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Wrightbus enter administration

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carlberry

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From the BBC report.. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-49901167

'Mr Paisley also said that a sizeable amount of a £220m government fund to buy buses will be earmarked for a Northern Ireland company.'

Is there any other Northern Ireland bus company?
Without the EU around giving bungs to your favorite company is perfectly OK now, I'm sure ADL/Optare etc will be well impressed! (Are there any tory MPs near Falkirk/Guildford/Scarborough?).
 

TheGrandWazoo

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Without the EU around giving bungs to your favorite company is perfectly OK now, I'm sure ADL/Optare etc will be well impressed! (Are there any tory MPs near Falkirk/Guildford/Scarborough?).

Falkirk is SNP (but like much of the central belt was traditionally Labour until 2015).
Scarborough is Tory except for the brief New Labour period.
Guildford - I'd have thought it was "put a blue rosette on traffic cone and it'll get elected" but it's been a bit mixed Tory/LD (but at the moment, it's one of the whipless 22)
 

Mikey C

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Falkirk is SNP (but like much of the central belt was traditionally Labour until 2015).
Scarborough is Tory except for the brief New Labour period.
Guildford - I'd have thought it was "put a blue rosette on traffic cone and it'll get elected" but it's been a bit mixed Tory/LD (but at the moment, it's one of the whipless 22)

Selby and Ainsty (Optare) is Tory too
 

carlberry

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Falkirk is SNP (but like much of the central belt was traditionally Labour until 2015).
Scarborough is Tory except for the brief New Labour period.
Guildford - I'd have thought it was "put a blue rosette on traffic cone and it'll get elected" but it's been a bit mixed Tory/LD (but at the moment, it's one of the whipless 22)
So the new bus networks will require Dennis chassis and Wright bodies then.
 

507021

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They’re that bad. And I’m a driver. Streetlites/decks are bloody horrible to driver.

I've driven StreetLites, and while I'm no fan of them, I really don't think they're that bad.
 

7522

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Messages
194
As a passenger I find most Wright products high quality to travel on. Some streetlites do annoy me with rattling around the emergency exit door but otherwise they are ok.

The biggest problem I have is with the Arriva VDL SB200's with Wright Pulsar bodywork. In general I find these ride really poor where you can feel every bump and also they are awful at the back as the windows are so far forward. A high amount of these buses also vibrate really strongly when the engine is idling. The whole bus feels like it is shaking which is not good at all. For a 6.7l Cummins engine I find these buses very poor. The Enviro 300 with the same engine is much better.

Who is to blame for the faults, VDL or Wright, I don't know. I really wish something could be done about the Idle vibration issue as this makes these awful to travel on.
 
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Not really, It's called an opinion and you don't have to agree. Someone asked a question and I gave my reasons. Imo yes they are that bad!
And most of which , I agree with Jordan on . Yesterday I had the misfortune to be on 63272 on a 38 and the front bit of the NSF wheel arch moulding was vibrating loudly .there was an attempt at dulling it down with a bunch of paper towels jammed between the moulding and the pole the door is mounted on but then you heard the more annoying squeaking that is the destination panels and the rattling of the panels above the doors .the only thing that wasn’t rattling surprisingly was the emergency door handle !!
 

507021

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As a passenger I find most Wright products high quality to travel on. Some streetlites do annoy me with rattling around the emergency exit door but otherwise they are ok.

The biggest problem I have is with the Arriva VDL SB200's with Wright Pulsar bodywork. In general I find these ride really poor where you can feel every bump and also they are awful at the back as the windows are so far forward. A high amount of these buses also vibrate really strongly when the engine is idling. The whole bus feels like it is shaking which is not good at all. For a 6.7l Cummins engine I find these buses very poor. The Enviro 300 with the same engine is much better.

Who is to blame for the faults, VDL or Wright, I don't know. I really wish something could be done about the Idle vibration issue as this makes these awful to travel on.

The problem with the SB200 is the small wheels, other than those I think they're decent buses which are good to drive.
 

deanmachine

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South Tyneside
As a passenger I find most Wright products high quality to travel on. Some streetlites do annoy me with rattling around the emergency exit door but otherwise they are ok.

The biggest problem I have is with the Arriva VDL SB200's with Wright Pulsar bodywork. In general I find these ride really poor where you can feel every bump and also they are awful at the back as the windows are so far forward. A high amount of these buses also vibrate really strongly when the engine is idling. The whole bus feels like it is shaking which is not good at all. For a 6.7l Cummins engine I find these buses very poor. The Enviro 300 with the same engine is much better.

Who is to blame for the faults, VDL or Wright, I don't know. I really wish something could be done about the Idle vibration issue as this makes these awful to travel on.

I think the Mercedes engined Streetlites suffer a similar problem with vibrating at idle, I really wish ours had start/stop! The cummins engined ones are fine though, I find them comfy for long drives, decent power when they're not in some sort of limp mode, I even prefer them to our Citaros, honestly! The biggest issue with Wright products imo is the build quality, and the inconsistency between vehicles even in the same batch!
 

7522

Member
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Messages
194
I think the Mercedes engined Streetlites suffer a similar problem with vibrating at idle, I really wish ours had start/stop! The cummins engined ones are fine though, I find them comfy for long drives, decent power when they're not in some sort of limp mode, I even prefer them to our Citaros, honestly! The biggest issue with Wright products imo is the build quality, and the inconsistency between vehicles even in the same batch!

I must admit I don't have much experience with Mercedes engine streetlites as all of the ones in my area are Cummins. The only time I have been on mercedes streetlites is when brand new so I'm not sure how they will have aged.

One interesting example though is when streetlites directly replaced Citaros on Go North East routes 16 / 16A, many of the regular passengers seemed to prefer the streetlites due to their much brighter interior and better seating layout. I do think the streetlites look modern and make an impression with passengers.

I certainly agree with build quality inconsistencies though. This issue even occurred as far back as when the Pulsars were built. At my depot there are 6 Pulsars, 5 of then have problems with engine Idle although to varying degrees. The 61 plates seem to be worse than 12 plates. One of the pulsars does not suffer engine Idle issues at all and this one is actually quite nice to travel on. If only all were to the same standard!
 

MotCO

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I must admit I don't have much experience with Mercedes engine streetlites as all of the ones in my area are Cummins. The only time I have been on mercedes streetlites is when brand new so I'm not sure how they will have aged.

One interesting example though is when streetlites directly replaced Citaros on Go North East routes 16 / 16A, many of the regular passengers seemed to prefer the streetlites due to their much brighter interior and better seating layout. I do think the streetlites look modern and make an impression with passengers.

I certainly agree with build quality inconsistencies though. This issue even occurred as far back as when the Pulsars were built. At my depot there are 6 Pulsars, 5 of then have problems with engine Idle although to varying degrees. The 61 plates seem to be worse than 12 plates. One of the pulsars does not suffer engine Idle issues at all and this one is actually quite nice to travel on. If only all were to the same standard!

But is engine idle speed the fault of the body builder?
 

KendalKing

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4 Mar 2009
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North Lancs
  • They're slow.
  • Unreliable.
  • Have jerky gearboxes.
  • Harsh brakes.
  • Poor top speed.
  • Poor turning circle.
  • Heating is often stuck on full.
  • Front/rear destination access panels do not shut properly meaning they rattle like mad.
  • Design of the windscreen means a full size blind cannot fit in the front.
  • Steering is very heavy.
  • It's difficult to tell if the hand brake is or isn't applied.
  • Front platform and loading area is narrow making it difficult for wheelchair users to get on.
  • Cab door rattles very badly.
  • Panel to the main door motor is flimsy.
  • Heat vents are on the roof (heat rises), so are useless in the winter.
  • Material used on the cab back feels and looks like polystyrene.
  • Centre positioned lights mean you get lots of glare and can't turn one side off to reduce glare.
  • Design of the emergency exit is lousy, and it rattles very badly,
  • Poorly positioned grab rails around the front with far too many bell pushes.
  • Poor leg room at most seats.
  • Very steep steps to the rear.
  • Air Compressor is far too loud and makes the whole rear of the vehicle shake.
  • Certain Max examples already suffer chassis corrosion.
  • Engine bay protrudes in to the passenger saloon compromising leg room at the rear even more. Additionally it's easy to burn your legs if you're not careful.
  • Glazing at the rear of the bus is very shallow and doesn't go right up to the rear, meaning the rear rows of seats can be rather claustrophobic as the design doesn't let in might light.
  • Suspension is rubbish and seems to create bumps in the road that don't exist.
  • They sit too low to the ground so sometimes ground out causing damage to the underside of the bus.
  • Cab has too many overhead buttons.
  • LED interior lights are far too bright.
  • Interior light housing doesn't fit properly.
  • The automated interior lights system is unreliable and will often turn the lights off randomly at night.
  • Not enough opening hopper windows and they often slam shut over bumps.
  • They have a tendency to gulp and run out of coolant.
  • Coolant pipes often burst.
  • Wheels are too small causing poor ride and a poor turning circle.
  • Rear window is far too high and pretty useless.
  • Water leaks in where the fibreglass front/rear moulds meet with the roof. Some operators have got around this by fitting tape over the join.
  • Luggage rack is far too small with more space lost due to the position of the fire extinguisher.
  • Items do not stay in the luggage racks as the bars are too low.
  • Ticket bin is hinged from the bottom and often falls off over bumps emptying the contents.
  • Poor MPG.
  • Lack of padding in the seats behind the cab and on the last row.
  • Seats behind the cab fall off their mountings quite easily so have to be 'bodged' back in place.
  • Grab rails rattle on idle.
  • Bell pushes often don't work first time.
  • External engine noise is extreme and when Streetlites are on my route they often vibrate the house. I don't get this with any other bus type.
  • The rubber seal around the emergency exit door leaks.
  • At low speeds the gearbox jumps between neutral and drive.
  • When drive is engaged the bus lurches forward.
  • If you're cruising at around 20 MPH and apply the brakes you often have to apply them harshly to get the vehicle to stop as it wants to continue moving forward.
  • When changing gear the whole bus vibrates.
  • It's near impossible to stop a Streetlite without giving all the passengers whiplash, often drivers will put the vehicle in to neutral when slowing down in order to stop the retarder kicking in.
  • The side destination is bodged in.
  • They make a very loud air release sound when slowing down, this wouldn't be an issue if it wasn't for the fact it's soo loud and regular.
  • Air tanks seems to loose pressure easily.
  • In colder weather the electronics like to freeze.
  • Offside mirror arm is far too long.
  • The seat moulding behind the cab is only attached at the bottom so rattles badly, there is also a really nasty blackout sticker behind the seat that collects dirt.
  • Prone to wheel spinning due to harsh gear changes.
  • Internal advert frames are at an odd angle and mean that adverts easily fall out.
  • Lack of a glass screen next to the door means that when the doors are opened in the winter you get a bad draft around the front half of the bus.
  • Air vents are only up once side of the bus.
  • No roof air ventilation, this is something all previous Wright products had.
  • Door buttons and flimsy and Wright are prone to fitting them the wrong way round.
  • No grab rail over the window in the WC bay makes it unsafe for standees.
  • General construction and use of materials on the interior is poor.
  • Cab back doesn't fully extend to the roof.
  • A wheelchair cannot board if a full size adult is sitting in the seats behind the cab.
  • When going over cobbles you can see the body of the bus bending and flexing.
  • Windscreen leaks.
  • I could go on...
:lol::lol::lol:
I have never driven a StreetLite, So I don't know what they are like to drive. However, I travelled on a number of them in Bournemouth and Manchester, and I have found them to be good buses to travel on.

Superb buses they are! Almost as good as the fantastic amazing Plaxton Primo. o_O
From experience, I have found the Plaxton Primo, a better bus to drive then Enviro 200.
 

GusB

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I've no idea which engines Cummins made at each plant, so this may be totally unrelated, but could this possible be related to the current Wrightbus situation?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-49911188

A manufacturing company has announced it intends to close its operations in Cumbernauld.

The decision by Cummins, which will affect about 130 employees, has been blamed on market conditions.

The company specialises in the distribution of engines and generators for various industries.
<snip>
 

KendalKing

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The Wright Streetlite is far from great but it doesn't even make it into the top 10 worst buses.

Perhaps the Plaxton Primo easily beats it, as does the Quest 80, Dennis Lancet, Plaxton Prestige (on a Daf SB220LF chassis), Optare Alero, Guy Wulfrunian, Daimler Roadliner, AEC Merlin/Swift, Optare Vecta, Temsa Avenue.....
The Optare Alero is by far the worst bus, I have ever driven, closely followed by the Optare Solo.
 

DaveHarries

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I have never driven a StreetLite, So I don't know what they are like to drive. However, I travelled on a number of them in Bournemouth and Manchester, and I have found them to be good buses to travel on.


From experience, I have found the Plaxton Primo, a better bus to drive then Enviro 200.
In terms of ride I find that the Enviro200 MMC is better than both the non-MMC Enviro200 and the Plaxton Primo. Same goes for an enthusiast mate of mine who had doubts about Enviro200 MMCs until he rode on one of the Gold-liveried ones on Stagecoach Cymru's service 151 (Blackwood - Newport). I have no probs with Solos though.

Dave
 

Gingerbus1991

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I've no idea which engines Cummins made at each plant, so this may be totally unrelated, but could this possible be related to the current Wrightbus situation?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-49911188
No, it isn't related to wrights shutting shop, cummins are a big player with ADL, other large groups who swarm to ADL for there cummins engined buses have there own engineers anyway who handle engine repairs themselves etc
 

LOL The Irony

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Looks like Jo Bamford is back at it again. Also, only the Belfast Telegraph is running this story, so don't expect the full story.
https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/...-back-in-running-to-secure-deal-38557346.html
Entrepreneur Jo Bamford is in talks to buy collapsed bus company Wrightbus after walking away from a deal two weeks ago.

The Belfast Telegraph can reveal that Mr Bamford and his company Ryse Hydrogen are back in talks with administrators about a potential purchase of the firm, which collapsed a week ago with the loss of 1,200 jobs.

Trade union Unite claimed four parties in total have expressed an interest in the business. Two visited the premises yesterday and another is due today.

Speaking on Tuesday, DUP North Antrim MP Ian Paisley said there had been two "credible" bids - and it's understood Ryse Hydrogen is one.

A spokesman for the hydrogen fuel company said it would be making "no comment" on whether a deal was on the cards.

But it's understood it's already considering a strategy for making an announcement if or when a deal is done.

Ryse has already worked with Wrightbus on a contract with Transport for London to convert buses to hydrogen fuel.
 

Jordan Adam

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And most of which , I agree with Jordan on . Yesterday I had the misfortune to be on 63272 on a 38 and the front bit of the NSF wheel arch moulding was vibrating loudly .there was an attempt at dulling it down with a bunch of paper towels jammed between the moulding and the pole the door is mounted on but then you heard the more annoying squeaking that is the destination panels and the rattling of the panels above the doors .the only thing that wasn’t rattling surprisingly was the emergency door handle !!

I have to confess, i was on First Glasgows 47465 on Wednesday and it was actually quite decent at a performance point of view and didn't rattle too much, however the older shorter Streetlites do tend to be the 'better ones'. I bet it still leaks like a sieve when it rains however!
 

Jordan Adam

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I've no idea which engines Cummins made at each plant, so this may be totally unrelated, but could this possible be related to the current Wrightbus situation?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-49911188

I doubt the issues at Wright had anything to do with this as none of Wrights products are offered with Cummins engines currently. I'm fairly certain that site is just a repair centre rather than a production plant.
 

johnnychips

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I appreciate and respect comments from drivers if they find buses hard to drive, but I would suspect regular bus users - and I use four a day - never comment on the quality of the ride. The most frequent complaints are: the bus not turning up; overcrowding; rowdy and swearing kids; and excessive litter. These cannot be influenced by whether a Wrightbus is somehow better than an ADL (whatever they are).
 

Jordan Adam

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I appreciate and respect comments from drivers if they find buses hard to drive, but I would suspect regular bus users - and I use four a day - never comment on the quality of the ride. The most frequent complaints are: the bus not turning up; overcrowding; rowdy and sweaty kids; and excessive litter.

I disagree, i've heard countless times where users have complained about the ride quality of a bus.
 

johnnychips

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I disagree, i've heard countless times where users have complained about the ride quality of a bus.
Fair enough! Where do you live? (This isn’t a threat, perhaps users in your area are more discerning than in Donny)! :)

Second edit: my first post sounded accusative, the second frivolous. What I mean to say is - what sort of journey do you encounter in your area? If they are longer journeys rather than short urban ones of under thirty minutes I could understand why ride quality is important. As I’m on the phone, I can’t see your location.
 
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WHL Spotter

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I doubt the issues at Wright had anything to do with this as none of Wrights products are offered with Cummins engines currently. I'm fairly certain that site is just a repair centre rather than a production plant.
Cummins have two sites in Ward Park Cumbernauld, one is a workshop (pictured in the media) and a production facility on the opposite side of the M80.
I would be surprised if the workshops were to be closed, they are quite busy.
 
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