TransLink has taken all 39 of Vancouver's new electrical trolley buses out of service over the next few days because of a steering problem with some of them.

Spokesman Drew Snider says some drivers have reported what appears to be a glitch in the buses' power steering system, telling CBC News that when a trolley power connection goes over the insulator couplings at intersections, there is normally brief loss of current as the bus switches over to its battery.

"Only with the new ones, the drivers have been reporting a temporary loss in the power steering," said Snider.

There have been no accidents or injuries because of the malfunction, which Snider said appears to be a software problem.

It is covered by warranty, and a representative of the manufacturer, New Flyer Industries of Winnipeg, is being brought in to help fix the problem.

For the next few days, diesel buses will take the place of the trolley buses. But Snider warned that commuters can still expect longer waits at bus stops.

The first of the new trolley buses hit the streets of Vancouver last summer. TransLink has ordered a total of 228 of them — 188 standard 40-foot buses and 40 articulated 60-foot buses — at a total cost of $273 million.

Trolley buses have been on the road in Vancouver since 1948, and move nearly 250,000 passengers a day.