Rightech – the new EV brand from Wrightbus – has announced that its first electric buses will soon be put into service on the roads of Kent.
The 6-metre vehicles will operate in Ebbsfleet Garden City and use Roam’s public EV charging points, as well as the local depot, to recharge.
Northern Ireland-based Wrightbus, which also manufactures hydrogen-powered buses, recently launched the Rightech brand as part of its push towards zero-emission travel.
It has more than 1,800 zero-emission vehicles already in service across the UK and Europe.
Funding for the new buses has come from National Highways.
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.”
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.”
