Jon Eardley
As Managing Director of Global Aftersales and Telematics for WrightBus, Jon Eardley has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the bus and coach industry. In 2025 he celebrates 30 years in the business, having worked his way up from his very first role as an engineering apprentice.
Now Jon is taking his knowledge and experience into Rightech.
Part of Jon’s role is oversight of AllServiceOne, Wrightbus’s one-stop shop for fleet service and support solutions. As well as service and maintenance, AllServiceOne offers original manufacturer parts, full vehicle crash repair and refurbishment capabilities, as well as using telematics to predict faults using AI.
Jon began his career in the bus industry in 1995 as a 16-year-old apprentice fitter with FirstGroup, working his way up to engineering director while at the same time gaining an MsC in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Manchester.
He has worked in engineering roles across the UK at both an operational and managerial level.
After leaving FirstGroup, Jon joined Arriva Bus as Regional Engineering Director for the Midlands and Shires, where he was responsible for a fleet of more than 1,300 vehicles operating from 22 sites across seven counties.
He then moved to the Abellio Group as Engineering Director for UK Bus with board-level responsibility for all aspects of fleet, technology, estates and procurement for the group’s bus operations across the UK.
Before joining Wrightbus, Jon was Managing Director for Transport UK’s London Bus business, with a £230 million annual turnover and 2,800 staff.
Jon says his rise from apprentice fitter to managing director is down to hard work, resilience, and embracing opportunities.
“I am a firm believer in developing myself and I actively support others to do the same through various coaching, mentoring and networking methods,” he says.
Among Jon’s notable achievements is overseeing the introduction of the first double-deck zero-emission electric buses to the Abellio London Bus fleet in 2021, adding to the 34 single-deckers already in service.
“Being apprentice trained, masters educated and having worked at director level, I feel I’m able to communicate effectively both on the shop-floor and in the boardroom.
“Even after 30 years in the business, I remain in awe of the drivers, engineers, shunters and cleaners who keep our fleets moving, rain or shine. They are heroes.
“Over those 30 years I’ve been fortunate enough to work for multiple operators across a variety of bus and coach operations and know all too well the challenges faced day-to-day in providing high quality services.
“My experiences allow me to ensure that the needs of our customers remain at the centre of all that Wrightbus does, maintaining trusted and long-lasting partnerships with them from the first mile to the last mile.”
His role with Rightech will mirror his current responsibilities.
“As soon as anything leaves the factory, it comes under my care,” he says. “That includes warranty and outside warranty repairs, parts and labour.
“We’ll support the product wherever it is in the world.”
The relationship with truck operators will be somewhat different from buses, though.
“A bus operator wants and needs a close relationship because of all the regulations around carrying passengers. So with a bus we see them every one or two months, but with a truck it could be every one or two years.”
