Wright GB Kite
Metrobus Fastway Wright GB Kite Hydroliner FCEV in Crawley in May 2023
Overview
ManufacturerWrightbus
Production2022–present
AssemblyBallymena, Northern Ireland
Body and chassis
ClassElectric bus
Fuel cell bus
Doors1 or 2
Floor typeLow floor
ChassisIntegral
RelatedWright GB Hawk
Wright Streetdeck
Powertrain
Capacity90 maximum
Battery
Range
  • Electroliner BEV
  • 250 miles (400 km)[1]
  • Hydroliner FCEV
  • 640 miles (1,030 km)[2]
Dimensions
Length10.9 metres (36 ft), 11.6 metres (38 ft), 12.4 metres (41 ft)
Width2.5 metres (8.2 ft)
Height3.3 metres (11 ft)
Chronology
PredecessorWright Eclipse 3
Wright StreetAir

The Wright GB Kite is a range of full-size zero-emission single-deck buses manufactured by Wrightbus since 2022. Similar in body style to the diesel powered Wright GB Hawk, the GB Kite is an integral design that can be built as a battery electric vehicle, the Electroliner BEV, and as a fuel cell electric vehicle, the Hydroliner FCEV.[1][2]

The GB Kite range was launched in September 2021, following the launch of the double-deck Wright StreetDeck Electroliner and Hydroliner range earlier in the year.[3] The Electroliner BEV has a maximum range of 250 miles (400 km) with the top option of a 567kwh battery, charged through conventional DC charging or pantograph charging. The Hydroliner FCEV has a maximum range of 640 miles (1,030 km), powered with a with either a 70 or 100kwh fuel cell system produced by Ballard Power Systems in combination with a 35 kg (77 lb) or 50 kg (110 lb) hydrogen tank.[4] Regular production of both GB Kite variants was fully underway by December 2022.[5]

Orders

Hydroliner FCEV

The first orders for GB Kites was placed in November 2021, with Metrobus ordering 20 Hydroliner FCEV vehicles for use on the Fastway network.[6][7] The first buses from this order, also being the first production Hydroliners, began entering service with Metrobus on the Fastway network in April 2023, with the order for 20 completed later in June.[8][9] A further order for 23 Kite Hydroliners was placed in June 2023 for Metrobus services in Surrey.[10][11]

60 left-hand drive Hydroliner FCEVs have been ordered by Cologne municipal operator Regionalverkehr Köln, Wrightbus' first European order since the bus builder was rescued from bankruptcy, with deliveries of the Hydroliners to take place between 2023 and 2025.[12][13] Twelve were also ordered by WestVerkehr in October 2023 for service in Geilenkirchen in North Rhine-Westphalia.[14]

In May 2022, Wrightbus entered a deal to supply the Australian bodybuilder Volgren with two GB Kite Hydroliner chassis for the company to body. These two buses are scheduled to enter service with Transdev Queensland for hydrogen fuel-cell trial services in Brisbane in 2023.[15][16][17]

Electroliner BEV

First Leicester Wright GB Kite Electroliner BEV at St Margaret's Bus Station, Leicester in August 2023

The FirstGroup ordered 173 GB Kite Electroliners in August 2022 for five of the group's subsidiaries as part of an order which also included 20 StreetDeck Electroliners. The first buses from an initial order of 68 GB Kite Electroliners began entering service with First Leicester in May 2023,[18] followed by deliveries of 24 GB Kite Electroliners to First York beginning in late August 2023.[19] Infrastructure work also commenced at First West Yorkshire's Bramley depot in August 2023 prior to the delivery of 32 GB Kite Electroliners, the first expected to arrive in January 2024 for service in Leeds,[20] while further orders for GB Kite Electroliners have been made by First Eastern Counties and First Hampshire & Dorset for services in Norwich and Portsmouth respectively.[21][22] Further orders for GB Kite Electroliners placed in March 2023 included 28 more for First Hampshire & Dorset's Hoeford depot,[23] as well as 18 more for First Leicester.[24][25]

28 GB Kite Electroliners were delivered for Translink's Foyle Metro operation in Derry in May 2023.[26][27] These buses began entering service in the city in August 2023 after the installation of charging infrastructure and training of staff at the Foyle Metro depot.[28] 50 more GB Kite Electroliners have been ordered for delivery to both Ulsterbus and Metro in Belfast in summer 2024.[29]

The Oxford Bus Company is to receive five GB Kite Electroliners as part of a 104-vehicle order for zero-emission Wrightbus buses,[30] while Abellio London, the first Transport for London operator to order GB Kites, ordered 12 GB Kite Electroliners for service on route E7 featuring a redesigned front end to comply with TfL's Bus Safety Standard;[31] a further 24 Kite Electroliners are to be delivered in 2024.[32]

References

  1. 1 2 "GB Kite Electroliner BEV". Wrightbus. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 "GB Kite Hydroliner FCEV". Wrightbus. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  3. ↑ "Wrightbus to launch electric and hydrogen powered GB Kite". Coach & Bus Week. Emap. 7 September 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  4. ↑ "Wrightbus presents electric & fuel cell single-decker buses". electrive. 23 September 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  5. ↑ May, Tiana (9 December 2022). "Wrightbus Advances Production of GB Kite Electroliner". Bus-News. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  6. ↑ "Go-Ahead buys its first zero emission hydrogen buses". Go-Ahead News (Press release). 4 November 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  7. ↑ "20 Wrightbus hydrogen single-deckers for Metrobus Fastway". RouteOne. 4 November 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  8. ↑ Gardner, Andrew (11 April 2023). "Crawley Metrobus begins testing of Wright Hydroliner fleet". The Argus. Brighton. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  9. ↑ "Go-Ahead introduces FCEV fleet in Crawley, Horley, Gatwick Airport". routeone. 29 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  10. ↑ Deakin, Tim (17 July 2023). "Hydrogen 'the only option' for Metrobus Fastway ZE". routeone. Retrieved 18 July 2023. In the meantime, Metrobus's hydrogen fleet at Crawley will grow beyond the 20 Hydroliners thanks to collaboration with Surrey County Council (SCC). It is providing £16 million to fund 34 additional hydrogen fuel cell-electrics over the coming 18 months. They will be used on services in Surrey and be Hydroliners from Wrightbus in a mix of GB Kite single-deckers and StreetDeck double-deckers.
  11. ↑ Lyons, Mark (9 August 2023). "Metrobus at forty". Buses. No. 822. Stamford: Key Publishing. p. 32. Retrieved 20 September 2023. The authority will procure 23 single-deckers and 11 double-deckers, which are expected to be delivered next year for use on routes 100 [...], 420 [...], 430/435 [...], 460 [...], 480 [...] and 820 [...].(subscription required)
  12. ↑ Breslin, John (27 May 2022). "Wrightbus to supply German city of Cologne with 60 hydrogen buses". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  13. ↑ "Wrightbus: Ballymena firm to supply 60 hydrogen buses to Germany". BBC News. 27 May 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  14. ↑ Peat, Chris (20 October 2023). "Wrightbus secures hydrogen bus order from Germany". Bus & Coach Buyer. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  15. ↑ "Wrightbus eyes Australian export market with Volgren deal". routeone. 11 May 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  16. ↑ Blackadder, Dessie (11 May 2022). "Australia deal is major boost for Ballymena Wrightbus workers". Ballymena Guardian. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  17. ↑ "Transdev goes hydrogen with two-bus Volgren-Wrightbus trial". Coach & Bus Week. Peterborough: Emap. 30 August 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  18. ↑ Williams, Mark (31 May 2023). "Electroliners enter service in Leicester". Bus & Coach Buyer. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  19. ↑ "Big switch-on marks major milestone for cleaner, greener transport in York". YorkMix. 25 August 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  20. ↑ "First readies for further 57 battery-electric buses in Leeds". routeone. 25 August 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  21. ↑ Deakin, Tim (31 August 2022). "First Bus orders 193 Wrightbus battery-electrics". routeone. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  22. ↑ "First Leicester starts work on electric bus infrastructure". routeone. 6 December 2022. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  23. ↑ Deakin, Tim (2 March 2023). "First Bus orders 117 more Wrightbus battery-electrics". routeone. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  24. ↑ Halford, Paul (27 March 2023). "LTA partnerships are crucial, says First Bus MD". routeone. Retrieved 27 March 2023. The unveiling of the Wrightbus GB Kite Electroliner single-decker at First Leicester's depot last week was a significant step as 18 more were also put on order to add to the 86 already on their way.
  25. ↑ "Wrightbus in new deal to deliver 18 zero emission buses for Leicester". The Irish News. 21 March 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  26. ↑ "Further electric investment announced in Northern Ireland". Buses. Stamford: Key Publishing. 10 December 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2021.(subscription required)
  27. ↑ "Translink debuts Foyle Metro battery-electric fleet". routeone. 26 May 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  28. ↑ Deeney, Niall (8 August 2023). "First electric buses in Derry city now on the road, say Translink". Belfast Live. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  29. ↑ "Translink orders 100 more ZE buses from Wrightbus". routeone. 27 October 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  30. ↑ "Oxford Bus Company to take 104 Wrightbus electrics". routeone. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  31. ↑ Lidstone, John G.; et al. (19 April 2023). "In Fleet News this month". Buses. No. 818. Stamford: Key Publishing. Retrieved 22 August 2023. Electric single-deckers on order are 13 Switch Metrocity for route E5 and 12 Wright GB Kite Electroliners for route E7.
  32. ↑ "Abellio London orders 80 more Wrightbus battery-electrics". routeone. 17 November 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
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