Wrightbus Launches NewPower In Bicester
The title of this post, is the same as that press release from Wrightbus.
This is the sub-heading.
World-leading bus manufacturer Wrightbus today took the wraps off a bold new enterprise designed to replace older diesel engines with new zero-emission electric powertrains.
These three paragraphs from the press release give more details.
NewPower, which has moved into a hi-tech factory in Bicester, Oxfordshire, aims to speed up the decarbonisation process by eradicating diesel powertrains in older fleets at a substantially lower price than a new bus.
Wrightbus becomes the first OEM to offer a re-powering service, utilising the unique skills of its 1,800-strong workforce to swap diesel for electricity. Its master technicians built the original buses and have unrivalled expertise in being able to swap powertrains.
Hailed as affordable decarbonisation, it is hoped that operators with mid-life bus fleets but without the funding for new zero-emission buses can take advantage of the instant sustainability switch.
Note.
- It appears that Wrightbus, have taken over the new factory of failed electric van manufacturer; Arrival.
- Converting a bus takes three weeks and six can be handled at one time.
- This gives the overall capacity to decarbonise five hundred buses per year.
I have some extra information from this article in Sustainable Bus magazine, which is entitled Wrightbus Launches Repowering Programme NewPower In Former Arrival Headquarter.
Which Buses Can Be Converted And How Much Does A Conversion Cost?
This paragraph is from the Sustainable Bus article.
UK trade media Bus & Coach Buyer reports that the new venture “is focused on fitting its tailored electric drivetrain into Streetdeck buses, then tailoring it for Gemini 2, then New Route Master, with plans to then engineer solutions for other common buses, at around £1m per model”.
Note.
- That is certainly a comprehensive conversion programme.
- I would assume the million pound per model is the development cost of an engineering package for a fleet of buses.
- London would get a thousand refurbished zero-carbon New Route Masters.
- A new double-decker bus can cost between £300,000 to £500,000.
It looks like a programme can be developed, that is profitable for all parties.
Meet The Futuristic-Looking Electric Arrival Bus
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Microsoft News.
The Arrival Bus is by the same company, who are building electric vans for UPS, that I wrote about in UK Electric Van Maker Arrival Secures £340m Order From UPS.
This is a video of the prototype under test.
This article on CNET is entitled Arrival’s Electric Bus Is Designed For Coronavirus-Era Social Distancing and it contains this paragraph.
The British startup company, which focuses on smart electric vehicles, on Wednesday debuted the Arrival Bus, pitched as just the bus for social distancing. That’s because the interior of the bus is customizable, with removable seats, so you can create additional space between passengers. It’s a pretty novel way to increase or decrease seats to meet reopening guidelines
If it works, knowing Sod’s Law, it will probably be rarely used, as someone will come up with an affordable vaccine, that’s bulletproof!
As we’ve also had an electric bus from Norfolk, that I wrote about in Equipmake Opens New Electric Bus Factory In Snetterton, there will be several players helping to decarbonise the bus industry.
The Anonymous Widower 