The company behind the 'glider' tested in Liverpool last week went bankrupt earlier this year, meaning the vehicles which will actually be used on the city's roads are likely to be different. The 18-metre Van Hool ExquiCity vehicle tested by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority last week was loaned from Belfast and decked out in the yellow livery of Merseytravel, with a view to introducing a new 'rapid transport system' to our region in 2028.
Plans for gliders, initially referred to as trackless trams, in the city region were first reported by the ECHO on March 31 of this year , as Mr Rotheram campaigned for re-election as Metro Mayor. However, Liverpool's gliders will likely not be the same models as Belfast's Van Hool vehicles. Van Hool is a Belgian vehicle company, which constructs buses, coaches, trolleybuses, and trailers.