The Wright Electrocity was a type of

hybrid electric bus A hybrid electric bus is a bus that combines a conventional internal combustion engine propulsion system with an electric propulsion system. These types of buses normally use a diesel–electric powertrain and are also known as hybrid diesel� ...

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 2002 and 2013. The Electrocity was based on DAF/VDL SB120 chassis for most of these buses, except for a single

Dennis Dart SLF The Dennis Dart is a rear-engined single-decker midibus chassis that was introduced by Dennis of Guildford, England, in 1989, replacing the Dennis Domino. Initially built as a high-floor design, in 1996 the low-floor second generation Denn ...

prototype.

History

Two Electrocity prototypes were initially built in 2002; one based on DAF SB120 chassis, the other based on a

chassis. The bodywork design was similar to the existing Wright Cadet and Crusader, which were also built on DAF SB120 and Dennis Dart SLF chassis respectively, with the addition of battery pods on the roof of the Electrocity being the main difference. The Electrocity was the first bus of its kind to be built, and the prototypes competed mainly with the TransBus Enviro200H. The Electrocity design was facelifted in 2005 to match the updated Cadet design, with the main noticeable change being rounded front headlights. Following the collapse of TransBus International in 2004 and subsequent cancellation of the Enviro200H programme, in February 2006

London Central The London Central Bus Company is a bus operator brand under London General Transport Services Limited, trading as Go-Ahead London. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group and primarily operates services in South London under contract to Tran ...

placed six Electrocitys based on VDL SB120 chassis into service on route 360. Originally equipped with lead-acid batteries and 1.9 litre

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( , ) is an area of South London, within the London Borough of Lambeth. Named after a medieval manor called Fox Hall, it became well known for the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. From the Victorian period until the mid-20th century, Va ...

engines, in 2011 all were rebuilt by Wrightbus with

lithium-ion batteries A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery that uses the reversible intercalation of Li+ ions into electronically conducting solids to store energy. Li-ion batteries are characterized by higher specific energy, energy ...

and 4.5 litre Cummins ISBe engines. The hybrid management system was converted from Enova to

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 ...

.Revised Wrightbus hybrids ready to roll
''Bus & Coach Professional'' 23 August 2011 Externally they received larger white pods on the rear roofs to house the batteries. All subsequent Electrocitys were built on VDL SB120 chassis. In 2007, another five were built for

Travel London Travel London was a bus company operating services in Greater London. It was a subsidiary of Mobico Group, National Express before being sold in May 2009 to Abellio (transport company), NedRailways. In October 2009, it was rebranded as Transpo ...

for use on route 129. A single Electrocity was built for London Central in 2008, followed by a batch of six in 2011, to allow for a full conversion of route 360. The Electrocity was superseded by the Wright StreetAir in 2016.Wrightbus' new range of electric buses revealed
''Route One'' 5 August 2016

References

External links

Wrightbus Electrocity
Wrightbus {{Wrightbus, state=collapsed Hybrid electric buses Low-entry buses Vehicles introduced in 2002 Electrocity