Wright GB kite single deckers

[platform5]

Does anyone know what is going on with these new buses ?

Every day there seems to be an issue with them. Was on one on the 42 last week and that buggered off back to Bramley in the afternoon as the driver said it was broken. Earlier this week there were two dumped in Leeds with low battery. Spoke to a driver today and he said they are rubbish and keep breaking down or running out of charge. Tonight there’s a pic of one on fb again abandoned with 20% charge left.

[mattb7tl]

I'd say probably just some teething issues. I think the depots who got theirs before us had issues for a few months before they got ironed out

[WYBS]

I do find it a little strange that First have opted to go with a brand new Wrightbus product that hasn't proven itself yet, when the Yutongs have proved themselves at First, Go North East and other operators.

What's the reliability of these new GB Kites like in York, as they've had them for a little while longer?

[Deleted]

Feb 8, 2024 20:36:25 GMT 1 WYBS said:

I do find it a little strange that First have opted to go with a brand new Wrightbus product that hasn't proven itself yet, when the Yutongs have proved themselves at First, Go North East and other operators.

What's the reliability of these new GB Kites like in York, as they've had them for a little while longer?

Wright was in the right place at the right time (no pun intended)

First was originally going to purchase the Arrival electric single decker (it was mentioned in the ZEBRA bids) but due to the problems Arrival had launching the product they ended up having to change the order, whilst Wright had just been saved & the new owners was ready to start taking orders for their new launched products. I'm guessing First would of got a fairly good deal with them also as Wright would of been wanting to win back their custom after First rejecting some Streetdecks during 2019.

[dwarfer1979]

Feb 8, 2024 20:36:25 GMT 1 WYBS said:

I do find it a little strange that First have opted to go with a brand new Wrightbus product that hasn't proven itself yet, when the Yutongs have proved themselves at First, Go North East and other operators.

What's the reliability of these new GB Kites like in York, as they've had them for a little while longer?

There is often a period of teething when you introduce a large new fleet of buses, particularly when technologically they are a step up from the previous fleet and are being deployed generally as there often needs to be an extra level of driver familiarisation which can be difficult (not all drivers pay attention to these sort of briefings as diligently as they should) & you will often find operators will be overly careful with bus ranges whilst working out what they can do (20% battery still means something like 50kms of range which is a couple of hours of urban driving so it isn't actually that low but may be at that overly careful "call us when you hit x" point). We had such a period of issues when we introduced our Yutongs with niggles that needed the dealer to come out and address or issues that needed a change in how the drivers worked (& getting the charging to work everytime so that the buses could do a full day without concerns took a few months) but as ours have mostly been deployed on routes with small dedicated rotas of drivers that transition was easier to manage and quicker to get over. We also changed the schedules to allow us to swap buses & top up charge during the day until we worked out what the realistic range was (though ours are on long daily mileage workings), and on a larger rollout there may well be drivers & duties that aren't electric trained so buses come off at those points (even now our main rota drivers aren't fully electric trained and so one of the bus workings that often sees a spare electric bus allocated has to be kept off the main rota as much as possible), so not all breakdowns or 'abandons' are that rather than planned swaps (though if they are coming home on the back of a tow truck then that does say breakdown) - a driver 'broken' doesn't mean an engineer 'broken' and even if the driver says something doesn't mean it is true and just may be the easiest way to explain what is happening without having to understand or explain what is happening. I don't think the Leicester ones are causing too much problems now but there was a similar period of turmoil & disruption when they first arrived and the buses bedded in.

[martinsfp]

Also, introducing them at a time of year when battery performance will be relatively poor because of the cold temperatures will likely be factor here too. It really hits the range, which will likely be an interesting challenge for running board planning etc as more EVs enter fleets.

[WYBS]

63578 currently sat out of action in Rodley. Driver said the bus won't restart.

[astradyne]

Feb 10, 2024 12:40:21 GMT 1 WYBS said:

63578 currently sat out of action in Rodley. Driver said the bus won't restart.

I knew a driver that was on a route where a Streetdeck Electroliner Demonstrator was trailed by a London company. He said a lot of the issues his company experienced was drivers not knowing or following the correct start up procedure. Drivers quickly learnt, and problem went away. So many dead bus issues just needed the correct button(s) pressed by the engineer that was called out.

[basher37]

I’ve lost count off these but how many are Bramley getting?

[andyk4050]

Feb 11, 2024 11:33:03 GMT 1 basher37 said:

I’ve lost count off these but how many are Bramley getting?

32

[Deleted]

Feb 11, 2024 11:33:03 GMT 1 basher37 said:

I’ve lost count off these but how many are Bramley getting?

57 In total, 32 GB Kites + 25 'electroliner' Streetdecks

[basher37]

Feb 11, 2024 13:10:17 GMT 1 @cp2012 said:

Feb 11, 2024 11:33:03 GMT 1 basher37 said:

I’ve lost count off these but how many are Bramley getting?

57 In total, 32 GB Kites + 25 'electroliner' Streetdecks

Cheers,didn’t realise they we’re getting so many SD’s,so looks like the 14 will get them like they’re sneaking on now.

[Deleted]

I really must say the livery on the GB Kites, is excellent one of the best liveries First has ever done. I think it suits the bus perfectly.