Wrightbus
Encyclopedia
Low-floor bus
A low-floor bus is a bus that has no steps between one or more entrances and part or all of the passenger cabin. Being low floor improves the accessibility of the bus for the public, particularly the elderly or infirm, or those with push chairs, and increasingly, those in wheelchairs.In the modern...
. Based in Ballymena
Ballymena
Ballymena is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland and the seat of Ballymena Borough Council. Ballymena had a population of 28,717 people in the 2001 Census....
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, it was established in 1946 by Robert Wright and currently run by his son William Wright.
History
Originally called Robert Wright & Son Coachbuilders. In the early years they gained a reputation for re-bodying lorries. In 1978, the company released its first aluminiumAluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
-structured bus bodywork.
Wright's breakthrough into the mainstream bus bodybuilding sector came in the early/mid 1990s. The Handybus
Wright Handybus
The Wright Handybus was a single-deck bus body built primarily on Dennis Dart chassis by Wright between 1990 and 1995. It was also built on a small number of Leyland Swift chassis, in which form it had a higher floorline. It has a bolted aluminium structure....
was a midibus body offered on a variety of chassis but was most successful on the emerging Dennis Dart
Dennis Dart
The Dennis Dart is a rear-engined midibus built by Dennis in the United Kingdom. More than 11,000 were built during 18 years of production....
attracting reasonably sized orders from a variety of operators including London Buses
London Buses
London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London that manages bus services within Greater London, UK. Buses are required to carry similar red colour schemes and conform to the same fare scheme...
, Go Ahead Northern
Go North East
Go North East is the largest operator of bus services in North East England, United Kingdom. Go North East operates services in the counties of Tyne and Wear, County Durham and Northumberland...
, Ulsterbus
Ulsterbus
Ulsterbus is a public transport operator in Northern Ireland and operates bus services outside Belfast. It is part of Translink , which also includes Northern Ireland Railways, Metro Belfast and Flexibus.-Services:Ulsterbus is responsible for most of the province-wide bus...
and Citybus (Belfast). This was followed by a move into the full size single deck market with the Endeavour body. This attracted orders from Ulsterbus who took 25 on Leyland Tiger
Leyland Tiger
The Leyland Tiger, also known as the B43, was a mid-engined bus and coach chassis which was built between 1981 and 1993. This name had previously been used for a front-engined bus built between 1920s and 1950s. It replaced the Leyland Leopard, which had been in production for over 20 years...
chassis and Yorkshire Traction
Yorkshire Traction
Yorkshire Traction was a bus operator in South Yorkshire. Between 1986 and 2005 it was a key part of the Traction Group. In December 2005 it was sold to the Stagecoach Group.-History:...
who took 10 on Scania K93 chassis and enabled Wright to develop its highly successful Endurance
Wright Endurance
The Wright Endurance is a step-entrance, single-deck bus body built by Wrightbus between 1993 and 1997.-History:The large majority of Endurances were built on Volvo B10B chassis, including quite large fleets for the privatised former PTE companies - in particular Merseyside based MTL North who took...
body which competed with Alexander's
Walter Alexander Coachbuilders
Walter Alexander Coachbuilders was a Scottish bus coachbuilder and operater based in Falkirk.-History:Walter Alexander, notice a lack expasion by the Falkirk and District Tramways Company's especially in to Grangemouth which never hdd a tram line. In 1913 Alexander's Motor Service was created to...
Strider and Northern Counties Paladin
Northern Counties Paladin
The Northern Counties Paladin, also badged as the Plaxton Paladin towards the end of production, is a step-entrance single-deck bus body built by Northern Counties of Wigan, UK, between 1991 and 1998....
for orders on Volvo B10B
Volvo B10B
The Volvo B10B was a rear-engined high-floor bus chassis manufactured by Volvo Buses from 1990 to 2002. It superseded the Volvo B10R and its successor was the Volvo B12B....
and Scania N113CRB
Scania N113
The Scania N113 was a transverse-engined bus chassis built by Scania AB of Sweden between 1988 and 2000.Like its predecessor, the N112, the N113 had an 11-litre engine mounted at the rear, coupled to either a Scania or Voith gearbox...
chassis. The Scania option only attracted a one-off order for 15 from GRT Holdings plc for its Midland Bluebird
Midland Scottish
Midland Scottish Omnibuses Ltd, in Scotland, was a bus operating subsidiary of the Scottish Transport Group formed in June 1985 from Walter Alexander and Sons Ltd, and operated until 1991 when it became Midland Bluebird Ltd.- Operation :...
subsidiary. The Volvo option however was extremely successful and attracted large scale orders from Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
-based MTL Trust Holdings Ltd who took 120, West Midlands Travel
National Express West Midlands
National Express West Midlands , formerly known as Travel West Midlands , is the trade name of West Midlands Travel Ltd , a company which operates bus services from depots in the cities of Birmingham, and Wolverhampton, as well as the boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull and Walsall in the West...
who took 67 - out of a planned order for 250, GM Buses North
GM Buses
GM Buses was the main bus company serving Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England. The company was public owned by Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive, which is a public body responsible for helping to co-ordinate public transport services in the Greater...
who took 56, and Blazefield Holdings
Blazefield Group
Transdev Blazefield is one of the main bus groups in England. Owner of several bus companies around the Yorkshire and Lancashire regions, since 2006 it has been part of the international transport company Transdev.-History:...
who took 24 (10 for Sovereign Bus & Coach, 6 for Yorkshire Coastliner
Yorkshire Coastliner
Yorkshire Coastliner is a bus operator based in Malton in North Yorkshire, England. It is owned by the Blazefield Group who also own, amongst others, Harrogate & District and Keighley & District in Yorkshire....
, 5 for Keighley & District
Keighley & District
Keighley & District is a bus company based in Keighley in West Yorkshire, England. It is part of the Blazefield Group which is itself owned by the international transport company Transdev....
and 3 for Harrogate & District
Harrogate & District
Transdev Harrogate & District is a local bus operator based in Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. It is part of the Blazefield Group which is itself owned by the international transport company Transdev....
). Smaller scale orders for the Volvo/Endurance option included 9 for Ireland's
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
Bus Éireann
Bus Éireann
Bus Éireann provides bus services in Ireland with the exception of those operated entirely within the Dublin Region, which are provided by Dublin Bus. Bus Éireann, established as a separate company in 1987, is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann. The logo of Bus Éireann incorporates a red Irish...
, 6 for Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
-based CMT Buses and 4 for Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
-based West Riding
West Riding Automobile Company
The West Riding Automobile Company, under the fleet name of West Riding, was a bus company that served the Wakefield area of Yorkshire, England from 1923.-Company history:...
. Other Wright products introduced in this period included two Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
-based products. First was the O405
Mercedes-Benz O405
The Mercedes-Benz O 405 was a highly successful single-decker bus chassis built by Mercedes-Benz from the mid-1980s to the early 2000s. It was the replacement for the Mercedes-Benz O305 chassis and was widely used in Europe, Australia and Singapore....
based Cityranger which attracted an order of 20 from GRT Holdings (14 for Grampian Regional Transport and 6 for Midland Bluebird - all are now based at First Manchester
First Manchester
First Manchester is one of the bus companies serving Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England. It forms part of FirstGroup, a company operating transport services across the British Isles and in North America...
) along with a solitary example for Stevensons of Uttoxeter
Arriva Midlands
Arriva Midlands is a division of Arriva. It operates bus services around the Midlands area of England and is made up of various previous bus operators.-Arriva Midlands North:...
. The other was the Urbanranger - pretty much a re-badged Endurance, on the OH1416 chassis and this was launched around the time bus operators in the UK began switching to low floor chassis. As a consequence the Urbanranger only attracted a handful of orders, the most notable being 4 for Ulster
Ulster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...
-based Chambers of Moneymore, 3 for Walsall
Walsall
Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
-based Midland Choice and 2 for Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
-based UniversityBus
Uno (bus company)
Uno is a bus service operated by the University of Hertfordshire, England, serving members of the general public, and also its own students and staff...
. However Wright had become well established in the bus bodybuilding sector by then and was more than able to exploit the opportunities the low-floor revolution would offer it from mid-1990s onwards.
Low-floor
In 1993 the UK's first low-floor busLow-floor bus
A low-floor bus is a bus that has no steps between one or more entrances and part or all of the passenger cabin. Being low floor improves the accessibility of the bus for the public, particularly the elderly or infirm, or those with push chairs, and increasingly, those in wheelchairs.In the modern...
was put into operation in Liverpool by Merseytravel
Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive
The Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive is the Passenger Transport Executive responsible for the coordination of public transport in the metropolitan county of Merseyside, England...
(the PTE) in association with the region's largest bus operator MTL. This was the integral N4016
Neoplan N4016
The Neoplan N4016 is a low-floor single-deck city bus built by Neoplan until 1999, initially at Stuttgart in Germany and later also in Poland. It is the larger version of the Neoplan N4009 midibus.-Specifications:...
from German manufacturer Neoplan
Neoplan
NEOPLAN Bus GmbH is a German automotive company that manufactures buses, trolleybuses and coaches. NEOPLAN is now a subsidiary of NEOMAN Bus GmbH, which itself is a part of MAN SE.-Foundations:...
and although somewhat primitive in comparison to today's low-floor buses this pioneering vehicle made bus operators and manufacturers in the UK sit up and take notice – most notably London Buses and Wright's. The Pathfinder
Wright Pathfinder
The Wright Pathfinder, or Pathfinder 320, is a low-floor single-decker bus body built by Wright of Ballymena on Dennis Lance SLF and Scania N113CRL chassis. It was introduced in 1993....
on low floor Dennis Lance SLF and Scania N113CRL
Scania N113
The Scania N113 was a transverse-engined bus chassis built by Scania AB of Sweden between 1988 and 2000.Like its predecessor, the N112, the N113 had an 11-litre engine mounted at the rear, coupled to either a Scania or Voith gearbox...
chassis was unveiled towards the end of 1993 and was the first low-floor vehicle to be offered. London Buses was a major partner in the Pathfinder's development and took a total of 68 (38 Lance SLFs and 30 Scanias) along with other operators who took smaller batches of this vehicle. Customers for the Lance SLF variant included British Bus Ltd – 13 (5 for London Country North East
London Country North East
London Country North East was a bus operator in South East England and London. It was formed from the split of London Country Bus Services in 1986 and operated a fleet of around 350 buses from six garages, with its headquarters located in Hatfield....
/Guildford & West Surrey, 4 for County Bus & Coach
Arriva Shires & Essex
Arriva Shires & Essex is a division of Arriva, with operations in Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and London. It is one of many private operators of London Buses. Until 2002 its operations included Colchester...
and 4 for Southend Transport
Arriva Southend
Arriva Southend is a division of Arriva Southern Counties, a subsidiary of transport group Arriva which operates bus services in and around the Southend-on-Sea, Rochford, Rayleigh, Basildon, and Thurrock areas of Essex...
), Badgerline - 6, Go Ahead Northern - 5 and Essex operator Headingham & District - 2. Apart from London Buses, GRT Holdings was the only other customer for the Scania option taking a total of 10 – 2 for Lowland Scottish and 8 for Midland Bluebird. Despite this success the Pathfinder was still generally considered a niche product by most mainstream operators in the UK. Wright however saw its future very much with low floor vehicles and throughout the mid-1990s it introduced further product ranges which made low floor vehicles universal by the end of that decade.
The Axcess-Ultralow
Wright Axcess-Ultralow
The Wright Axcess-Ultralow is a low-floor single-deck bus body built on the Scania L113CRL chassis by Wrightbus between 1995 and 1998.-History:A total of 330 were built, of which 244 were for companies owned by FirstBus/Group...
was introduced in 1995 and offered on Scania's L113
Scania L113
The Scania L113 was a single-deck bus built by Scania AB of Sweden between 1989 and 1998.-Design:The L113 was largely a cross between the N113 and K113, with the front section of its chassis of a similar height to that of the N113, and an 11-litre engine that was mounted longitudinally as per the...
chassis. At this time it was selling in reasonable numbers to UK bus operators, but unlike other bodybuilders who could only offer the L113 with step-entrance bodies, Wright modified it by removing the middle section of the chassis and thus offered UK bus operators one of the first mainstream low-floor body/chassis combinations. A major customer for the Axcess-Ultralow was FirstGroup taking approximately 240 for what eventually became its First Eastern Counties, First Edinburgh
First Edinburgh
First Edinburgh is a bus operator which operates in the south east and central Scotland, and was created by the merger of three companies: Lowland Scottish, Eastern Scottish and Midland Scottish to form a single company for the area and is part of First Group plc...
, First Glasgow
First Glasgow
First Glasgow is the largest bus company serving the Greater Glasgow area in, Scotland. It forms part of FirstGroup, a company operating transport services across the British Isles and in North America...
, First Leicester
First Leicester
First in Leicester is the trading name of Leicester Citybus Ltd., a bus company owned by the First Group. It runs buses in the city of Leicester, England...
, First Northampton
First Northampton
First in Northampton is a bus company which serves the towns of Northampton and Wellingborough in Northamptonshire, England. The legal name of the company is Northampton Transport Limited...
, First Potteries
First Potteries
First Potteries Limited is a company based in Stoke-on-Trent that operates buses in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, Crewe, and in Chester and The Wirral through its sub-brand First Chester & The Wirral.-History:The company began life as Potteries Motor Traction or PMT...
, First West Yorkshire and First York
First York
First York is the largest bus operator in York, England. It is part of First Group, a major bus and train operator with a turnover of nearly £2.5 billion a year and 62,000 employees across the UK and North America...
subsidiaries. Other notable orders came from the Cowie Group plc
Arriva
Arriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...
who took 44 - 34 for North Western's Star Line and Wigan Bus subsidiaries and 10 for Kentish Bus, MTL who took 20 for use by Merseybus in Liverpool, Chester City Transport who took 6, Bullocks of Cheadle who took 6, Nottingham City Transport
Nottingham City Transport
Nottingham City Transport is the major bus operator of the English city of Nottingham, running a comprehensive network of services in the Greater Nottingham area, with some services continuing to Southwell, Loughborough, and East Midlands Airport. There are over 80 routes across the City, giving...
who took 5 and Travel West Midlands
National Express West Midlands
National Express West Midlands , formerly known as Travel West Midlands , is the trade name of West Midlands Travel Ltd , a company which operates bus services from depots in the cities of Birmingham, and Wolverhampton, as well as the boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull and Walsall in the West...
& Bristol Airport
Bristol Airport
Bristol Airport may refer to:* Bristol Airport, serving Bristol, England, United Kingdom ** Bristol Airport , a docu-soap based on events at Bristol Airport...
who both took 2.
Next up was the Volvo B10L
Volvo B10L
The Volvo B10L is a rear-engined, low-floor single-deck city bus chassis built by Volvo between c. 1993 and c. 2005. An articulated version of the B10L, known as the B10LA, was also produced.-United Kingdom:...
-based Liberator
Wright Liberator
The Wright Liberator is a low-floor single-deck bus body built on Volvo B10L chassis by Wright.Around 146 were built between 1996 and 1999. It was discontinued in favour of the Renown on Volvo B10BLE chassis, which in turn was superseded by the Eclipse series, on Volvo B7L and later B7RLE chassis,...
introduced at the end of 1995. Volvo had introduced the B10L to the British/Irish market in 1994 with initial examples bodied as the Ultra at Alexander's
Walter Alexander Coachbuilders
Walter Alexander Coachbuilders was a Scottish bus coachbuilder and operater based in Falkirk.-History:Walter Alexander, notice a lack expasion by the Falkirk and District Tramways Company's especially in to Grangemouth which never hdd a tram line. In 1913 Alexander's Motor Service was created to...
(Belfast) plant to a design loosely based upon that from Volvo's Swedish subsidiary Säffle. One drawback of the Volvo B10L/Alexander Ultra combination was an awkward rear engine arrangement which compromised the rear seating in the vehicle. Despite this the low-floor revolution was in full swing and the Ultra attracted moderate orders from operators including Northern Ireland's Translink
Translink (Northern Ireland)
Translink is the brand name of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company , a public corporation in Northern Ireland which provides the public transport in the region. NI Railways, Ulsterbus and Metro are all part of Translink....
for its Belfast-based Citybus (later Metro)
Metro (Belfast)
Metro is the trading name for bus company Citybus in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is a subsidiary of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company, within the common management structure of Translink, along with Ulsterbus and Northern Ireland Railways....
and Ulsterbus
Ulsterbus
Ulsterbus is a public transport operator in Northern Ireland and operates bus services outside Belfast. It is part of Translink , which also includes Northern Ireland Railways, Metro Belfast and Flexibus.-Services:Ulsterbus is responsible for most of the province-wide bus...
subsidiaries, Travel West Midlands/FirstBus subsidiary Northampton Transport
First Northampton
First in Northampton is a bus company which serves the towns of Northampton and Wellingborough in Northamptonshire, England. The legal name of the company is Northampton Transport Limited...
- who both took gas powered examples, Ireland's Bus Átha Cliath (Dublin Bus)
Dublin Bus
Dublin Bus is a public transport operator in Ireland. It operates an extensive bus network of 172 radial, cross-city and peripheral routes and 18 night routes in the city of Dublin and the Greater Dublin Area. The company, established in 1987, is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann which is...
, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
-based Timeline Travel and Stagecoach's
Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group plc is an international transport group operating buses, trains, trams, express coaches and ferries. The group was founded in 1980 by the current chairman, Sir Brian Souter, his sister, Ann Gloag, and her former husband Robin...
, Fife Scottish
Stagecoach East Scotland
Stagecoach East Scotland is an operating region of Stagecoach UK Bus, with its regional base in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland and including the legal companies Bluebird Buses Ltd, Fife Scottish Buses Ltd,Stagecoach Ltd, Strathtay Scottish Omnibuses Ltd, JW Coaches Ltd and Rennie's of Dunfermline Ltd.-...
- who took a solitary example. As it had done with the Scania L113-based Axcess Ultralow, Wright simplified the B10L's engine/component arrangements which gave it a more useful/conventional rear/seating arrangement compared with Alexander's Ultra. In turn this boosted orders for the B10L and the most notable came from the National Express Group
National Express Group
National Express Group plc is a British transport group headquartered in Birmingham that operates bus, coach, rail and tram services in the UK, the US and Canada, Spain, Portugal and Morocco and long-distance coach routes across Europe...
who ordered 120 Liberators in 1997 - 30 for Travel Dundee and 80 for Travel West Midlands
National Express West Midlands
National Express West Midlands , formerly known as Travel West Midlands , is the trade name of West Midlands Travel Ltd , a company which operates bus services from depots in the cities of Birmingham, and Wolverhampton, as well as the boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull and Walsall in the West...
. Other Liberator orders were on a much smaller scale and included 10 each in 1997 for Liverpool independent CMT Buses, Ireland's Bus Éireann and by then FirstBus owned Strathcylde Buses/Greater Glasgow
First Glasgow
First Glasgow is the largest bus company serving the Greater Glasgow area in, Scotland. It forms part of FirstGroup, a company operating transport services across the British Isles and in North America...
and GM Buses North
First Manchester
First Manchester is one of the bus companies serving Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England. It forms part of FirstGroup, a company operating transport services across the British Isles and in North America...
took 5 Liberators delivered just after being taken over by FirstBus in 1996.
Next came the Renown body built on the Volvo B10BLE
Volvo B10BLE
The Volvo B10BLE is a low-entry city bus chassis which was popular in Scandinavia, the United Kingdom and Australia. It was launched around 1992 with the engine mounted on the rear overhang of the bus. It was the successor of the citybus version of Volvo B10B and is used as a base for single-deck...
which went onto become the standard bus of the Blazefield Group
Blazefield Group
Transdev Blazefield is one of the main bus groups in England. Owner of several bus companies around the Yorkshire and Lancashire regions, since 2006 it has been part of the international transport company Transdev.-History:...
. However Renown production was stopped when Volvo
Volvo
AB Volvo is a Swedish builder of commercial vehicles, including trucks, buses and construction equipment. Volvo also supplies marine and industrial drive systems, aerospace components and financial services...
pulled the plug on the B10BLE, replaced by the Volvo B7L
Volvo B7L
Volvo B7L was a low floor citybus chassis with a rear engine mounted vertically on the left of the rear overhang, it was built as a replacement for the Volvo B10L...
on the new Wright Eclipse (now Wright Eclipse Metro), which due to its vertical rear engine wasn't popular with many operators. However Wright didn't lose custom and many operators including the likes of Ulsterbus
Ulsterbus
Ulsterbus is a public transport operator in Northern Ireland and operates bus services outside Belfast. It is part of Translink , which also includes Northern Ireland Railways, Metro Belfast and Flexibus.-Services:Ulsterbus is responsible for most of the province-wide bus...
simply switched to the incline-engined Scania L94UB
Scania L94
The Scania L94 is a longitudinal inclined-engined bus built by Scania AB, which was a direct replacement of Scania L113. It is used widely in Scandinavia, the United Kingdom, Brazil and Australia...
, on a similar Wright Solar body. Another bodywork, which resembles the current Solar/Eclipse range is the Meridian, which is bodied on the new MAN A22 full low-floor single-deck chassis.
Present
Perhaps the most distinctive product of Wright is its Gemini double decker first built on the Volvo B7TLVolvo B7TL
Volvo B7TL is a low-floor double-decker bus which was launched in 1999 and replaced the 2-axle version of Volvo Olympian...
chassis in 2001, as the Wright Eclipse Gemini. A similarly styled entered service with Arriva London in August 2001 and is built on the VDL (ex-DAF)
VDL Bus International
VDL Bus Chassis is a Netherlands-based bus builder which originated from the bus-building business of DAF.Originally named DAF Bus International after being separated from the truck-building business of DAF, it joined the United Bus in 1990...
DB250
VDL DB250
The VDL DB250 is a double-decker bus sold in the UK through VDL Bus International's UK dealer Arriva Bus & Coach. A small number of DB250s have also been exported to Istanbul, Turkey.-DB250:...
as the Wright Pulsar Gemini. Large operators of Gemini-bodied buses include the National Express Group
National Express Group
National Express Group plc is a British transport group headquartered in Birmingham that operates bus, coach, rail and tram services in the UK, the US and Canada, Spain, Portugal and Morocco and long-distance coach routes across Europe...
, Arriva
Arriva
Arriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...
and FirstGroup; with an overseas variant, originally dubbed the Explorer, entering service in 2003 with Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
operator, Kowloon Motor Bus
Kowloon Motor Bus
The Kowloon Motor Bus Company Limited , a company of the Transport International Holdings Limited, is the largest franchised bus operators in Hong Kong, and one of the largest privately owned public bus operators in the world...
. Wrightbus enjoyed considerable expansion in the 2000s, with the workforce expected to expand to over 1,000.
In June 2010 Wrightbus announced that it had sealed contract for its new StreetLite bus.
Current
- Eclipse Commuter (high-floor, low-entry semi-coach body for Volvo B7RLEVolvo B7RLEVolvo B7RLE is a low-floor single-deck citybus launched initially in Australia in 2001, and then in the United Kingdom in 2003 to supplement the B7L single-decker, which was unsuccessful in both countries. It is similar to the B7L's predecessor, the B10BLE...
) - Eclipse Gemini/Eclipse Gemini 2Wright Eclipse GeminiThe Wright Eclipse Gemini is a type of double-decker bus body built for Volvo B7TL and later Volvo B9TL and Volvo B5L Hybrid for use in the United Kingdom....
(for Volvo B7TL, Volvo B9TLVolvo B9TLThe Volvo B9TL is a low-floor double-decker bus built by Volvo Buses since 2002. It superseded the older Volvo B10TL and the Volvo B7TL.-Chassis:...
and Volvo B5LVolvo B5LThe Volvo B5L is a hybrid-electric powered bus built by Volvo since 2008.The design of the chassis is similar to that of the Volvo B7L...
Hybrid) - Eclipse SchoolRunWright Eclipse SchoolRunThe Wright Eclipse SchoolRun is a bus body designed by Wrightbus for use on school bus services. It is designed for the Volvo B7R coach chassis. It features 2+3 seating, seatbelts and side wheelchair access....
(initially known as Eclipse School Bus, school bus bodywork for Volvo B7RVolvo B7RThe Volvo B7R is a coach chassis available with a range of bodies. It is promoted as a rear engined lightweight coach chassis. It is primarily intended for tourist and long-distance duties...
) - Eclipse Urban/Eclipse 2 (for Volvo B7RLEVolvo B7RLEVolvo B7RLE is a low-floor single-deck citybus launched initially in Australia in 2001, and then in the United Kingdom in 2003 to supplement the B7L single-decker, which was unsuccessful in both countries. It is similar to the B7L's predecessor, the B10BLE...
) - ElectrocityWright ElectrocityThe Wright Electrocity is a type of hybrid bus built by Wrightbus. There were originally two prototypes, one based on Dennis Dart SLF chassis and the other based on DAF SB120 chassis...
(hybrid-powered single-decker bus based on DAF/VDL SB120VDL SB120The VDL SB120 is a low-floor light-weight midibus produced from 1999 by VDL Bus International of the Netherlands primarily for the UK market....
) - Gemini 2 DL/Gemini 2 HEVWright Gemini 2The Wright Gemini 2 is a double-decker bus built by Wrightbus since 2008. It was announced in December 2007 but was not named until 2008.It was constructed as an integral with VDL chassis modules. It is available in two versions, the diesel-powered version and the diesel-electric hybrid version...
(integral with VDL chassis modules) - MeridianWright MeridianThe Wright Meridian is a bus body built by Wrightbus, built on the MAN A22 chassis. The body is essentially the same as the Eclipse range.The first production vehicle was launched as a demonstrator at the Coach & Bus live 2007, and after trials was purchased by Whitelaws where it entered service as...
(for MAN A22) - Pulsar/Pulsar 2Wright PulsarThe Wright Pulsar is a bus body built by Wrightbus for the VDL SB200 lightweight bus chassis. It is the replacement for the "Classic" style Commander, Merit and Cadet....
- Replacement of Commander (for VDL SB200VDL SB200The VDL SB200 is a light-weight 12m citybus produced from 2001 by VDL Bus International...
) - SolarWright SolarThe Wright Solar is a low floor single-deck bus body built on Scania L94UB and later the new Scania K-series chassis by Wright. An articulated version, the Wright Solar Fusion of similar appearance was available for the Scania L94UA....
/Solar FusionWright Solar FusionThe Wright Solar Fusion is a type of low floor articulated bus body, which was built for Scania L94UA and used in the United Kingdom. A rigid version, the Wright Solar of similar appearance is available for the Scania L94UB.* Owners...
(for Scania L94Scania L94The Scania L94 is a longitudinal inclined-engined bus built by Scania AB, which was a direct replacement of Scania L113. It is used widely in Scandinavia, the United Kingdom, Brazil and Australia...
, Scania K-seriesScania K-seriesScania K-series is a series of bus with longitudinally, straight-up mounted Euro IV engine at the rear. For the 5- and 6-cylinder engines Scania is using exhaust gas recirculation system to fulfill the legal Euro IV emission standard...
single decker) - StreetCarWright StreetCarThe Wright StreetCar is an articulated bus developed by Wrightbus and Volvo Buses for FirstGroup. It consists of an adapted Volvo B7LA chassis, featuring a separate driver compartment at the front, resembling to some extent similar designs in continental Europe.They feature air-conditioning and a...
(based on Volvo B7LA) - StreetLiteWright StreetLiteThe Wright StreetLite is a low-floor midibus introduced by Wrightbus of Ballymena, Northern Ireland during the summer of 2010.-Versions:The StreetLite is available in two differing body styles. The door forward version has the door placed before the front axle of the vehicle...
(integral mini/midibus)
Former
- Axcess-FlolineWright Axcess-FlolineThe Wright Axcess-Floline is a low-floor single-deck bus body built on Scania L94UB chassis by Wrightbus between 1998 and 2001.It was the successor to the Axcess-Ultralow on the Scania L113CRL chassis, and was visually almost identical to this model, but had slightly different side window spacing...
(for Scania L94) - Axcess-UltralowWright Axcess-UltralowThe Wright Axcess-Ultralow is a low-floor single-deck bus body built on the Scania L113CRL chassis by Wrightbus between 1995 and 1998.-History:A total of 330 were built, of which 244 were for companies owned by FirstBus/Group...
(for Scania L113CRL) - CadetWright CadetThe Wright Cadet was a midibus body built by British coachbuilder Wrightbus, solely on the DAF/VDL SB120; it was sold via VDL dealer Arriva Bus & Coach. For a time, Volvo additionally sold the chassis/body combination, however the body was marketed as the Merit.The Cadet was replaced by the Wright...
(for DAF/VDL SB120VDL SB120The VDL SB120 is a low-floor light-weight midibus produced from 1999 by VDL Bus International of the Netherlands primarily for the UK market....
) - Cityranger (for Mercedes-Benz O405Mercedes-Benz O405The Mercedes-Benz O 405 was a highly successful single-decker bus chassis built by Mercedes-Benz from the mid-1980s to the early 2000s. It was the replacement for the Mercedes-Benz O305 chassis and was widely used in Europe, Australia and Singapore....
) - CommanderWright CommanderThe Wright Commander is a low-floor single-deck bus body built by Wright on DAF/VDL SB200 chassis. Examples entered service in the UK between 2002 and 2007, the majority with Arriva subsidiaries...
(for DAF/VDL SB200) - Consort (on Leyland 9-13R Roadrunner, possibly others)
- Contour (on Bedford Y-Series and others)
- CrusaderWright CrusaderThe Wright Crusader is a single-decker bus body built by Wright on Dennis Dart SLF and Volvo B6LE chassis. The Wright Crusader 2 was built on the B6LE's successor, the Volvo B6BLE....
(for Dennis Dart SLF, Volvo B6LEVolvo B6The Volvo B6 is a midibus manufactured by Volvo between 1991 and 2000. Its low-floor variant, the Volvo B6LE, was first built in 1994.The Volvo B6/B6LE chassis was built to compete with the Dennis Dart/Dart SLF chassis. It could be fitted with Volvo TD63E/TD63ES engine...
) - Crusader 2 (for Volvo B6BLE)
- Eclipse MetroWright EclipseThe Wright Eclipse is a low-floor single-deck bus body built by Wright on Volvo B7 chassis. It shares its design with the Wright Solar on Scania L94 chassis....
/Eclipse FusionWright Eclipse FusionThe Wright Eclipse Fusion is a low floor articulated single-deck bus body built by Wrightbus on the Volvo B7LA chassis. The articulated version of the Wright Eclipse, it succeeded the Wright Fusion....
(for Volvo B7L/B7LA) - Endeavour (for Leyland TigerLeyland TigerThe Leyland Tiger, also known as the B43, was a mid-engined bus and coach chassis which was built between 1981 and 1993. This name had previously been used for a front-engined bus built between 1920s and 1950s. It replaced the Leyland Leopard, which had been in production for over 20 years...
, Scania K93) - EnduranceWright EnduranceThe Wright Endurance is a step-entrance, single-deck bus body built by Wrightbus between 1993 and 1997.-History:The large majority of Endurances were built on Volvo B10B chassis, including quite large fleets for the privatised former PTE companies - in particular Merseyside based MTL North who took...
(for Volvo B10BVolvo B10BThe Volvo B10B was a rear-engined high-floor bus chassis manufactured by Volvo Buses from 1990 to 2002. It superseded the Volvo B10R and its successor was the Volvo B12B....
, Scania N113CRBScania N113The Scania N113 was a transverse-engined bus chassis built by Scania AB of Sweden between 1988 and 2000.Like its predecessor, the N112, the N113 had an 11-litre engine mounted at the rear, coupled to either a Scania or Voith gearbox...
) - Explorer (the name was later dropped, for Volvo Super Olympian)
- FusionWright FusionThe Wright Fusion is a low floor articulated single-deck bus body built by Wright on Volvo B10LA chassis. It was the articulated version of the Wright Liberator.The only customer for the Fusion was FirstGroup for its Manchester, Leeds and Glasgow subsidiaries...
(for Volvo B10LA) - HandybusWright HandybusThe Wright Handybus was a single-deck bus body built primarily on Dennis Dart chassis by Wright between 1990 and 1995. It was also built on a small number of Leyland Swift chassis, in which form it had a higher floorline. It has a bolted aluminium structure....
(for Dennis DartDennis DartThe Dennis Dart is a rear-engined midibus built by Dennis in the United Kingdom. More than 11,000 were built during 18 years of production....
, Leyland SwiftLeyland SwiftThe Leyland Swift was a midibus chassis built by Leyland Bus from 1987, sharing many components with the Roadrunner light truck but with the engine relocated to behind the front axle which was itself set back to permit a passenger entrance in the front overhang...
) - LiberatorWright LiberatorThe Wright Liberator is a low-floor single-deck bus body built on Volvo B10L chassis by Wright.Around 146 were built between 1996 and 1999. It was discontinued in favour of the Renown on Volvo B10BLE chassis, which in turn was superseded by the Eclipse series, on Volvo B7L and later B7RLE chassis,...
(for Volvo B10L) - NimbusWright NimbusThe Wright Nimbus was a minibus body manufacturered by Wrightbus. It was built on Mercedes-Benz T2 and Renault S75 van derived chassis. The Nimbus has since became relatively rare as the Mercedes-Benz 709D with a Plaxton Beaver or Alexander ALX100 body was more popular during its tenure in the...
(for Mercedes-Benz T2Mercedes-Benz T2The Mercedes-Benz T2 is a transporter built by Daimler-Benz. The T2 is also known as the "Düsseldorf transporter", since it was built until 1996 in Düsseldorf. The third series, built from 1996 at Ludwigsfelde, is branded the Vario. Some units of the T2 are assembled by Daimler-Benz Espana S.A. in...
and Renault S75Dodge 50 SeriesThe Dodge 50 Series, later known as the Renault 50 Series were light commercial vehicles produced in the UK by Chrysler Europe and later Renault Véhicules Industriels between 1979 and 1993....
van derived chassis) - PathfinderWright PathfinderThe Wright Pathfinder, or Pathfinder 320, is a low-floor single-decker bus body built by Wright of Ballymena on Dennis Lance SLF and Scania N113CRL chassis. It was introduced in 1993....
(for Dennis Lance SLF, Scania N113CRLScania N113The Scania N113 was a transverse-engined bus chassis built by Scania AB of Sweden between 1988 and 2000.Like its predecessor, the N112, the N113 had an 11-litre engine mounted at the rear, coupled to either a Scania or Voith gearbox...
) - Pulsar GeminiWright Pulsar GeminiThe Wright Pulsar Gemini is a type of double-decker bus body built for VDL DB250 and used in the United Kingdom since 2003.It has been ordered almost exclusively by Arriva and largely in London, although several batches were ordered for use by Arriva subsidiaries outside London, and by smaller...
(for DAF/VDL DB250) - Pulsar Gemini HEV (hybrid-powered double-decker bus based on VDL DB250)
- RenownWright RenownThe Wright Renown is a low floor single-deck bus body built on Volvo B10BLE chassis by Wright.Over 800 Renowns were built between 1997 and 2002, making it somewhat more successful than the B10L-based Liberator....
(for Volvo B10BLE) - Royale (unique, on Leyland Leopard chassis)
- TT (mainly on Bedford chassis)
- Urbanranger (variant of Endurance for Mercedes-Benz OH1416)
Wright Demonstrators
- GCZ9023,Volvo B7L 00113,Wright Eclipse.reg 2/2001. sold to Ulsterbus.
- YP02ABN,Scania L94UB 1841520,Wright Solar.reg 3/2002. sold to First Essex.
- YP02AAN,Scania L94UA YS4L6X20001841203,Wright Solar Fusion.reg 4/2002.sold to NCT Nottingham.
- R460VOP,Volvo B10BLE YV3R4A514VA002744,Wright Renown.reg 9/1997.sold to First Somerset & Avon.
- IKZ8515,Volvo B7TL YV3S2C6151A001114,Wright Gemini.reg 8/2002. bought by Reliance, Sutton-on-the-Forest.
- T290ROF,Volvo B6BLE YV3R3A910XC010019,Wright Cadet.reg 6/1999. sold to Whitelaws.