Rightech, a new electric vehicle brand from Wrightbus, has confirmed that its first electric buses will soon be on the roads in Kent following an order confirmation.
The 6-metre electric buses will operate in Ebbsfleet Garden City as part of a flexible, on-demand transport service. They will be run by Go-Coach and will use Roam’s public EV charging points, as well as the local depot, to recharge through a first-of-its-kind agreement.
Austin Blackburn, founder of Go-Coach, said:Clearly, Wrightbus is at the top of its game and we really wanted to buy a vehicle which was backed by such a well-known manufacturer. The versatility of these Rightech buses is incredible, so we can use them on demand where necessary or they can drop into a fixed line if routes get busy.
Ideally, we want our buses running from 5am to 1am the following morning, so being able to make the most of EV public charging is an added bonus to keeping them on the road.
Kent County Council confirmed that funding for the new buses came from National Highways, supporting transport links in the Ebbsfleet, Dartford and Gravesend areas. The new vehicles will join the region’s growing zero-emission fleet, including the Fastrack Bus Rapid Transit system.
Shane Hymers, network development manager for Kent County Council’s public transport department said:The Ebbsfleet, Dartford and Gravesend areas have seen a huge amount of investment in public transport alongside the new housing developments and millions of pounds of new road infrastructure. These buses will form part of a critical zero-emission service to support passengers in that region and will complement a further 28 zero-emission buses that make up our award-winning Bus Rapid Transport system- Fastrack.
Wrightbus, based in Northern Ireland, launched the Rightech brand as part of its push towards zero-emission travel. The manufactuerer also produces hydrogen-powered buses and has more than 1,800 zero-emission vehicles already in service across the UK and Europe.
