The Wright Eclipse Gemini is a

low-floor Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i. ...

double-decker bus A double-decker bus or double-deck bus is a bus that has two storeys or decks. They are used for mass transport in the United Kingdom, the United States, New Zealand, Europe, Asia and also in cities such as Sydney; the best-known example is the ...

body that was built by

Wrightbus Wrightbus is a Northern Ireland based bus manufacturer and a pioneer of the low-floor bus. The company was established in 1946 by Robert Wright and was later run by his son William Wright, until it was acquired in 2019 by British businessman ...

since 2001, based on the single-deck

Wright Eclipse The Wright Eclipse is a low-floor single-deck bus body that was built by Wrightbus between 1999 and 2019. The second-generation Eclipse 2 was launched in 2008, followed by the third-generation Eclipse 3 in 2015. The Eclipse, and its sister desi ...

design. The second-generation Eclipse Gemini 2 was launched in 2009, followed by the third-generation Gemini 3 in 2013. Additionally, the body was available on

Volvo Super Olympian The Volvo Super Olympian was a low-floor double-decker bus manufactured by Volvo. It replaced the 3-axle version of Volvo Olympian. The chassis had the designated manufacturer code B10TL. History The Volvo Super Olympian was unveiled in 1998, wi ...

chassis in Hong Kong between 2003 and 2005, marketed as the Wright Explorer. The original Eclipse Gemini was launched in 2001 on Volvo B7TL chassis; from 2006, the body was also built on the replacement

Volvo B9TL The Volvo B9TL is a low-floor double-decker bus built by Volvo from 2002 until 2018. It superseded the Volvo Super Olympian and the Volvo B7TL. The 2-axle version has been superseded by the Volvo B5TL in 2014 and the 3-axle version has been su ...

chassis and, from 2013, on the B9TL's replacement, the

Volvo B5TL The Volvo B5TL is a 2-axle low-floor double decker built by Volvo. It replaced the B9TL as Volvo's Euro 6 2-axle double decker product for the UK and Irish markets. Design The B5TL is powered by Volvo's new 5.1 litre D5K-240 engine, which is r ...

. From 2008, the body was also available on

Volvo B5LH The Volvo B5LH (initially known as the Volvo B5L Hybrid, also known as the Volvo BRLH) is a low-floor hybrid electric bus chassis for both single-decker buses and double-decker buses manufactured by Volvo since 2008. It is the basis for Volvo's ...

hybrid chassis. Eclipse Gemini's exported to the Asian market have been offered a choice of the tri-axle Volvo B8L and the Scania K410EB. Wright Eclipse Gemini bodied buses were mass-introduced on London Buses services from 2001. It has also been popular with

FirstGroup FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.Dublin Bus Dublin Bus ( ga, Bus Átha Cliath) is a State-owned bus operator providing services in Dublin. By far the largest bus operator in the city, it carried 138 million passengers in 2019. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann. ...

and Bus Éireann have also acquired many Volvo B9TLs with Wright Eclipse Gemini bodywork.

First generation (2001–2009)

Cribbs Causeway - First 37604 (WX58JXN) 32637 (WX05UAG)

The Wright Eclipse Gemini was launched in 2001, initially on the Volvo B7TL chassis, as a double decker version of the existing

body. The original Eclipse Gemini, and all versions up until the facelifted Gemini 3, have both the upper and lower deck front windscreens forming part of a single oval shape, with the

destination blind A destination sign (North American English) or destination indicator/destination blind (British English) is a sign mounted on the front, side or rear of a public transport vehicle, such as a bus, tram/streetcar or light rail vehicle, that dis ...

in between. The interior of the Eclipse Gemini features curves similar to its exterior, and continues the modern feel. In 2006, the Volvo B7TL chassis, which had been the subject of noise complaints, was superseded by the

, with Wrightbus launching a facelifted version of the Wright Eclipse Gemini to fit the new chassis. The updated styling was largely confined to the rear of the body, where it has a more rounded appearance compared to the original and a central LED route number panel, housed within a smoked glass effect panel underneath the upper rear window. Other external modifications included the relocation of the rear number plate from its integrated position with the upper rear window to a more conventional siting at the bottom of the bus. The first-generation Wright Eclipse Gemini was highly popular with the

FirstGroup FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.First Glasgow First Glasgow is the largest bus company serving the Greater Glasgow area in Scotland. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup. The company operates within the area covered by the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, a public body responsible for h ...

, First West and

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and metropolitan county, metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of City of Doncaster, Doncaster and City of Sh ...

, and

First Leicester Leicester Citybus,Companies House extract company no 2000072< ...

, among others, between 2004 and the B7TL's discontinuation in 2007. The first examples on the following Volvo B9TL chassis entered service with First South Yorkshire and First Glasgow in 2007, subsequently followed by a large order from First Greater Manchester, who ordered over 200 of the type from 2007 to 2010. In London, the Wright Eclipse Gemini on the Volvo B7TL chassis was also highly popular with Transport for London operators, although these buses were the subject of criticism for noise from their cooling fans.

Arriva London Arriva London is a major bus company operating services in Greater London. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus and operates services under contract to Transport for London. It was formed in 1998 from a fusion of previously separate Arriva s ...

were the launch customer for the Wright Eclipse Gemini, taking on its first two of the type in July 2001, one of which was displayed at the 2001

International Association of Public Transport The International Association of Public Transport (UITP, from the french: L’Union internationale des transports publics) is a non-profit advocacy organization for public transport authorities and operators, policy decision-makers, scientific in ...

conference at the

Earls Court Exhibition Centre Earls Court Exhibition Centre was a major international exhibition and events venue just west of central London. At its peak it is said to have generated a £2 billion turnover for the economy. It replaced exhibition and entertainment grounds, ...

. Arriva London would go on to operate a total 179 Wright Eclipse Geminis on the Volvo B7TL chassis, while 273 B7TL Geminis were delivered to Go-Ahead

London Central London Central is a bus company operating in South London. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group and operates services under contract to Transport for London. History London Central commenced operating on 1 April 1989 when London Bus ...

and

London General London General is a bus company operating in Greater London. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group and operates services under contract to Transport for London. The company is named after the London General Omnibus Company, the principal ...

, 209 to First Capital, 73 to

Travel London Travel London was a bus company operating services in Greater London. It was a subsidiary of National Express before being sold in May 2009 to NedRailways. In October 2009, it was rebranded as Abellio London.

, 44 to East Thames Buses and only three delivered to London United. A single

Euro IV The European emission standards are vehicle emission standards for pollution from the use of new land surface vehicles sold in the European Union and EEA member states and the UK, and ships in EU waters. The standards are defined in a seri ...

Volvo B9TL demonstrator with Wright Eclipse Gemini bodywork was delivered to London Central in July 2006, however orders did not materialise.

Lothian Buses Lothian Buses is a major bus operator based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the largest municipal bus company in the United Kingdom: the City of Edinburgh Council (through Transport for Edinburgh) owns 91%, Midlothian Council 5%, East Lothi ...

were another popular customer of the Wright Eclipse Gemini, initially ordering 125 on the Volvo B7TL chassis between 2005 and 2006, having previously standardised with the

Plaxton President The Plaxton President was a low floor double-decker bus body built at Northern Counties plant in Wigan, England and branded as a Plaxton product for its main production run. It was first unveiled in 1997 on the longitudinal Volvo B7L chas ...

on the Dennis Trident chassis. The company moved onto the Volvo B9TL chassis in 2007, taking on a first batch of 50 that year.

Go North East Go North East operates both local and regional bus services in County Durham, Cumbria, Northumberland, North Yorkshire and Tyne and Wear, England. It was previously known as the Northern General Transport Company and Go-Ahead Northern. The comp ...

initially took delivery of three Wright Eclipse Geminis with high specification interiors on the Volvo B7TL chassis in 2005, which were used on the X10 express service connecting

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

and

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

; this was followed in 2006 by an order for five B7TL Geminis for use on the 724 service connecting Newcastle and

Chester-le-Street Chester-le-Street (), also known as Chester, is a market town and civil parish in County Durham, England, around north of Durham and also close to Sunderland and Newcastle upon Tyne. It is located on the River Wear, which runs out to sea at ...

East Yorkshire Motor Services East Yorkshire operates both local and regional bus services in the East Riding of Yorkshire and North Yorkshire, England. Prior to acquisition by the Go-Ahead Group in June 2018, the company was known as East Yorkshire Motor Services. History ...

purchased a total of 60 Wright Eclipse Geminis on both the Volvo B7TL and B9TL chassis between 2005 and 2009, including four for its Manchester-based

Finglands Coachways Finglands Coachways was a bus and coach operator in Rusholme, Manchester. History Finglands Coachways was founded in 1907, initially as a coach operator. Bus services competing with GM Buses and other operators would be set up following dereg ...

operation, and

Lincolnshire RoadCar Stagecoach Lincolnshire is a bus company, formerly known as Lincolnshire RoadCar, which runs services throughout Lincolnshire. Stagecoach in Lincolnshire is the trading name of the Lincolnshire Road Car Company Limited, which is a subsidiary of ...

took delivery of six Wright Eclipse Geminis on Volvo B7TL chassis in 2006.

Transdev Blazefield Transdev Blazefield is a bus group, which operates local and regional bus services across Greater Manchester, Lancashire, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, England. Formed in August 1991, the group has been a subsidiary of French-based operat ...

first ordered Wright Eclipse Geminis in 2003, ordering twelve Volvo B7TLs with high-specification interiors for use on The 36, serving

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the city ...

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa w ...

and

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

. This was followed by a delivery of 15 B7TLs with Wright bodies in 2005 for use on The Witch Way, serving

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...

and

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. Ten Wright Eclipse Geminis on the Volvo B9TL chassis were later delivered to

Yorkshire Coastliner Transdev York & Country (also known as Yorkshire Coastliner) operates both local and regional bus services in North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of Transdev Blazefield, which operates bus services across Greater Man ...

in 2008. The Wright Eclipse Gemini was also made available on the hybrid

chassis in 2008. The first six hybrid Eclipse Geminis were delivered to Arriva London in 2009.

Wright Explorer

Between 2003 and 2005, Wrightbus bodied 100

chassis for

Kowloon Motor Bus The Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (KMB) is a bus company operating franchised services in Hong Kong. It is the largest bus company in Hong Kong by fleet size and number of bus routes. It is a subsidiary of Transport International. ...

in Hong Kong; these received a modified version of the Eclipse Gemini body, initially marketed as The Wright Bus but later being renamed the Wright Explorer. The bodywork was modified to fit the Super Olympian chassis, with the most noticeable difference being the tri-axle layout. The last Volvo Super Olympian to roll off the production line received Wright Explorer bodywork. Subsequently, the Super Olympian was replaced by a tri-axle variant of the

. Wrightbus offered similar tri-axle bodywork, which was unnamed and had slightly different rear styling, to the chassis. Deliveries commenced in 2006 with an initial batch of 38 Wright-bodied B9TLs. After the introduction of Euro IV-engined Volvo B9TL, this bodywork became known as the Eclipse Gemini tri-axle, but no bodywork carrying this name were known to have been built.

Second generation (2008–2018)

Volvo Wright EclipseGemini2 V16 OXF Summertown RightQuarter

The second generation Wright Eclipse Gemini, called the Eclipse Gemini 2, was launched in 2008 on

and B5LH chassis. The Eclipse Gemini 2 features front and rear ends facelifted to match the Eclipse 2 single-decker, as part of Wrightbus' new design philosophy. A low-roof version was introduced in 2012. After having been a significant customer for Wright Eclipse Geminis, outside London, the

FirstGroup FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.2012 Summer Olympics. Six were also delivered across two batches for First Berkshire's Green Line service 702 between 2011 and 2013, while

First Eastern Counties First Eastern Counties is a bus operator providing services in Norfolk and Suffolk in eastern England. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup. It has seven depots which are part of five operating areas spread out across East Anglia. The five operatin ...

took delivery of 15 Gemini 2s for services in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

in 2012. Lothian Buses were a continuing customer for the Gemini body on Volvo B9TL chassis, purchasing 145 Gemini 2s from 2009 to 2011. 14 of these were delivered in 2010 for Lothian's ''Airlink'' services, specified with luggage racks, free WiFi, tables and a route-branded livery. East Yorkshire Motor Services took delivery of twenty Gemini 2s in two batches in 2009. Six more were delivered to the company in 2014, followed by three acquired from Volvo dealer stock in 2015.

Delaine Buses Delaine BusesCompanies House extract company no 367317
Delain ...

took delivery of seven Wright Gemini 2s on Volvo B9TL chassis between 2011 and 2015, with Delaine's final example also being the last Volvo B9TL chassis and Wright Gemini 2 body built for the UK market.

Dublin Bus Dublin Bus ( ga, Bus Átha Cliath) is a State-owned bus operator providing services in Dublin. By far the largest bus operator in the city, it carried 138 million passengers in 2019. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann. ...

purchased 160 during 2012 and 2013.Dublin Bus Fleet
Dublin Bus The

with Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 bodywork was popular with

Arriva UK Bus Arriva UK Bus is a major bus operator in the United Kingdom based in Sunderland, England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva which runs transport services across Europe, which has been a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn since 2010. Arriva UK Bus operates ...

, with 77 examples delivered to group subsidiaries between 2012 and 2013. 44 were delivered to

Arriva North West Arriva North WestCompanies House extract company no 1990871

, 33 of which were for use in Merseyside and the remaining eleven delivered for use in Manchester, 12 were delivered to

Arriva Yorkshire Arriva Yorkshire is a major bus operator providing services primarily within and across West Yorkshire, although it also provides service in some parts of South Yorkshire, East Riding of Yorkshire and southern areas of North Yorkshire. It is a ...

, eleven were delivered to Arriva Southern Counties and ten were delivered to Arriva North East. Elsewhere, operators of Volvo B5LHs with Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 bodywork include the

Oxford Bus Company Oxford Bus Company is the trading name of The City of Oxford Motor Services Ltd. Company Number 91106 It is a bus operator serving the city and surrounding area of Oxford, England. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group. History Horse trams ...

, who had nineteen low-roof examples delivered in 2013, and

National Express West Midlands National Express West Midlands (NXWM) is a bus operator in the West Midlands that operates services in Birmingham, Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall, Wolverhampton, and Solihull, as well as limited routes outside of the general area of Birmingham, s ...

, who had eighteen in two batches delivered between 2011 and 2013. 22 were delivered to First West Yorkshire in 2011 for use on the

guided busway Guided buses are buses capable of being steered by external means, usually on a dedicated track or roll way that excludes other traffic, permitting the maintenance of schedules even during rush hours. Unlike trolleybuses or rubber-tired trams ...

, while 14 were delivered to First Greater Manchester, where four were also purchased that year by

Bullocks Coaches Bullocks Coaches is a bus and coach operator in Cheadle, Greater Manchester. History The company was founded in 1928 by Ralph Bullock, initially as a haulage firm, with milk deliveries being the early focus. On weekends, the trucks turned int ...

for use on shuttle services along Oxford Road to the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univ ...

. Smaller operators include

Brighton & Hove Brighton and Hove () is a city and unitary authority in East Sussex, England. It consists primarily of the settlements of Brighton and Hove, alongside neighbouring villages. Often referred to synonymously as Brighton, the City of Brighton and ...

, who had eleven delivered in 2012, Preston Bus, who had eight delivered in 2013, and

Ensignbus Ensignbus is a bus and coach operator and bus dealer based in Purfleet, Essex. History Ensignbus was formed in 1972 by Peter Newman, who remains involved today as chairman and his sons Ross and Steve as directors. Ensignbus commenced with ...

, who had five delivered in 2012.

Exports

Like the Explorer, the Eclipse Gemini 2 was sold in Hong Kong, including a tri-axle variant that replaced the Explorer. Citybus, Kowloon Motor Bus,

MTR Bus MTR Bus is a public bus service in Hong Kong operated by the MTR Corporation. It serves the northwestern part of the New Territories. Also known as MTR Feeder Bus (previously operated by the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation as KCR Feeder B ...

and

New World First Bus New World First Bus Services Limited (NWFB) is the third-largest bus operator in Hong Kong. Established by NWS Holdings and FirstGroup in September 1998, it took over 88 China Motor Bus services in Hong Kong Island. Since 2020 it has been a s ...

purchasing examples. In 2014, Kowloon Motor Bus purchased two extended 12.8 metre long demonstrators. In 2017, the first demonstrator Volvo B8L for Kowloon Motor Bus was fitted with an Eclipse Gemini 2 body. Between 2010 and 2017, SBS Transit and Land Transport Authority took delivery of 1,606 Eclipse Gemini 2s, being delivered as

knock-down kit A knock-down kit (also knockdown kit, knocked-down kit, or simply knockdown or KD) is a collection of parts required to assemble a product. The parts are typically manufactured in one country or region, then exported to another country or region ...

s and locally assembled by

ComfortDelGro ComfortDelGro Corporation is a multi-national land transport company listed on the Singapore Exchange, operating about 35,000 vehicles in seven countries. It was formed on 29 March 2003 through a merger of Singapore-based land transport compa ...

. As of 2017, they are operated by

Go-Ahead Singapore Go-Ahead Singapore is a contracted bus operator operating in Singapore. It commenced operations on 4 September 2016 and it is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group. History On 15 April 2015, the Land Transport Authority called for tenders to ope ...

, SBS Transit, SMRT Buses and

Tower Transit Singapore Tower Transit Singapore is a contracted bus operator operating in Singapore. It commenced operations on 29 May 2016 and it is a subsidiary of Transit Systems. History In October 2014, the Land Transport Authority called for tenders to operate 2 ...

Third generation (2013–present)

The third generation Wright Eclipse Gemini, now called simply the Gemini 3, was launched in 2013 for the new

chassis, the eventual replacement of the B9TL. The Gemini 3 also remained available on

hybrid chassis. Some design features were taken from the

New Routemaster The New Routemaster, originally referred to as the New Bus for London and colloquially as the Borismaster or Boris Bus, is a low-floor diesel double-decker bus operated in London, England. Designed by Heatherwick Studio and manufactured by W ...

, another

design. The two most noticeable aesthetic changes were a substantial redesign of the rear end and the introduction of smaller upper deck windows to save weight; the front light clusters were also slightly redesigned, in order to incorporate separate LED

daytime running lights A daytime running lamp (DRL, also daytime running light) is an automotive lighting and bicycle lighting device on the front of a roadgoing motor vehicle or bicycle, automatically switched on when the vehicle's handbrake has been pulled down, w ...

for the first time. The majority of orders for the pre-facelift Wright Gemini 3 were placed by

, who have taken over 600 of the type on from 2014 onwards, the majority of which were built on the Volvo B5TL chassis. Some of these have since transferred to

Go-Ahead Ireland Go-Ahead Transport Services (Dublin) Limited, known as Go-Ahead Ireland is a bus operator in Dublin that commenced trading in September 2018. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group. History With the aim of improving efficiency, in 2015 the ...

following the retendering of Dublin Bus services to the new company by the National Transport Authority. In London, pre-facelift Wright Gemini 3s on the Volvo B5LH chassis were delivered to

Stagecoach London Stagecoach London is a major bus operator in Greater London. It is a subsidiary of Stagecoach and operates services under contract to Transport for London mostly in East and South East London as well as some services into Central London. It i ...

, who took delivery of 32 of the type in 2014 for service on route 53; these were subsequently disposed of to Arriva London in 2018. Metroline, meanwhile, took delivery of 95 B5LHs with pre-facelift Wright Gemini 3 bodies, and in 2015, London United took delivery of 28 Gemini 3s, with

Tower Transit A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specific ...

also taking delivery of eleven Gemini 3s. Lothian Buses purchased 25 pre-facelift Wright Gemini 3s on the Volvo B5TL chassis in 2014, and

Yellow Buses Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In the ...

took delivery of eight Gemini 3s on Volvo B5TL chassis in 2015. Delaine Buses purchased three Wright Gemini 3-bodied B5TLs between 2015 and 2017.

2014 facelift

V6B1 at Jordan, West Kowloon Station (20190322115712)

In 2014, to coincide with the launch of the integral

Wright StreetDeck The Wright StreetDeck is an integral double-decker bus that was manufactured by Wrightbus from 2014, originally delivered as standard with a Daimler OM934 diesel engine. Hybrid-electric, full-electric and hydrogen-powered variants have subseq ...

, the Gemini 3 underwent a facelift. Both the front and rear ends were substantially redesigned to match the StreetDeck. Lothian Buses took delivery of a large number of facelift Wright Gemini 3s on the Volvo B5TL and B5LH chassis from 2015 until 2019, many of which were ordered through a four-year agreement signed in 2016 with Wrightbus to supply new buses to Lothian's fleet. A majority of these Gemini 3s were delivered for the standard fleet to replace older buses, however some were also delivered for use on ''Airlink'' and ''Skylink'' services, the latter of which was specified to operate B5LH hybrids. The facelift Wright Gemini 3 also can be configured as a purpose-built

open top bus An open top bus is a bus, usually but not exclusively a double-decker bus, which has been built or modified to operate without a roof. Early buses were constructed without roofs but in more recent times they have only been built for tourist and ...

. The biggest customer for the open-top Gemini 3 is Lothian Buses, who took 30 examples for use on the company's

City Sightseeing City Sightseeing is an open-top, sightseeing tour bus operator. It provides tour bus services in more than 130 cities around the world. As City Sightseeing has grown and expanded, the company now also provides boat tours, sightseeing trai ...

, Edinburgh Tour and Majestic Tour operations in 2016.

Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire operates both local and regional bus services in Cumbria, Lancashire, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear, England, as well as Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group, which ...

, meanwhile, received seven open-top Gemini 3s on the Volvo B5TL chassis for use on the operator's ''Lakesider'' sightseeing service in the Lake District in 2017, and

Stagecoach East Stagecoach East is the divisional name for the bus operations of the Stagecoach Group in eastern England. History Under the control of the National Bus Company, ''Cambus Ltd.'' was set up when the Eastern Counties Omnibus Company was split in ...

received six B5TL Gemini 3 open-toppers in 2018 for its City Sightseeing operations in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

. Translink, who were a launch customer for the facelift Wright Gemini 3, standardised on both pre and post-facelift Gemini 3s on the Volvo B5TL chassis, with a majority being delivered to

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urb ...

for use in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

. Ten facelift Gemini 3s were also delivered in May 2017 for ''Airport Express'' services serving Belfast International Airport. Transdev Blazefield first took delivery of 14 high-specification facelift Gemini 3s on the Volvo B5TL chassis to relaunch their 36 service in 2016, which was followed by the purchase of ten similar buses for the

service in 2016. Both services received three more Gemini 3s in 2017. First Greater Manchester purchased 20 facelift Gemini 3s on Volvo B5LH hybrid chassis in 2015 for use on

Transport for Greater Manchester Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is the public body responsible for co-ordinating transport services throughout Greater Manchester in North West England. TfGM is responsible for investments in improving transport services and facilities ...

-contracted ''Vantage'' services on the

Leigh-Salford-Manchester Bus Rapid Transit The Leigh-Salford-Manchester Bus Rapid Transit scheme in Greater Manchester, England provides transport connections between Leigh, Atherton, Tyldesley, Ellenbrook and Manchester city centre via Salford. The guided busway and bus rapid transi ...

scheme, with five more acquired in 2016 to cope with increasing demand.

Arriva Merseyside Arriva North WestCompanies House extract company no 1990871

also received 51 facelift Gemini 3s built with low-height bodies on the Volvo B5LH chassis between 2016 and 2017. Smaller orders for the facelift Gemini 3 on the Volvo B5TL chassis, meanwhile, include the

University of Wolverhampton The University of Wolverhampton is a public university located on four campuses across the West Midlands, Shropshire and Staffordshire in England. The roots of the university lie in the Wolverhampton Tradesmen's and Mechanics' Institute founde ...

, who took delivery of five Gemini 3s for shuttle services between the university's campuses in 2017, and Sanders Services, who took delivery of two of the type in 2021.

Exports

Hato Bus 111 Eclipse Gemini 3 Open top bus (forward)

SBS Transit Volvo B8L (SG4003D) on Service 70M

The first three-axle Volvo B8L delivered to SBS Transit in Singapore in 2017 received Gemini 3 bodywork and was registered as SG4003D. It failed trials in Singapore as a demonstrator and was subsequently bought over by A&S Transit (now registered as PD169L). Hong Kong's franchised bus operators have also placed orders for Volvo B8Ls with Gemini 3 bodywork – 200 for Kowloon Motor Bus, 10 for Long Win Bus, 46 for Citybus and 7 for New World First Bus. KMB's vehicles entered service in March 2018, with Citybus and New World First Bus's examples entering service in December 2019. Hato Bus ordered 5 sightseeing buses in December 2018 on the tri-axle Scania K410EB chassis. These were delivered sometime in 2020 and were unveiled in 2021.

References

External links

Product description on Wrightbus website
{{Wrightbus, state=collapsed Double-decker buses Low-floor buses Tri-axle buses Vehicles introduced in 2001 Eclipse Gemini

First generation (2001–2009)

Wright Explorer

Second generation (2008–2018)

Exports

Third generation (2013–present)

2014 facelift

Exports

See also

References

External links