Delaine Buses of Bourne say the collapse of Wrightbus will hit bus replacements

Bourne-based Delaine Buses says the collapse of Wrightbus of Northern Ireland will mean it will take longer for them and other operators to find replacement suppliers of new buses.

Managing director Anthony Delaine-Smith says half of his fleet are Wrightbus and this will mean the company will have to review who it buys its buses from.

While other suppliers of bus chassis exist, the fact that there now remains just one manufacturer of bus chassis in the United Kingdom, means other bus operators will be wanting to use that company too, leading to delays in replacing stock.

However, there remains a much greater choice for mechanical spare parts, so that side of the operation will be unaffected.

Anthony added: “It’s very sad, coming at a time the industry is going through a revolution and we are down to one manufacturer. At the turn of the century, we had six.”

Click here to read more of the latest news.