Whippet reports reliable performance from Wisdom Sigma buses

Cambridgeshire-based Whippet reports a reliable performance from its Wisdom Sigma 12 buses. The operator has marked two years of zero-emission bus operation with them on its Universal service in Cambridge.

The route’s fleet of Sigma 12 buses, built by Chinese manufacturer Wisdom and originally supplied in the UK by Mellor, have clocked up 0.5m miles in service. The nine buses were launched in 2023, Whippet’s fleet of Sigma 12 buses continue to perform well, with over 99% vehicle availability, and the company is supported by the team at Wisdom. Their launch has been followed by a series of initiatives to continually improve the customer experience. In a customer survey carried out this year, the overall customer satisfaction score increased for the second year running and now sits at 3.9/5.

In February, Whippet relaunched the onboard announcements, teaming up with students from the University who recorded new bus stop announcements. Whippet continues to support the University community, with onboard plaques celebrating this years success for the Cambridge teams in The Boat Race, running additional buses on Open Days to help over 20,000 visitors get around the city and also works hard to encourage visitors to events at Eddington to travel by bus.

“…the Sigma product continues to exceed our expectations” – Ed Cameron, director at Whippet

Ed Cameron, director at Whippet, said: “Whippet run what we believe to be the largest privately funded network of electric buses in the UK, and the Sigma product continues to exceed our expectations. The buses are popular with our team of drivers and we regularly receive compliments from our passengers who like the bright, spacious interior and smooth ride quality. We’re proud to be playing our part in improving air quality in the historic city of Cambridgeshire.”

“We believe that these buses confirmed yet again Wisdom’s strong commitment to each local market they operate in” – Tay Cheong Lip, President at Wisdom Motor

Tay Cheong Lip, President at Wisdom Motor, said: “Wisdom was proud to establish a partnership with Whippet for these vehicles which have now been operating successfully in Cambridge for two years now. Drivers are happy, and passengers like it! We believe that these buses confirmed yet again Wisdom’s strong commitment to each local market they operate in, rather than a ‘one size fits all’ approach by offering advanced new energy transport solutions. Establishment with strong after sales service support package will be our key focus from now to serve our customers. Congratulations to Whippet for this successful milestone!”

Whippet has also just embarked on an upgrade to the onboard passenger information system, provided by tech company NEC, with an improved driver interface coming online soon and driver telematic scoring.