 | It has been suggested that Arriva Kent Thameside be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since December 2024. |
 Wright Gemini 2 in Aylesford in 2022 | |
| Parent | Arriva UK Bus |
|---|---|
| Founded | November 1986 (1986-11) |
| Headquarters | Maidstone |
| Service area | Essex Harlow Hemel Hempstead Kent Watford Ware |
| Service type | Bus services |
| Hubs | Chatham, Maidstone, Tunbridge Wells |
| Depots | 11 |
| Operator | Arriva Colchester Arriva Kent & Sussex Arriva Kent Thameside Arriva Medway Towns Arriva Southend |
| Website | www.arrivabus.co.uk |
Arriva Southern Counties Limited, trading as Arriva Southern Counties, is a bus operator in Kent, Essex, Hemel Hempstead, and Watford in England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus.
History
In November 1986, the National Bus Company sold Maidstone & District in a management buyout to Einkorn Limited. In June 1988, New Enterprise Coaches of Tonbridge was purchased, followed in December 1991 by four buses and their associated Kent County Council services from Shearings, and in June 1992 Boro'line Maidstone.
In 1990, British Bus purchased the Cranleigh, Guildford and Woking based operations of Alder Valley followed in 1993 by Colchester Borough Transport and Southend Transport.
In April 1995, Einkorn was sold to British Bus, which had purchased Kentish Bus in July 1994 and Londonlinks in 1988. In August 1995, Einkorn was renamed Invictaway. Invictaway was previously the name of the Maidstone & District commuter services to London, which were renamed Green Line at the same time.
In July 1996, British Bus was taken over by the Cowie Group. Invictaway was renamed Arriva Southern Counties in April 1998, and Arriva transferred London & Country (also owned by British Bus) to it. The subsidiary operating companies therefore became:
- Maidstone & District:
- Mainly became Arriva Kent & Sussex
- Medway area became Arriva Medway Towns
- Kentish Bus:
- Mainly became Arriva Kent Thameside
- Partly became Arriva Kent & Sussex
- London & Country:
- Became Arriva Guildford & West Surrey
- LondonLinks:
- Became Arriva Croydon & North Surrey
Current operations in the South East area are:
- Arriva Kent & Sussex
- Arriva Kent Thameside
- Arriva Medway Towns
- Arriva Southend
- Arriva Colchester
Many reorganisations of Arriva operations in South East England have followed since and today the company also controls Arriva Guildford & West Surrey, Arriva West Sussex, and Arriva Southend. The Croydon and North Surrey subsidiary was largely transferred to Arriva London.
In 2001, the Crawley depot and operations were sold to Metrobus and the depot in Merstham was closed.
In August 2004, Arriva Colchester was sold to Tellings-Golden Miller, although with the December 2007, sale of Tellings-Golden Miller, Colchester is once again owned by Arriva, albeit not under the control of Arriva Southern Counties. In October 2009, the Horsham depot and routes were sold to Metrobus with 19 buses.
In March 2015, Network Colchester and Network Harlow operations were taken over from Tellings-Golden Miller, who at the time was an Arriva subsidiary. Both operation companies were rebranded Arriva Colchester and Arriva Harlow respectively.
The Medway Towns network was upgraded in a £10 million investment marketed as Operation Overdrive.
In April 2021, Arriva announced the Sheerness depot would close in July 2021, with routes 360, 361 and 367 being withdrawn and re-tendered by Kent County Council. All three routes transferred to Chalkwell Coaches on Monday 12 July 2021.
On 31 October 2021, routes 306 and 308 from Northfleet depot were withdrawn. Both were taken over by Redroute Buses.
On 18 December 2021, the Guildford depot closed and operations in Surrey ceased. On that date, 6 routes were taken by Stagecoach South, with routes 36/37 being replaced by a new route 6 and an extension to the existing Route 1. Route A was withdrawn without replacement from 14 November 2021. The depot was leased to Stagecoach South.
On 10 November 2024, Go-Ahead London took over the Fastrack routes which will introduce brand new Irizar ie trams by April 2025.
Services
Local and Interurban Services
Arriva Southern Counties operate a mixture of local and interurban services across Kent and Essex, although operations in Colchester and Southend-on-Sea are localised to each town.
In Southend, Arriva Southern Counties operate a local network of services covering Rayleigh, Hadleigh, Rochford and Shoeburyness and in Colchester, they operate a number of local services around the town.
In Kent, operations from the company's depots in Northfleet, Gillingham, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells combine to create a network across the northern and western areas of the county. Services are centred in the towns of Dartford, Gravesend, Chatham, Maidstone, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells and also extend to Tenterden, Hawkhurst, Sevenoaks, Orpington, Sittingbourne and Sheerness-on-Sea.
The company also operates a small number of branded interurban services.
Sapphire routes 480/490/491
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Arriva Southern Counties currently operate Sapphire branded buses in Kent Thameside on routes 480, 490 and 491 which link Temple Hill, Dartford, Bluewater, Greenhithe, Swanscombe, Northfleet, Gravesend, or Valley Drive and Riverview Park. These services are operated using a fleet of Wright Streetlite buses fitted with free WiFi, e-leather seats and USB charging ports.
Sapphire branded buses were also previously used on routes 101 in 2014 and 700 in 2017 in the Medway Towns but has since been discontinued on these services in 2022.
Southend route 9
Arriva Southern Counties operate branded buses on route 9 in Southend which operates between Rayleigh and Shoeburyness. The Optare Versa buses that operate this service are branded as "We're heading to the beach".
Park & Ride
Colchester
Arriva Southern Counties currently operate the Colchester park & ride service under contract to Essex County Council. The service operates in a loop between the Park & Ride site next to the A12, Colchester City Centre and Colchester Station.
Maidstone
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Until February 2022, Arriva Southern Counties operated the Maidstone park & ride under contract to Maidstone Borough Council. The service linked Maidstone Town Centre with two park & ride sites, one on London Road and one on Willington Street. The service was withdrawn in February 2022 due to reduced passenger numbers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fastrack
Main article: Fastrack (bus).jpg)
Arriva Southern Counties operated the Fastrack busway scheme in the Thames Gateway area of Kent on behalf of Kent County Council, Prologis and Amazon.
Arriva Southern Counties currently operated the following three Fastrack services:
- Route A runs from Dartford to Bluewater via Temple Hill, The Bridge and Greenhithe
- Route AZ runs from the Amazon LCY3 distribution centre to either Dartford or Gravesend at shift changeover times only
- Route B runs from Dartford to Gravesend via Darent Valley Hospital, Bluewater, Greenhithe and Ebbsfleet International railway station.
Since November 2007, Route B has connected with the Eurostar at Ebbsfleet International railway station, and Eurostar passengers are permitted free travel on the service.
On 11 February 2008, Arriva began trialling their mobile "m-ticket" system on the Fastrack network before rolling the system out on all Southern Counties services.
Go-Ahead London started operating the Fastrack network from 10 November 2024 which will introduce electric buses by April 2025.
Depots
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Current Depots
The locations of Arriva Southern Counties' depots and the divisions which operate them are:
| Depot | Division |
|---|---|
| Colchester | Arriva Colchester |
| Gillingham | Arriva Medway Towns |
| Maidstone | Arriva Kent & Sussex |
| Northfleet | Arriva Kent Thameside |
| Tunbridge Wells | Arriva Kent & Sussex |
| Southend | Arriva Southend |
Former Depots
Former depots of Arriva Southern Counties were:
| Depot | Division | Fate |
|---|---|---|
| Cranleigh | Arriva Guildford & West Surrey | Closed during 2011 |
| Crawley | Arriva Kent & Sussex | Transferred to Metrobus on 30 March 2001 |
| Dartford | Arriva Kent Thameside | Transferred to Arriva London in January 2016 |
| Gatwick | easyBus (New Enterprise Coaches) | Closed on 5 December 2009 |
| Guildford | Arriva Guildford & West Surrey | Closed on 17 December 2021, leased to Stagecoach South |
| Grays | Arriva Southend | Transferred to Arriva London in January 2016 |
| Hawkhurst | Arriva Kent & Sussex | Closed on 17 February 2008 |
| Horsham | Arriva Guildford & West Surrey | Closed on 2 October 2009 when operations were transferred to Metrobus |
| Sittingbourne | Arriva Medway Towns | Closed on 2 July 2006 |
| Sheerness | Arriva Medway Towns | Closed on 11 July 2021 |
| Tenterden | Arriva Kent & Sussex | Closed on 9 May 2009, following loss of contracts for operated services |
Dartford and Grays garages were the only Arriva Southern Counties depots which did not have commercial services and only handled services operated under contract to Transport for London with all buses painted in red Arriva livery.
Commercial routes previously operated from Dartford depot before it became an all Transport for London depot were transferred to Northfleet. Grays depot switched to all Transport for London services after Arriva Southend withdrew both commercial routes 373 and 383 in the Grays area, partially replacing them by extending route 5 from Southend-on-Sea. Routes 44 and 150, the remaining services in the Grays area, are operated under contract to Thurrock Council. The buses used for these routes were transferred to Southend.
As at September 2014, Dartford garage operated London routes 160, 428, 492, B12, B13 and B15. Grays garage operated London routes 66, 346, 370, 375 and 499.
As part of a decision to consolidate all of Arriva's Transport for London routes, Dartford and Grays garages transferred to Arriva London on 1 January 2016.
Fleet
As at December 2013 the fleet consisted of 900 buses and coaches. As at September 2014, 113 buses were dedicated to the Transport for London services.
References
- Arriva Southern Counties Limited Companies House
- ^ Arriva Southern Counties Limited formerly Invictaway Limited formerly Einkorn Limited Companies House
- Shearings bus sale continues Commercial Motor 3 January 1992
- The supply of bus services in Mid and West Kent Monopolies & Mergers Commission August 1993
- Maidstone & District Motor Services Archived 7 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine M Dek Bus Club
- ^ History - South East Archived 14 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine Arriva
- Principal bus operating subsidiaries of British Bus Competition Commission
- Cowie Group plc and British Bus Group Limited: A report on the merger situation Competition Commission 31 October 1996
- Midland Red History: Timeline Menu Archived 3 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine MidlandRed.net
- Companies House extract company no 114841 Archived 10 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine Arriva Kent & Surrey Limited formerly Arriva Kent & Sussex Limited formerly The Maidstone & District Motor Services Limited
- Companies House extract company no 2005266 Archived 10 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine Arriva Kent Thameside Limited formerly Kentish Bus & Coach Limited formerly London Country Bus (South East) Limited
- Companies House extract company no 3943257 Archived 10 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine Arriva Medway Towns Limited
- Companies House extract company no 1992873 Archived 13 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine Arriva Southend Limited formerly Southend Transport Limited
- 2017 Arriva Bus Handbook. British Bus Publishing Ltd. 2017. p. 18. ISBN 978-1-912063-07-9.
- Arriva to acquire Tellings Archived 18 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine Bus & Coach Professional 20 December 2007
- Arriva plc offer for TGM Group plc Archived 16 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine Arriva 20 December 2007
- ^ Go-Ahead to acquire Arriva's Horsham Bus Archived 8 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine Bus & Coach Professional 3 September 2009
- "Arriva set to axe island services". Kent Online. 21 April 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
- Jackson, Peter (5 May 2021). "Chalkwell saves Sheerness services". Coach & Bus Week. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
- "Chalkwell to Take Over 367 Bus Service". Chalkwell Coaches. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
- "Bluewater bus service saved after Arriva drops route". Kent Online. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- Houston, Niamh; Updated (6 October 2021). "Arriva planning to close Guildford bus depot". SurreyLive. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- "Forthcoming bus timetable changes - Surrey County Council". 28 April 2021. Archived from the original on 28 April 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- "Arriva planning to close Guildford bus depot as operation is 'no longer sustainable'". SurreyLive. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
- ^ Surprise tenant for Arriva's Guildford depot Buses issue 806 May 2022 page 14
- "Southend Network Map". Arriva Southern Counties. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
- "Kent Network Map". Arriva Southern Counties. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
- "Arriva Sapphire services". Arriva Southern Counties. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- "Arriva invest more than £2 million on 491, 490 and 480 buses running in Gravesend and Dartford". KentOnline. 3 October 2014. Archived from the original on 10 December 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
- "Colchester Park & Ride". Essex County Council. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
- Maidstone Quality Bus Partnership Archived 9 September 2013 at archive.today Kent County Council
- "Maidstone Park & Ride". Arriva Southern Counties. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- "Maidstone to lose Park and Ride service, says council". Downs Mail. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
- "Fastrack Network Map". Arriva Southern Counties. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- "Arriva Mobile ticketing: m-tickets". Archived from the original on 26 June 2009. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
- Deakin, Tim (14 June 2023). "Go-Ahead gains 15-year Kent Fastrack BRT contract". Route One. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
- Operator summary for licence PK0003562 Archived 10 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine Vehicles & Operator Services Agency
- ^ Operator summary for licence PK0000208 Archived 10 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine Vehicles & Operator Services Agency
- ^ Operator summary for licence PK0001285 Archived 10 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine Vehicles & Operator Services Agency
- Operator summary for licence PF0000093 Archived 10 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine Vehicles & Operator Services Agency
- "Go-Ahead Group PLC | Acquisition of Crawley Depot | InvestEgate". www.investegate.co.uk. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
- ^ Arriva London adds four more garages Arriva London
- ^ Arriva London Buses Issue 731 February 2016 page 66
- "Arriva planning to close Guildford bus depot as operation is no longer sustainable". SurreyLive. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
- Roland (21 May 2021). "Chalkwell to Take Over 367 Bus Service". Chalkwell Coach Hire. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
- Jackson, Peter (5 May 2021). "Chalkwell saves Sheerness services". Coach & Bus Week. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
- Carr, Ken (September 2014). The London Bus Guide (4 ed.). Boreham: Visions International Entertainment. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-9570058-6-0.
- Carr, Ken (September 2014). The London Bus Guide (4 ed.). Boreham: Visions International Entertainment. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-9570058-6-0.
- Carr, Ken (September 2014). The London Bus Guide (4 ed.). Boreham: Visions International Entertainment. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-9570058-6-0.
External links
Media related to Arriva Southern Counties at Wikimedia Commons
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