Wrightbus Streetdeck

[Sh4318]

Am I the only one who thinks it looks revolting...

No, you're not. I'm struggling to work out which looks worse. The StreetLite or the Streetdeck

[Bob]

No, you're not. I'm struggling to work out which looks worse. The StreetLite or the Streetdeck

Both horrific lol

[Mike K]

That livery certainly doesn't do it any favours, but I personally think Wrightbus have ruined the Gemini double decker bodywork with the new style front

Good grief, I'm normally a Wrightbus fan but that is bloody ugly. When you look at the Gemini 2 body it's hard to believe the same manufacturer can come up with this.

[winston]

Good grief, I'm normally a Wrightbus fan but that is bloody ugly. When you look at the Gemini 2 body it's hard to believe the same manufacturer can come up with this.

Same here, the upper deck angled glass looks very 'East Lancs' It will be interesting to see what styling the new B8RLE/Eclipse is released with, if it has the DF Streetlite / Streetdeck front I'm glad NX wont be buying any

[Ronnoc]

I think they are trying to copy ADL or something, the front design looks very similar. What were Wrightbus thinking?

[Bob]

Wrightbus are supposed to be known for excellent build quality but the streetlites at cannock rattle horribly, theyre also hard riding as well. A passenger commented on how bad the ride quality is on the telford ones on their fb page and said some of the drivers dont rate them too.

[Liverpool Street]

The first two were delivered yesterday.  The livery doesn't help!

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_koj0Hj0p8Q/VP24iqJP6GI/AAAAAAAADeE/0sslT6L3T4g/s1600/16430382458_6928195aef_o.jpg


https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7591/16795146291_2dbb4bf204_n.jpg

Hmm... Looks like the bus version of a Lamborghini with that sharp angular front. I'm more shocked at the livery then the design quite frankly.

[Roy]

I was in Brighton this week and made 9 trips on 8 different Streetdecks on services 12/12A/12X along the coast between Brighton and Eastbourne.

The build quality of these buses is superb and I heard no hint of any rattling on any of the buses which I cannot say about the MMC's at Pensnett.  The seats were very comfortable, the bus was very quiet and acceleration was excellent on the flat.  You can even hear the bell upstairs!

Unfortunately, they look just as ugly in the flesh and I have to ask why Wright modelled them on Kryten from Red Dwarf and it is not helped by the silver/pale blue destination screens.  The livery actually looks a lot better than in the original photos, possibly because a lot of the large expanse of apple green is broken up with route branding.

However, they are absolutely pathetic when climbing the many steep hills along the route 12 corridor.  The two long hills on the route really found the buses out and we crawled to the summits at walking pace.  Even the shorter hills on occasions caused the buses to lose speed rapidly and on three occasions we nearly ground to a halt - once while trying to overtake a bike.  I think this is the slowest I have seen a bus climb these hills since the Southdown Queen Mary's in the 1960's.  I'm not sure whether B&H are trying to resolve the problem because on Wednesday, despite all 24 Streetdecks having been introduced into service, the 12 corridor boasted 6 Omnidekkas and 2 Omnicity's.  I spoke to the driver before my final journey on the 12 and he was less than complimentary about the Streetdecks and was pleased that his bus on this occasion was a 55-reg Omnidekka.  It flattened the hills.   

[CL]

Despite all the downsides, Lothian serms to have taken delivery of some. Props to them. Once again, it just goes to show how a good livery can impact an *ugly* design: (Credit to ORIGINAL photographer)

https://flic.kr/p/uk4DQG

[Mike K]

Despite all the downsides, Lothian serms to have taken delivery of some. Props to them. Once again, it just goes to show how a good livery can impact an *ugly* design: (Credit to ORIGINAL photographer)

https://flic.kr/p/uk4DQG

I'm not sure these are Streetdecks, it's been posted below various pictures that the Airlink ones are B5TLs, and the standard livery ones are Hybrid B5LHs. Same body as the Streetdeck though. Here's one in the standard Lothian livery:

https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/13073434@N03/17460277983/

Proof that with that livery, you can indeed polish a turd. Almost.

[barry619]

Despite all the downsides, Lothian serms to have taken delivery of some.

It was written in the trade press some time ago that Wrights have had more interest in the new-style body for StreetDeck and on the pair of Volvo chassis at Euro 6 than they have the 'classic' style. Perhaps operators may know something that the armchair experts do not.

It will be interesting to see whether First's StreetDecks and Gemini 3s appear with the new front.

[arrifirststage]

It was written in the trade press some time ago that Wrights have had more interest in the new-style body for StreetDeck and on the pair of Volvo chassis at Euro 6 than they have the 'classic' style. Perhaps operators may know something that the armchair experts do not.

It will be interesting to see whether First's StreetDecks and Gemini 3s appear with the new front.

Beauty means different things to different people.............only have to see the dull,unimaginative but much praised by some ,Platinum livery to realise that.
There has never been a universally liked livery,even BCT and West Bromwich had critics.

[Mike K]

The Lothian ones are definitely Volvo B5TLs and B5LHs, see:

https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/81709772@N07/18613142935/

There are quite a few photos of them at a Volvo dealership there. Note the comments re the problems with the Lothian E400Hs further down the page, this is something I've read from 2 or 3 different sources. Sound familiar?

[JoNi]

Lothian buses website announces 1st July for launch of Airbus Streetdeck's. Super livery which cleverly disguises the awkward angular staircase windows.

http://lothianbuses.com/

[Mike K]

The more I see of the new Gemini 3 body, the less ugly it becomes. The Lothian standard livery in particular makes most bus designs look good, although to be fair I'm sure the Lothian influenced NXWM crimson livery would do the same.

In terms of looks, still not a patch on the E400 MMC, although you suspect that the B5TL will be the better longer term investment.