The Mellor Sigma is a battery electric

single-deck bus A single-decker bus or rigid is a bus that has a single deck for passengers. Normally the use of the term ''single-decker'' refers to a standard two-axled rigid bus, in direct contrast to the use of the term double-decker bus, which is essent ...

range manufactured by Wisdom Motor in China and sold in Europe by Mellor Coachcraft between 2021 and 2024. It was available in various lengths, from 6.99 – 13.50 metres, with the shortest being marketed as the Mellor Sigma 7, and the longest as the Mellor Sigma 13. The Sigma was created as a zero-emission single deck vehicle, marketed as improving "demand for cleaner solutions to public transport". Mellor claim that there is a weight saving across all models compared to competitor vehicles, with capacities between 30 and 80 passengers depending on the vehicle size. Mellor initially launched the Sigma with the Sigma 7 and Sigma 10 models, with the Sigma 7 being a single door model and the Sigma 10 being a dual door model. The Sigma 7 debuted at ITT Hub, while the Sigma 9 later debuted at Busworld Europe 2023 in Brussels. A variant known as the Sigma 13 was also announced at the event in October 2023. As of May 2024, Mellor Coachcraft had ceased to market the Sigma bus range.

Operators

United Kingdom

The first Sigma 7 went to the Holkham Estate's Pinewoods Holiday Parks in

Wells-next-the-Sea Wells-next-the-Sea is a port town on the north coast of Norfolk, England. The civil parish has an area of and in 2001 had a population of 2,451,Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council (2001). Census population and household c ...

, for a bus service to replace the former

Wells Harbour Railway The Wells Harbour Railway was a gauge railway that ran at Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk, England. It was long, running between Wells Harbour and Pinewoods. The line operated for 45 years, from 1976 to 2021, when it was closed and replaced with ...

, while the first Sigma 12s were ordered by

Whippet Coaches Whippet is a bus and coach operator based in Swavesey, Cambridgeshire, England. It is part of the Ascendal Group. History Whippet Coaches was founded in Huntingdonshire by bicycle salesman Henry Lee in 1919. The first Whippet coach was conv ...

for delivery in July 2023, where nine will be used on the company's ''Universal'' network serving the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. The Sigma range has proved popular with some

county councils A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county council (New South Wales), co ...

across the United Kingdom, with some specifying Sigmas built on a

high-floor High-floor describes the interior flooring of commuter vehicles primarily used in public transport such as trains, light rail cars and other rail transport, rail vehicles, along with buses and trolleybuses. Interior floor height is generally mea ...

platform. Orders across the range have been placed by the

Dumfries and Galloway Council Dumfries and Galloway (; ) is one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, located in the western part of the Southern Uplands. It is bordered by East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and South Lanarkshire to the north; Scottish Borders to the ...

, the East Riding of Yorkshire Council and the

Islington London Borough Council Islington London Borough Council, also known as Islington Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Islington in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majo ...

. Smaller orders have been received from operators such as London Hire and Shuttlebus. On the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

, LibertyBus of

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

took delivery of a pair of Mellor Sigmas in November 2023, which entered service the following month.

Mainland Europe

The first Sigma for mainland Europe were ordered by Swedish operator Nobina for

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

contract city services on behalf of the Västtrafic regional transport authority, with seven Sigma 7s destined for operation on Nobina's route T22 in the city's

Angered Angered ( ) is a Boroughs and districts of Gothenburg, borough of Gothenburg Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. Angered is the biggest Million Programme area in Gothenburg, and one of the biggest in the country, with 60,000 inha ...

and

Bergsjön Bergsjön is a district in eastern Gothenburg, Sweden. On January 1, 2011, Bergsjön and Kortedala became the Eastern District of Gothenburg as part of a larger reorganization of the city of Gothenburg; the number of district councils was halved ...

districts. 42 more Sigma 7s were ordered for Gothenburg

demand-responsive transport Demand-responsive transport (DRT), also known as demand-responsive transit, demand-responsive service,
US National Trans ...

services operated by Connect Bus in February 2023, and three Sigma 7s were delivered to the German city of

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

's municipal bus operator in August 2023.

Gallery

File:LibertyBus Mellor Sigma 8 electric bus in St Helier.jpg, LibertyBus Sigma 8 in

St Helier St Helier (; Jèrriais: ; ) is the Capital city, capital of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. It is the most populous of the twelve parishes of Jersey, with a population of 35,822, over one-third of the island' ...

, Jersey in June 2024 Mellor Sigma 9, Busworld Europe 2023, Brussels (P1140178-RR).jpg, A Sigma 9 on display at Busworld Europe 2023 File:Mellor Sigma 10.jpg, A Sigma 10 performing demonstration runs at the 2022 Euro Bus Expo File:(GBR-Cambridgeshire) Whippet Coaches WG114 MX23LCW U1 2023-11-17.jpg,

Sigma 12 in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

in November 2023

References

External links