Edmonton city council voted Wednesday to phase out its fleet of 47 aging trolley buses by 2010. (CBC)

After gliding quietly along Edmonton streets for 70 years, the city's fleet of trolley buses will be taken off the road for good, city council has decided.

By a vote of 7-6 Wednesday, councillors agreed to replace the fleet of 47 electrically-powered buses with hybrid or diesel-powered vehicles by 2010.

The trolleys, which make up a tiny portion of the transit fleet, operate on a handful of routes in the centre of the city. Their supporters have long argued the quiet, exhaust-free buses are more neighbourhood friendly.

But city officials say the cost of buying and maintaining the trolleys is $100 million more over 18 years than the cost of switching to new diesel and hybrid buses.

"It makes very little sense to spend $100 million to deliver the same service for the same people," said Mayor Stephen Mandel.

"It's just an increased cost of $100 million. In my mind, you cannot justify that."

The mayor said the money the city will save would be better spent on giving riders improved service.

Hybrids not reliable technology: councillor

But the naysayers said diesel and hybrid buses aren't a sure bet.

"The hybrids... [are] not a reliable technology," said Coun. Karen Liebovici. "We know those costs are going to be increasing a lot more in the coming years."

Coun. Don Iveson also voted against the move.

"In 10 years if diesel prices and oil prices do what a lot of geologists and economists are concerned they might ... we might regret this decision. And I think [in] some of the mature areas of the city, where we are trying to build density and build walkable areas, we'll miss having the clean quiet buses running down their streets."

Edmonton's trolleys have been in use since 1939 and the debate over their use has come up repeatedly since the 1990s. The most recent vote was in 2004, when councillors voted to keep the equipment until this year while alternatives were being evaluated.

Vancouver is the only other city in Canada that still uses trolley buses.