NTA goes with Wrightbus: up to 800 electric DD buses awarded

NTA has ordered 120 buses from Wrightbus. The acronym identifies Irish National Transport Authority. The order includes consists of double-deck battery-electric buses (100 headed to Dublin Bus, 20 to Bus Éireann) from Bamford Bus Company (trading as Wrightbus, as reported in the manufacturer press note).

These 120 buses from Wrightbus headed to NTA are part of a framework agreement which provides for the procurement of up to 800 zero-emission battery-electric buses over a period of five years. The tender was issued in late 2020.

This initial order for 120 buses represents an investment of some €80.4m. Commissioning and training activities will get under way later this year, as will work on installing the necessary charging infrastructure. The first buses are expected to enter passenger service in 2023.

Wrightbus buses or NTA Ireland: up to 800

The buses – Streetdeck Electroliner BEVs – will be manufactured and assembled at the Wrightbus facility in Galgorm, on the outskirts of Ballymena in Northern Ireland.

The framework agreement now in place between the NTA and Wrightbus has the potential to be the single biggest bus procurement in the history of the State. These will be the first battery-electric double-deck buses to be added to the national bus fleet in Ireland and their addition will deliver a significant uplift in the proportion of low- or zero-emission buses within that fleet.

Wrightbus for NTA in Dublin and Limerick

As mentioned above, of the 120 Wrightbus buses ordered by NTA, 100 are destined for use by Dublin Bus on PSO bus services within the Dublin Metropolitan Area and 20 are destined for use by Bus Éireann for use in the Limerick Metropolitan Area. Buses from future orders may also be used to operate PSO bus services in other parts of Ireland, including the metropolitan areas of Cork, Galway and Waterford.

This historic deal, Wrightbus stresses, is in line with a number of key national policy directives including:

• National Strategic Outcome 4 in the National Development Plan 2021 which provides for Sustainable Mobility through the delivery of greener and cleaner bus fleets;
• Section 9.3.7 of the Climate Action Plan 2021 on the decarbonisation of public sector transport which says: ‘We will transition public bus fleets to zero emissions models though the renewal and expansion of the fleet, allowing for the full electrification of double-decker buses in Dublin, Cork, Waterford, Limerick and Galway by 2035’;
• Section 12.2.4 of NTA’s Draft GDA Transport Strategy on zero-emission buses which says: ‘2022 will see the introduction of fully electric single and double deck fleet and the ongoing conversion of bus depots to charge and maintain the new vehicle types’; and
• Action 13 and 14 of the National Sustainable Mobility Action Plan 2022 which provide for the transition of PSO bus services in the Dublin metropolitan area, along with Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford to low/zero emission bus fleet.

The buses will be outshopped in the green, white and yellow Transport For Ireland (TFI) livery which is in the course of being applied to all buses and coaches in the PSO fleet.

Passenger facilities onboard include:

• seating for up to 65 passengers;
• a permanent wheelchair space;
• a dedicated area for the accommodation of a pram, pushchair or buggy;
• distinctive priority seating;
• high-definition real-time passenger information displays;
• USB charging sockets; and
• complimentary Wi-Fi.

NTA, Wrightbus, public transport and decarbonization

Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan said: “We know that decarbonising transport is imperative, as part of our effort to tackle climate change. Public transport because it is shared mobility is already a far more sustainable and economical way of getting around, particularly compared to a private car that runs on fossil fuel, and the battery-electric buses that we are now ordering, will accelerate the transition to a zero-emission fleet. Going electric will reduce the carbon footprint of our public transport fleet, and will help us reach our long-term climate goals, as outlined in the Climate Action Plan. These new electric buses will also help reduce air pollution, improve public health and improve access to public transport for people of all abilities”

CEO of the NTA, Anne Graham added: “The transition to a zero-emission bus fleet is a central component of our BusConnects project, and the procurement of these battery-electric buses represents a key milestone in that process. There is no doubt that people are looking to us to provide better, more sustainable transport alternatives in all areas, and it is incumbent on us as an Authority to respond to that demand in a positive way. In so doing, we will reduce the need for personal vehicles, making the quality of the air we breathe healthier for everyone. When it comes to taking climate action, we in the NTA want to play our part and we want to lead by example. We are doing that by transitioning our public transport fleet away from fossil fuel to zero emission technologies and as you see today we are making real progress. This process is already under way, and when complete in 2035 will result public transport emissions being massively reduced.”

Neil Collins, Managing Director of Wrightbus, concluded: “We are extremely proud of this historic deal, which is hugely significant for Ireland’s decarbonisation ambitions and for us here at Wrightbus. This deal further cements the reputation we have built in the zero-emission sector, and follows hot on the heels of historic deals in Australia and Germany. This shows our ambition to be at the forefront of the zero emission drive in cities, towns and rural areas across the world.”