The National Transport Authority (NTA) in Ireland has announced an order for 120 double-deck battery-electric buses (100 headed to Dublin Bus, 20 to Bus Éireann) from Bamford Bus Company, also known as Wrightbus. These 120 Streetdeck Electroliner BEV buses 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.
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. 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. 100 buses 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. The buses will be manufactured and assembled at the Wrightbus facility in Galgorm, on the outskirts
of Ballymena in Northern Ireland. These Streetdeck Electroliner BEV include passenger facilities onboard such as 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. 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 follows hot on the heels of historic deals in Australia and Germany.”
This historic deal of up to 800 Wrightbus Streetdeck Electroliner for NTA Ireland, 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; decarbonisation of public sector transport allowing for the full electrification of double-decker buses in Dublin, Cork, Waterford, Limerick and Galway by 2035.