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Guernsey channels improved performance with Wrightbus and Allison

The States of Guernsey has ordered 22 Wrightbus StreetVibe buses, following its initial order for 12 of the vehicles last year. Equipped with Allison T 2100 fully automatic transmissions, the vehicles are proving ideal for the island, with its hilly, winding terrain and 25mph speed limit, and have cut fuel bills by up to 20%.

The States of Guernsey owns the island’s 42-strong bus fleet, which is operated by CT Plus Guernsey, a subsidiary of HCT Group.

When the fleet upgrade began in 2017, the 9.04m-long, 2.28m-wide Wrightbus StreetVibe was selected as the narrowest in its class, with a seating capacity of 31 plus 11 standing.

To be compliant with the island’s speed limit, the buses needed to be fitted with a limiter.

The Allison T 2100 transmission is mated to a Cummins ISB4.5 Euro VI engine.

Karl Guille, director of traffic and highway services for the States of Guernsey, describes the challenging operating environment: “You can be in typical rush hour town traffic, with stop-start driving one minute, and need to accelerate smoothly up a steep hill the next.”

He adds: “We needed as narrow and short a vehicle as possible, but with a minimum capacity of 40 passengers and superior manoeuvrability.

“The Euro VI StreetVibe Ultra Low Emission Bus (ULEB) from Wrightbus has met our needs with a solution that has significantly reduced particulate matter and nitrogen oxide emissions, is much quieter and has improved fuel economy by up to 20%.”

The operator is also reporting lower maintenance costs, thanks to the favourable torque characteristics of the Allison transmissions.

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