The Wright Gemini 2 is a

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 ...

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 ...

between 2009 and 2013. It was announced in December 2007 but was not named until 2008. It was constructed as a semi-integral vehicle, with chassis modules provided by VDL. The bodywork utilised some lighter materials so that the vehicle was lighter than the Eclipse Gemini and Pulsar Gemini bodied buses. It was available in two versions; the Gemini 2 DL diesel-powered version, and the Gemini 2 HEV diesel-electric hybrid version.

Versions

The Gemini 2 was launched in 2007 as the replacement for the Pulsar Gemini and one-off Pulsar Gemini HEV. It was semi-integral, being based on the updated VDL DB300 chassis. The first two were produced with identical bodywork to the original Pulsar Gemini, however, on subsequent production models, the front and rear ends of the body were facelifted to match the

Volvo The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...

based Eclipse Gemini 2. It was unveiled at the

National Exhibition Centre The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) is an exhibition centre located in Marston Green, Solihull, West Midlands, England. It is near junction 6 of the M42 motorway, and is adjacent to Birmingham Airport and Birmingham International railway sta ...

in November 2008, with a

First London First London was a bus company operating services in east and west Greater London, England. It was a subsidiary of FirstGroup and operated buses under contract to Transport for London. It was formed in the late 1990s through the acquisition o ...

Gemini 2 HEV appearing at the show.What went wrong? '' Buses'' issue 776 November 2019 page 8

Gemini 2 DL

The Gemini 2 DL was offered with Cummins ISBe 6-cylinder engines with

Voith The Voith Group is a German manufacturer of machines for the pulp and paper industry, technical equipment for hydropower plants and drive and braking systems. The family-owned company, which operates worldwide and has its headquarters in Heid ...

ZF Friedrichshafen ZF Friedrichshafen AG, also known as ZF Group, originally ''Zahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen'', and commonly abbreviated to ZF (ZF = "Zahnradfabrik" = "Cogwheel Factory"), is a German car parts maker headquartered in Friedrichshafen, in the south- ...

gearboxes. A total of 462 Gemini 2 DLs were built between 2009 and 2013, mainly for

Arriva Arriva plc is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England.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 ...

subsidiary.

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 ...

were the only other customers, taking four and one respectively.Wright Gemini 2
Bus Lists on the Web A low height version with a flat roof was introduced in 2009 with Arriva North East and

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 ...

the first customers.

Gemini 2 HEV

The Gemini 2 HEV was offered with a Siemens series hybrid drive system with a 2.4 litre 4-cylinder Ford Puma engine for power generation. Ten Gemini 2 HEVs were built,

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 ...

and

each purchased five for use on routes

141 141 may refer to: * 141 (number), an integer * AD 141, a year of the Julian calendar * 141 BC __NOTOC__ Year 141 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caepio and Pompeius (or ...

and 328. Arriva's being sold to

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 ...

and later to

Crosville Motor Services Crosville Motor Services was a bus operator based in the north-west of England and north and mid-Wales. History On 27 October 1906, Crosville Motor Company was formed in Chester by George Crosland Taylor and his French business associate Geo ...

for use as open top buses in Weston-super-Mare while First's were transferred to

First West of England First West of EnglandCompanies House extract company no 25088
...

and

First York First York operates local bus services, with a network centring around the cathedral city of York, North Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup, which operates bus, rail and tram services across the United Kingdom and Ireland. His ...

."Crosville axes two Weston town services" '' Buses'' issue 745 April 2017 page 9 In 2014, the Gemini 2 was superseded by the StreetDeck.

References

External links

{{Wrightbus, state=collapsed Double-decker buses Hybrid electric buses Low-floor buses Vehicles introduced in 2007 Gemini 2

Versions

Gemini 2 DL

Gemini 2 HEV

References

Further reading

External links