Wrightbus' StreetLite Micro Hybrid bus range has achieved Low Carbon Emission Bus (LCEB) certification, so is now eligible for the additional fuel subsidy of 6p per km in England, and 14p per km in Scotland.
The StreetLite Micro Hybrid is designed to allow the bus to recuperate lost braking energy to power the vehicle electrics and the vehicle compressed air system.
The company says this technology improves fuel efficiency by approximately 10% on a typical city bus drive cycle.
Brian Maybin, engineering director for Wrightbus, explains that since the original StreetLite range was already independently proven best-in-class for fuel efficiency, it was this further 10% that enabled the hybrid to be LCEB certified.
"We have worked with FirstGroup for two years on the development of pragmatic low cost fuel saving ideas via their annual fuel efficiency competition," comments Maybin, adding that the firm was delighted to achieve its certification.
The accreditation covers all the vehicle derivatives in the StreetLite range – the Wheel Forward 8.8m and 9.5m products, and the Door Forward 10.2m, 10.8m and 11.5m Max products.
In the LCEB test, the StreetLite MAX, with Micro Hybri,d achieved 711g of CO2 per km (tank-to-wheel). This correlates to a 155 tonne saving in CO2 emissions over 15 years, compared with the nearest competitor in its class.