WASHINGTON (AP) — Metro says nearly 50 new hybrid buses are in need of repairs because they can develop shorts in their battery systems.

Metro’s chief spokesman, Dan Stessel, said Wednesday that the transit agency was notified of the defect last week by New Flyer of America, based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Stessel says 47 buses will be repaired because of a potential for an electrical short in their energy storage system.

Stessel says Metro will keep operating the buses and that the agency New Flyer and BAE Systems, which supplies an electrical propulsion system for the bus, has said the buses are safe to use.

BAE Systems will cover the cost of the work.

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