The Wright Gemini 2 is a

double-decker bus A double-decker bus is a bus that has two storeys or decks. Double-deckers are used primarily for commuter transport, but open-top models are used as sightseeing buses for tourists, and there are coaches too for long-distance travel. They app ...

built by

Wrightbus Wrightbus is a Northern Irish bus manufacturer and a pioneer of the low-floor bus. The company was established in 1946 by Robert Wright and was later run by his son William Wright, until it was acquired in 2019 by British businessman Jo Bamf ...

between 2007 and 2013. It was announced in December 2007 but was not named until 2008. It was constructed as a semi-integral vehicle, with chassis modules provided by VDL. The bodywork utilised some lighter materials so that the vehicle was lighter than the Eclipse Gemini and Pulsar Gemini bodied buses. It was available in two versions; the Gemini 2 DL diesel-powered version, and the Gemini 2 HEV diesel-electric hybrid version. In 2014, the Gemini 2 was superseded by the StreetDeck.

Versions

The Gemini 2 was launched in 2007 as the replacement for the Pulsar Gemini and one-off Pulsar Gemini HEV. It was semi-integral, being based on the updated VDL DB300 chassis. The first two were produced with identical bodywork to the original Pulsar Gemini, however, on subsequent production models, the front and rear ends of the body were facelifted to match the

Volvo The Volvo Group (; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distribution and sale of truck ...

based Eclipse Gemini 2. It was unveiled at the

National Exhibition Centre The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) is an exhibition centre located in Marston Green, England, near to Birmingham and Solihull. It is near junction 6 of the M42 motorway, and is adjacent to Birmingham Airport and Birmingham International rail ...

in November 2008, with a

First London First London was a bus company operating services in east, west and south-east Greater London, London, England. It was a subsidiary of FirstGroup and operated buses under contract to Transport for London. It was formed in the late 1990s throug ...

Gemini 2 HEV appearing at the show.What went wrong? ''

Buses A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

'' issue 776 November 2019 page 8

Gemini 2 DL

The Gemini 2 DL was offered with Cummins ISBe 6-cylinder engines with

Voith The Voith Group is a global technology company. With its broad portfolio of systems, products, services and digital applications, Voith trades in the markets of energy, paper, raw materials and transport. Founded in 1867, Voith today has aroun ...

ZF Friedrichshafen ZF Friedrichshafen AG, also known as ZF Group, originally ''Zahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen'' (), and commonly abbreviated to ZF, is a Germany, German technology manufacturing company that supplies systems for passenger cars, commercial vehicles ...

gearboxes. A total of 462 Gemini 2 DLs were built between 2009 and 2013, mainly for

Arriva Arriva Ltd. is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England. The company was originally established on 24 October 1938 as T Cowie Ltd. Initially focused on the sale of motorcycles, it relaunched shortl ...

, including 322 for its

Arriva London Arriva London is a bus operator operating primarily in Greater London and partially in Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus and operates services for London Buses under contract to Transport for London. Oper ...

subsidiary.

and

London General London General Transport Services Limited, trading as Go-Ahead London, is a bus company operating in Greater London. The London General brand is a subsidiary of Go-Ahead London and operates services under contract to Transport for London. The ...

were the only other customers, taking four and one respectively.Wright Gemini 2
Bus Lists on the Web A low height version with a flat roof was introduced in 2009 with

Arriva North East Arriva North East operates both local and regional bus services in County Durham, Northumberland, North Yorkshire and Tyne and Wear, England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus, which operates bus and coach services across the United Kingdom. ...

and

Arriva Yorkshire Arriva Yorkshire is a major bus operator providing services primarily within and across West Yorkshire, although it also provides service in some parts of South Yorkshire, East Riding of Yorkshire and southern areas of North Yorkshire. It is a ...

the first customers.

Gemini 2 HEV

The Gemini 2 HEV was offered with a

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...

series hybrid Hybrid vehicle drivetrains transmit power to the driving wheels for hybrid vehicles. A hybrid vehicle has multiple forms of motive power, and can come in many configurations. For example, a hybrid may receive its energy by burning gasoline, but swi ...

drive system with a 2.4 litre 4-cylinder

Ford Duratorq The Ford Duratorq engine, commonly referred to as Duratorq, is the marketing name of a range of Ford diesel engines introduced in 2000. The larger capacity 5-cylinder units use the Power Stroke branding when installed in North American-market ...

Puma Diesel engine for power generation. Ten Gemini 2 HEVs were built,

and

each purchased five for use on routes

141 141 may refer to: * 141 (number), an integer * AD 141, a year of the Julian calendar * 141 BC, a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar * 141 Lumen, a main-belt asteroid * Lockheed C-141 Starlifter The Lockheed C-141 Starlifter is a retired mil ...

and 328. Arriva's were sold to

Ensignbus Ensign Bus Company Limited, trading as Ensignbus, is a bus and coach operator and bus dealer based in Purfleet, Essex. As of March 2023, it is a part of FirstGroup. History Ensignbus was formed in 1972 by Peter Newman, who remains involved ...

and later to

Crosville Motor Services Crosville Motor Services was a bus operator based in the north-west of England and north and mid-Wales. History On 27 October 1906, Crosville Motor Company was formed in Chester by George Crosland Taylor and his French business associate Ge ...

for use as

open top buses in Weston-super-Mare Open top buses in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England, were introduced in 1950 and have run along the sea front most summers since. The initial operator was Bristol Omnibus Company, Bristol Tramways and this company's successors continued to pro ...

until its withdrawal in 2017 while First's were transferred to

First West of England First West of EnglandCompanies House extract company no 25088
...

and

First York First York operates local bus services, with a network centring around the cathedral city of York, North Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup, which operates bus, rail and tram services across the United Kingdom and Ireland. His ...

until their withdrawal in 2023."Crosville axes two Weston town services" ''

'' issue 745 April 2017 page 9

References

External links

{{Wrightbus, state=collapsed Double-decker buses Hybrid electric buses Low-floor buses Vehicles introduced in 2007

Gemini 2 Gemini 2 (Gemini-Titan 2; GT-2) was the second spaceflight of the American human spaceflight program Project Gemini, and was launched and recovered on January 19, 1965. Gemini 2, like Gemini 1, was an uncrewed mission intended as a test flig ...

Versions

Gemini 2 DL

Gemini 2 HEV

References

Further reading

External links