Developing an Intermediate Vehicle in Conjunction with FIRST

This paper describes how FirstGroup Plc, the United Kingdom’s (UK’s) largest surface public transport operator and the second largest operator of school buses in North America, and the pioneering vehicle manufacturer the Wright Group have joined forces in order to offer a future transport alternative for congested cities. Based on extensive market research and passenger focus groups, the partnership introduced a modern Rapid Transit infrastructure that will outperform existing bus-based solutions and rival those of tram and light rail. The challenge for the Wright Group is to develop a vehicle which will surpass normal expectations and create real desire in the traveling public. Its response is a visually dramatic vehicle designed to shift commonly held perceptions of urban transit vehicle systems. In effect, the Wright Group will develop and manufacture a new class of intermediate public transport vehicles to stimulate passenger imagination while at the same time responding to the economic constraints of both vehicle operators and local government authorities. As Wright Group Vice President with responsibility for Business Development it has been the authors role to lead this project from marketing concept towards production vehicle, the paper will describe the partnership approach adopted by the manufacturer with FirstGroup, and will be able to gives an exclusive preview of the new vehicle which is intended to be delivered early in 2006.