Seven British-Built Treka CitySprints Join Liverpool City Region's Metro Fleet

Seven British-built Treka CitySprint minibuses are entering service in the Liverpool City Region, giving the new franchised Metro bus network a compact option for routes where larger buses are not suitable.

The vehicles are built on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter chassis, with bodywork by Treka Bus at its factory in Brighouse, West Yorkshire. They have been delivered to the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA). Three have gone to St Helens and four to Wirral.

Treka Bus

St Helens became the first part of the city region to bring its buses back under public control on 6th September. Wirral follows on 25th October 2026, and bus franchising will then be extended across the rest of the region throughout 2027.

Built Around the Brief

Treka says the vehicles were developed in close collaboration with LCRCA, the operators and the people who will use them. Its engineers tailored the build around local operating requirements, aiming to fit the technology, accessibility and passenger experience of a larger bus into a smaller and more efficient vehicle.

Because the buses were built in the UK, Combined Authority staff could visit the Brighouse factory, see the vehicles on the production line and have their feedback built in as the work progressed. One of the finished buses was later given pride of place at the entrance to the Bus Summit in Liverpool.

Treka says the fleet has been trimmed to match the larger buses used on the Metro network. That means Metro moquette, yellow leather-effect headrests and wood-effect flooring, none of which would look out of place on a full-size single-decker.

Richard Matthews, national sales director at Treka Bus, said:

"Seeing these British-built buses entering service in Liverpool City Region is something the whole Treka team can be proud of. It has been a genuinely collaborative project, with LCRCA working directly with our team throughout the build. It's also a great example of the value of British bus manufacturing, combining UK skills and engineering with the parts, technical support and aftercare operators need throughout the life of the vehicle."

Under the Skin

In standard CitySprint 7 form, the base vehicle is a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 515 L4H2 with rear-wheel drive and a gross vehicle weight of 5,500kg. It has a 150hp Euro VI diesel engine and Mercedes' nine-speed 9G-Tronic automatic gearbox. The 170hp Sprinter 517 is available as an option.

The bus is 7.37m long, 2.02m wide and 2.61m tall, with a 4.33m wheelbase. Passengers board through a double sliding plug door onto a floor 250mm above the road. A manual fold-out ramp rated at 350kg is fitted for wheelchair users.

Treka quotes a maximum of 22 passengers plus the driver. That can be 16 seated, including two tip-up seats in the wheelchair bay, with six standing. Alternatively, it can carry 14 seated, one wheelchair user and seven standing.

The standard Mercedes cab heating and air conditioning are kept, and a 4kW Eberspächer water heater warms the saloon. The standard specification also includes a reversing camera and the driver-assistance systems required under the General Safety Regulation (GSR2). Treka's voiceover information system gives safety and operational messages, and wireless bell pushes are fitted to the handrails.

Small Bus, Big-Bus Features

The Liverpool City Region buses have low-floor access, a wheelchair space, priority seating and carefully placed handrails and passenger supports.

Treka Bus

Audible and visual next-stop information, stop-request buttons and an induction loop for hearing-aid users are all fitted. Treka lists these as options on the CitySprint for compliance with the Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations (PSVAR). Saloon heating and air conditioning keep passengers comfortable all year round.

The driver has a dedicated safety cab. Treka says it gives extra protection while keeping the visibility and passenger interaction needed in everyday service.

Treka Bus

Stagecoach and Go-Ahead

The three St Helens CitySprints are running with Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire. They replace older minibus types previously used on the service.

The four Wirral vehicles will be operated by Go-Ahead, through its Go North West business, when the second phase of franchising launches. Go North West is already a franchised operator on Greater Manchester's Bee Network. On the Wirral, it will run a fleet of 117 buses on 45 routes. Both operators were named by the Combined Authority in January.

James Rowlands, fleet lead (franchising) at LCRCA, said:

"These vehicles have been selected for routes where the size and flexibility of CitySprint can make a real difference."

He said the Wirral buses would serve routes where larger buses are not suitable, helping LCRCA bring modern, accessible buses to more communities. He added:

"Working directly with Treka throughout the build has meant we could see the vehicles taking shape, involve the people who will operate them and make sure the final product works for drivers, operators and, most importantly, passengers."

Timeline

Treka unveiled the CitySprint in October 2025. It was a new direction for the company, whose accessible minibuses had traditionally been high-floor designs. The 7.4m CitySprint 7 is the launch model. The 8.1m CitySprint 8 will follow, with room for up to 26 passengers and two wheelchair users.

In January 2026, the Combined Authority confirmed Stagecoach for St Helens and Go-Ahead for Wirral. By the summer, LCRCA staff were in Brighouse to see their buses being built. St Helens went live on 6th September, and the Wirral CitySprints will join the fleet when that network launches on 25 October.

British-Built and Backed in Britain

Treka is part of the Woodall Nicholson Group. Its sister company is Mellor, which has long offered its coachbuilt Strata low-floor range on the Sprinter. Bus Ambassador covered the latest version of the Strata last year. The CitySprint brings together Treka's experience of van conversions and the wider group's knowledge of low-floor vehicles.

Every CitySprint comes with Treka's seven-year, unlimited-mileage warranty on the conversion. Mercedes-Benz separately covers the Sprinter itself for three years with unlimited mileage. Parts, technical support and aftercare are all based in the UK. On its website, Treka lists the CitySprint from £115,000 on the road.

The manufacturer also argues that the project shows the wider value of building buses in Britain. It points to skilled jobs, stronger domestic supply chains and engineering support that stays close to UK operators.

What Comes Next

Seven minibuses are a small part of the Combined Authority's fleet plans, which also include an order for at least 207 low- and zero-emission buses from Alexander Dennis. On routes where a full-size bus is not the right fit, however, the CitySprints show that franchising can bring the same look, feel and accessibility standards to the smallest vehicles in the fleet.

Treka is aiming the CitySprint at local bus, rural, demand-responsive transport (DRT) and community transport operators. Full details are on Treka's CitySprint page. Route and timetable changes for the franchised network are on the Merseytravel website, and the background to the operator awards is on the Combined Authority's website.