbon engines. This kind of investment is vital to creating new skilled jobs in green technology.

Both the picture of the bus and electric car come from Germany and the UK Government is following a similar policy of investing in new skills and technology that has proved successful there.

Edinburgh companies developing clean energy have already benefited from UK Government grants. For more on this, click here.

Interestingly, the first works to build electric cars in the UK was at Granton in 1899. To learn more about this, click here.

Of course, we need to make sure that the electricity is generated in the right way and it is no substitute for better public transport. Nevertheless, their time may have come at last.