Las Vegas, here we come

THE first 15 StreetCars for Las Vegas are due to be in service in twelve months time and the first batch is steadily advancing down the production line at Ballymena. Packed with advanced technology, the $55million order for 50 StreetCars is taking the vehicle on to a new level with a hybrid diesel-electric driveline that is likely to become the main StreetCar offering for UK and European markets.

The first of the 18.7m StreetCars will go to Germany in January for driveline testing. The vehicle is based on a chassis from Swiss trolley bus specialist Carosserie Hess, chosen because of the manufacturer’s experience in working with electric drivelines.

And because the vehicles will operate in the heady climate of Southern Nevada, the vehicles have been specified with a seriously heavy-duty air-conditioning system. The contract requires the system to be able to reduce the temperature inside the vehicle from 120F to 70F in just 30 minutes and there are two 24kw compressors for the passenger compartments, in addition to a 5kw unit for the driver’s area.




One of the first Las Vegas StreetCar on the production line.

The vehicles will operate on a service with off-bus ticketing so there is only a single ticket installation at the centre doors which is designed for inspectors to use as a penalty fare machine. Non-payers will either be marched to the penalty fare machines, or escorted from the bus.

Wrightbus is hopeful, all being well, that it will have a good chance of winning one of the two further options for 50 vehicles each from Southern Nevada’s Regional Transport Commission. “The combination of the efficient electric driveline and futuristic styling in the vehicle bound for Las Vegas further underlines the potential of StreetCar,” says Wright Group managing director Mark Nodder.

The driveline is being supplied by California-based ISE and includes Siemens ELFA traction components and a 330bhp 8.7litre Cummins ISL diesel engine. The series hybrid system also means that the components can be distributed throughout the vehicle which enables a full flat floor. The centre axle is the driven axle.

Specific requirements for the Las Vegas vehicles have been imposed by the US department for homeland security which has insisted that gaps between back-to-back seat pairs are filled to avoid leaving potential hiding places for concealed packages. There are also two neat bike racks inside the centre of the StreetCar which stow the bikes vertically. (Wright’s engineers were clearly unimpressed by the original RTC suggestion of hanging the bikes on the front of the StreetCar.)

Winning the Las Vegas order is an important step for Wright in promoting the StreetCar concept. “Our business development team is active discussions with other cities in the USA,” says Nodder, “whilst in Europe the availability of a left-hand drive version of StreetCar means that there is renewed interest in the concept, with enquiries from France, Germany and Scandinavia”.

Nodder acknowledges that with the use of a chassis from Hess, there could potentially be a trolley bus version, for example if Leeds pursues its interest, although he doesn’t appear to be that keen on the idea, adding: “we’ll continue to promote the virtues of hybrid electric in the meantime”.

In the UK, Wright’s hybrid programme has now reached the stage where it says it is ready for production-level orders. Five Electrocity single-decks have just gone into service in Greenwich with Travel London which takes the number of Wright’s hybrids to 12 in the capital; five single-decks with London Central and a double-deck Gemini with Arriva London. Further orders are in hand for Transport for London (1 single-deck, to be operated by London Central), Dublin Bus (1 double-deck), First London (5 double-decks) and Arriva London (5 double-decks). There is also one long-term demonstrator planned for First Glasgow and the order announced last month for ten hydrogen-based single-decks for Transport for London.




One of the Wright Electrocity hybrid single-decks that have just gone into service with Travel London in Greenwich.

Wrightbus is steadfast in its support for the series hybrid system. “The series hybrid approach utilises a smaller engine which is not mechanically directly coupled to the drive axle,” explains Jonathan Poynton, business development director. “This allows the engine to run at steady speed. Coupled with a larger battery this approach is more suited to the low speed start-stop nature of city bus operation.”

Wrightbus says that in tests conducted at Millbrook by TfL, its hybrids are achieving a 34 per cent gain on fuel efficiency, compared to the best in class for Euro 4 diesel-engined alternatives.
For UK hybrids, Wright has now switched to Ford for its diesel engine. The previous GM 1.9litre diesel has been replaced by a 2.4litre 4-cylinder Ford EGR engine rated at 105kW. It is the engine that is used in Ford Transits and Land Rover Defenders. The switch to Ford has been driven by the need to exert greater control over the engine’s performance within the hybrid set up. The GM engine was effectively a closed book, according to Wright Group chairman William Wright, whereas the Ford engine, produced at Dagenham in the UK, has “open architecture” and can be calibrated fully to meet their requirements. It also comes with a longer warranty and longer oil change intervals.

Battery technology is clearly developing fast. Wrightbus is using lithium ion batteries in the latest batch of hybrids and expects these to have a 5-7 year life. The battery pack consists of three modules and weighs around 400kg in total, a significant saving against lead acid batteries which could weigh as much as 1,500kg.

The hybrids should be capable of running on zero-emission electric power for approximately ten minutes in every hour. This is for UK-specification hybrids; the Las Vegas StreetCars are unlikely to move at all on electric power because of the power requirements of the air-conditioning system.

The Ballymena production facility is producing just short of 1,000 buses a year. Each double-deck bus requires around 100 GRP panels and Wright Group has invested around £1.8million in establishing its own fibre glass production factory on the site. Wright Composites has been operating for around two years and now supplies about half of the company’s production requirements for GRP products.  Operating as a stand-alone business within the group, it tenders for Wright contracts alongside competitors and it also has external customers with hearse bodies and the aeroplane lockers among its output.




The Wright Composites business is developing new closed moulding techniques of GRP production.

The business is headed by general manager Les Boyd who says that the company’s reputation extends beyond the bus industry: “What began as a move to safeguard a strategically important part of our production supply chain, has quickly developed into a significant stand-alone business with a growing customer base. The business has already established itself as a centre of excellence for GRP mouldings in Northern Ireland.”

Wright Composites projects a turnover of more than £4million for the year ahead and has increased its employees by 60 to 92.

The Wright Group is also investing in its aftermarket business Customcare. Headed by Customcare director Geoff Potter, the network has been expanded to enhance support for Wrightbus products with the number of centres increased from 21 to 30 in the last 18 months and the introduction of new mobile support teams. The organisation has been heavily involved in supporting the early hybrid vehicles operating in London and has also won significant contracts, including one for the supply of all vehicle fibre glass replacement parts to the Go Ahead Group.


www.the-wright-group.com