The Wright StreetLite is a low-floor

midibus A midibus is a classification of single-decker minibuses which are generally larger than a traditional minibus but smaller than a full-size single decker and can be anywhere between and long. While used in many parts of the world, the mi ...

introduced by Wrightbus in 2010. It was originally available in only one body style (wheel forward) before the door forward and StreetLite Max variants were introduced in 2011 and 2012 respectively. Production of all variants of the StreetLite was briefly suspended due to Wrightbus entering

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

in September 2019, with complete removal from the product line in 2023.

Models

The StreetLite is available in two differing body styles and five lengths between 8.8 metres and 11.5 metres with seating ranging from 33 to 45 passengers. All variants are of the same width and height, except for the StreetVibe, which is offered as a narrower chassis. Wrightbus claims that in each length, the StreetLite offers more seats than the equivalent competitors.

StreetLite WF (wheel-forward)

The StreetLite WF (wheel-forward) was the first model to be launched, first going on sale in 2010. It is available in two lengths of and , with seating for up to 33 and 37 passengers respectively. To save space in these variants, the axle is positioned ahead of the door, similarly to the StreetLite WF's main competitor, the Optare Solo SR. The first example entered service with Anglian Bus in October 2010.

StreetVibe

The StreetVibe, initially known as the ''Nu-Track Nu-Vibe'' concept vehicle, was launched in 2015 following Wrightbus' purchase of welfare bus manufacturer Nu-Track. It is a development of its Nu-Vibe concept vehicle, modified to Wrightbus specifications. The StreetVibe is based on the StreetLite WF, measuring long. However, the StreetVibe is 290 mm shorter and 167 mm narrower than a standard StreetLite. As such, the StreetVibe is designed to compete directly with the Optare Solo SR Slimline, another narrow

. The first StreetVibe entered service with

East Lothian Council East Lothian Council is one of the 32 local government councils in Scotland covering the East Lothian area. Since the last boundary changes in 2017, 22 councillors have been elected from 6 wards. History East Lothian District Council had been ...

in April 2016, the first of eight examples to be delivered to the council. A further two StreetVibes were delivered to

Moray Council Moray Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Mhoireibh'') is the Local government in Scotland, local government authority for Moray, Moray council area. History Moray District Council Local government across Scotland was reorganised in 1975 u ...

in June and July 2016. The largest single order for StreetVibes was placed by the government of

Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...

's buses.gg operation, with 12 initial examples first entering service on the island between April and May 2017. A repeat order for 22 more StreetVibes were delivered to the island in autumn 2018.

VDL Citea MLE

In October 2013, VDL Bus & Coach introduced a rebadged variant of the StreetLite WF, known as the Citea MLE, for the mainland European market. Quick Parking of

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

took delivery of the first production Citea MLE in May 2014. The initial demonstrator vehicle ultimately entered service with Arriva Netherlands in June 2014. Nobina Danmark are the largest operator of the Citea MLE, taking delivery of five examples in December 2014 and a further pair in June 2015. A further two Citea MLEs entered service in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

with Keolis Danmark in December 2014.

StreetLite DF (door-forward)

The Door Forward StreetLite variant, also known as the StreetLite DF, was launched in 2011. It is available in two lengths of and with seating for up to 37 and 41 passengers respectively. In this variant the axle is positioned behind the door and there is an option for dual door configuration for

Transport for London Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom. TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...

specifications. The first example was trialled by First London.

StreetLite Max

The StreetLite Max was launched in 2012. It is long with capacity for up to 45 passengers seated. In this variant, the axle is positioned behind the door like the "door forward" and also has the same Cummins 4-cylinder 210 horsepower engine and Voith DIWA transmission. A Euro VI-compliant version of Cummins engine and Mercedes-Benz OM934 became available in 2013. The StreetLite Max competes against heavyweight buses such as the Alexander Dennis Enviro300 and Optare Tempo SR as well as other lightweight vehicles such as the

Alexander Dennis Enviro200 The Alexander Dennis Enviro200 (previously known as the TransBus Enviro200) is a midibus that was manufactured by TransBus International and later Alexander Dennis between 2003 and 2018. The original TransBus Enviro200 design was innovative but ...

and Optare Versa. Deliveries of the StreetLite Max commenced in 2012.

Propulsion

Diesel

The majority of all StreetLites models produced up until 2018 have been the standard diesel variant, with

FirstGroup FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland. The StreetLite Micro Hybrid was launched in 2013. It is available in all of the standard StreetLite lengths and capacities. While not a "hybrid" in the usual sense, the StreetLite Micro Hybrid recovers energy lost from braking to power the vehicle electrics and compressed air systems, saving up to 10% in fuel costs. The bus itself runs from a conventional StreetLite drivetrain, as opposed to a small diesel engine and electric motor in normal hybrids.

Hybrid

All models of the StreetLite are currently offered as full hybrid-electric vehicles, with the first hybrid StreetLite WF entering service in 2014, followed by the first hybrid StreetLite Maxes which entered service in May 2018 with First South Yorkshire. The hybrid StreetLite Max can be easily distinguished from the standard diesel variants from the presence of an additional grille in the front bumper, which provides cooling to the hybrid battery pack, located over the front axle behind the front door, through cooling channels under the floor in the door area. This grille is not present in the hybrid StreetLite WF, as the hybrid battery pack is located close to the engine at the rear of the bus due to lack of space at the front. In 2017, Travel South Yorkshire placed an order for 31 hybrid-electric Wright StreetLite Maxes for

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

services 1 and 1a. These were to be the first StreetLite Max models to be fitted with fully hybrid technology. The order was split between two operators – 13 for First South Yorkshire's service 1a, an operator who already operated over 100 diesel StreetLites across the city; and 18 for Stagecoach Sheffield's service 1, Stagecoach's first StreetLite Maxes delivered nationally. The first four hybrid StreetLite Maxes were delivered to First South Yorkshire on 26 April 2018, with first entry into service taking place on 10 May (First) and 19 May (Stagecoach). The wheel-forward and shorter door-forward StreetLite models are also offered as full hybrids.

Arriva Shires & Essex Arriva Herts & Essex is a bus operator providing services in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire, with services extending to Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Greater London. Until 2002 its operations included Arriva Colchester, Col ...

took delivery of 13 hybrid StreetLite WFs for its

Luton Luton () is a town and borough in Bedfordshire, England. The borough had a population of 225,262 at the 2021 census. Luton is on the River Lea, about north-west of London. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settleme ...

depot in 2014, followed by a further five at its

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...

depot in 2015.

Electric

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The StreetLite EV was launched in 2014. Like the Micro Hybrid, it is available in all of the standard StreetLite lengths and capacities. The StreetLite EV is a

battery electric bus A battery electric bus is an electric bus that is driven by an electric motor and obtains energy from on-board batteries. Many trolleybuses use batteries as an auxiliary or emergency power source. Battery electric buses offer the potential for z ...

with no diesel engine. In January 2014,

placed eight EVs into service in

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...

receiving coverage on national news services due to their trial of

inductive charging Inductive charging (also known as wireless charging or cordless charging) is a type of wireless power transfer. It uses electromagnetic induction to provide electricity to portable devices. Inductive charging is also used in vehicles, power tool ...

, the first buses of their kind to do so in the United Kingdom.

Operators

United Kingdom

Bus Vannin on the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

were the first company to order the StreetLite, ordering six 9.5m variants and six 10.8m variants. Whilst the 9.5m variants entered service in December 2010, the 10.8m variants, which were due in early 2011, would never be delivered. The first StreetLites to enter service with any operator were four that were delivered to Anglian Bus in October 2010. Since then,

Arriva Arriva Ltd. is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England. The company was originally established on 24 October 1938 as T Cowie Ltd. Initially focused on the sale of motorcycles, it relaunched shortl ...

, the

FirstGroup FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.Go-Ahead Group Go-Ahead Group Limited is a Multinational corporation, multi-national transport group based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. While the majority of its operations are within Great Britain, it also operates services in Ireland, Australia, Singapo ...

, Rotala and the

Stagecoach Group Stagecoach Group is a transport group based in Perth, Scotland. It operates buses and express coaches in the United Kingdom. Stagecoach was originally founded in 1976 as ''Gloagtrotter'', a recreational vehicle and minibus hire business. Dur ...

have all been purchasers. The StreetLite has been operated by

operators

Arriva London Arriva London is a bus operator operating primarily in Greater London and partially in Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus and operates services for London Buses under contract to Transport for London. Oper ...

Blue Triangle Blue Triangle is a bus operator brand under London General Transport Services Limited, trading as Go-Ahead London. It operates services in East London under contract to Transport for London. It is the operator of the East London Transit servic ...

, First London,

London General London General Transport Services Limited, trading as Go-Ahead London, is a bus company operating in Greater London. The London General brand is a subsidiary of Go-Ahead London and operates services under contract to Transport for London. The ...

Sullivan Buses Sullivan Bus & Coach Limited, trading as Sullivan Buses, is a bus company based in North Mymms, Hertfordshire, England. Founded in 1998, it operates local bus services in and around Hertfordshire including school services, rail replacement bus ...

, Quality Line and Tower Transit. As of May 2020, StreetLite WFs were operating routes 379 and

424 Year 424 ( CDXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Castinus and Victor (or, less frequently, year 1177 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 424 for this ...

, while Wright DFs were operating routes 219, 232, 236,

299 __NOTOC__ Year 299 ( CCXCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Diocletian and Maximian (or, less frequently, year 1052 ''Ab urbe condita''). The de ...

327 __NOTOC__ Year 327 (Roman numerals, CCCXXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Rome as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Maximus (or, less frequently, year 1080 ''Ab urbe con ...

, 389 and 399. Safari buses entered service with Knowsley Safari Park. Padarn Bus took three 9.5 metre StreetLites for services on

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

. whilst Maytree Travel obtained six 9.5 metre vehicles.

Reading Buses Reading Transport Limited, trading as Reading Buses, is an English Municipal bus company, municipal bus operator owned by Reading Borough Council, serving the towns of Reading, Berkshire, Reading, Bracknell, Newbury, Berkshire, Newbury, Slough, ...

have also taken six 9.5 metre variants. The first large order for 46 was placed by the FirstGroup in April 2011. In February 2013, the FirstGroup ordered 179 new StreetLites, predominantly in the form of the 11.5m Max variant, to work alongside the four prototype vehicles already at the company. In January 2014, a further 301 were ordered, with 274 of them featuring 'Micro Hybrid' technology. In April 2014, Arriva ordered 97 "Micro Hybrid" StreetLites, 70 of which are the Max (11.5m) variant with 27 others of an unspecified length. In March 2015, Arriva ordered a further 50 StreetLites.

Ireland

The first new StreetLites to enter service in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

were delivered to

Dublin Bus Dublin Bus () is an Irish State-owned enterprise, state-owned bus operator providing services in Dublin. By far the largest bus operator in the city, it carried 145 million passengers in 2023. It is a subsidiary of CIÉ, Córas Iompair Éireann ...

in 2017, with 2 examples arriving for the 44B route between Glencullen and Dundrum, a route which could not accommodate

double decker bus A double-decker bus is a bus that has two storeys or decks. Double-deckers are used primarily for commuter transport, but Open top bus, open-top models are used as sightseeing buses for tourists, and there are Coach (bus), coaches too for long-d ...

es or full length

single-deck bus A single-decker bus or rigid is a bus that has a single deck for passengers. Normally the use of the term ''single-decker'' refers to a standard two-axled rigid bus, in direct contrast to the use of the term double-decker bus, which is essent ...

es. In 2018, the National Transport Authority ordered a batch of 88 StreetLites, which entered service between 2019 and 2020 on Transport for Ireland contracted bus services. Of these, 43 were allocated to

Go-Ahead Ireland Go-Ahead Transport Services (Dublin) Limited, trading 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 t ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, while

Bus Éireann Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with the exception of Dublin, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidiary of C ...

received 43, with 17 entering service in

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

, 12 in

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...

and

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

, seven in

Athlone Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midland Region, Ir ...

, five in

Sligo Sligo ( ; , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of 20,608 in 2022, it is the county's largest urban centre (constituting 2 ...

and two in Dublin. City Direct operate the remaining 5 in

Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...

. In addition, a handful of StreetLites are also operated by smaller operators, including single vehicles for First Aircoach.

Exports

In January 2017, a StreetLite commenced a trial with Australian operator Torrens Transit. Three StreetLite Maxes entered service with New Zealand operator Leopard Coachlines in 2017.

Mistral

Wrightbus secured an exclusivity deal with Mistral, a bus sales and rental company. Mistral were the sole selling agents for the StreetLite and pitched the vehicle as 'Wrightbus+Mistral – the perfect equation'. This exclusivity deal ended in 2012 with the introduction of the StreetLite Max.

In popular culture

The StreetLite played an integral part in the Torch Relay for the 2012 London Olympic Games. Ten Stagecoach South Wales StreetLites were used to shuttle relay runners and event staff between relay starting points. The buses were decorated in a special amber vinyl wrap with lettering for the games.

References

External links

*
Wright StreetLite (Wrightbus website)
{{Wrightbus, state=collapsed Low-floor buses Midibuses Electric midibuses Vehicles introduced in 2010 StreetLite