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Arriva North East
ParentArriva UK Bus
HeadquartersSunderland, Tyne and Wear
England
Service area
Service typeBus and coach
Depots7
Managing DirectorNick Knox
Websitewww.arrivabus.co.uk/north-east/

Arriva North East operates both local and regional bus services in County Durham, Northumberland, North Yorkshire and Tyne and Wear, England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus, which operates bus and coach services across the United Kingdom.

History

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In 1986, as part of the privatisation of the National Bus Company, United Automobile Services was split in two. Operations north of the River Tyne were sold in a management buyout to Proudmutual, with the company becoming Northumbria Motor Services.[1] In 1994, it was then sold to British Bus.[2]

Operations in County Durham and North Yorkshire were sold to Caldaire Holdings in a management buyout.[3][4][5] In September 1992, the company was subsequently sold to Westcourt Bus Group,[6] followed by National Express.

In 1995, West Auckland-based Eden Bus Company was purchased by North East Bus. The depot was subsequently closed, with operations being moved to Bishop Auckland depot. The name was later purchased by Graeme Scarlett, who now operates a small fleet in and around Bishop Auckland, with vehicles branded in a red and ivory livery.

Following the Cowie Group purchasing British Bus in August 1996,[7] both were once again under common ownership, although North East Bus and Northumbria Motor Services continued to operate as separate entities. In November 1997, Cowie Group was rebranded as Arriva, consolidating 140 sub-brands under one name.[8][9][10] Operations in the region were subsequently integrated, with common fleet numbering and management.

In March 2006, Go North East announced the withdrawal of services in Bishop Auckland, with remaining services transferred to their Chester-le-Street depot. Operations, which had previously been taken over from OK Travel by Go-Ahead Northern in March 1995, were transferred to Arriva. The former depot has since been demolished. In the same month, Richmond depot was closed, with staff and operations transferred to Darlington.[11] Most North Yorkshire County Council-supported services, along with some of the depot's former staff, were taken on by Dales & District.

In May 2007, it was announced that the company would take over Stagecoach's operations in Darlington, pending approval by the Office of Fair Trading.[12][13] Following the takeover, services, as well as 28 vehicles and 78 drivers (with no changes to pay or conditions) were transferred, with vehicles subsequently repainted.[14][15][16] In March 2008, operations moved to a new depot at Faverdale Industrial Estate, Darlington.

The Loftus depot was closed in January 2009, after over 80 years of continuous operation, with the subsequent loss of 20 jobs. Operations, along with in the region of 60 staff, were transferred between Redcar, Stockton-on-Tees and Whitby depots.[17][18][19]

In March 2010, Go North East's Ashington depot was exchanged with Arriva's Hexham depot.[20]

In December 2012, Durham's Waddington Street depot was closed, following the completion of the new Belmont depot, (despite being only one minute away from Durham Bus Station). By July 2013, the former depot had been demolished, with the site being redeveloped for residential use.[21]

In March 2013, a fleet of 11 gas-powered MAN Ecocity were introduced on services 2, 11 and 12 in Darlington – an investment totalling £2.2 million.[22][23][24]

In March 2014, the buses and employees of the Ashington depot on Lintonville Terrace transferred to a new site on Lintonville Parkway, a short distance from the original depot. Staff rest facilities and operational staff remained at the former depot until November 2014, before being moved into temporary facilities nearby. In August 2015, the Lintonville Terrace depot was demolished.

In October 2022, the company's Jesmond depot was closed, with most staff and vehicles transferred to other depots in the region.[25]

Fleet and operations

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Depots

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As of September 2024, the company operate from seven depots across the region: [a] Ashington, Blyth, Darlington (Faverdale), Durham (Belmont), Redcar, Stockton-on-Tees and Whitby.[b]

Vehicles

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The fleet consists mainly of diesel-powered single and double-deck buses manufactured by Alexander Dennis and Wrightbus.

Branding

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Branding: past and present

As of April 2022, vehicles in the fleet are in the process of being rebranded into the new fleet livery, which was introduced to the region in January 2018. It consists of an all-round aquamarine base with white diagonal stripe, featuring the company's updated logo.[26] The former livery was introduced over twenty years prior, and consisted of vehicles painted in an aquamarine base, with a cream semi-circle at the front, and yellow stripe along the side of the vehicle. It was later revised, with a dark blue skirt incorporated into the livery.[8][9][10]

MAX was designed for interurban express services, such as Ashington-based services X15 and X18, which run between Newcastle upon Tyne, Alnwick and Berwick-upon-Tweed via Morpeth, and Darlington-based services X75 and X76, which run between Darlington and Barnard Castle. At the point of introduction, vehicles were branded in a two-tone blue livery, featuring leather seats, free WiFi and USB charging points.[27]

Sapphire was conceived as a brand for premium, high-frequency services, such as Darlington-based service 7, which runs between Durham and Darlington via Ferryhill. When introduced, vehicles were branded in a two-tone blue livery (which has since been updated following changes to the standard fleet livery), featuring leather seats, free WiFi, USB charging points and next-stop audio-visual announcements.[28]

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In August 2016, DalesBus route 830, which runs between Richmond and Ingleton via Hawes, was the subject of an episode of television series BBC Four Goes Slow entitled The Country Bus. The episode saw a series record average audience of 800,000.[29][30][31][32]

Notes

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  1. ^ An outstation of Ashington depot, based at Rothbury Motors' depot, Lionheart Enterprise Park.
  2. ^ An outstation of Redcar depot.

References

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  1. ^ "Business as usual?". Commercial Motor. 1 November 1986.
  2. ^ Arriva Bus Handbook 1998. Telford: British Bus Publishing Ltd. 1997. ISBN 1-897990-71-5. OCLC 769651256.
  3. ^ "WRAC chases United". Commercial Motor. 10 September 1987.
  4. ^ "Darlington-based United Automobile Services has been bought by Caldaire". Commercial Motor. 10 December 1987.
  5. ^ "United Auto in the black". Commercial Motor. 1 June 1989.
  6. ^ "Caldaire change". Commercial Motor. 20 August 1992. p. 16.
  7. ^ "Cowie buys British Bus for £282m". The Glasgow Herald. 1 August 1996.
  8. ^ a b Barrett, Patrick (23 October 1997). "Arriva arrives". Campaign. ISSN 0008-2309.
  9. ^ a b "Bamber Forsyth unites Cowie". Design Week. 24 October 1997. ISSN 0950-3676.
  10. ^ a b Keleny, Anne (1 February 2012). "Sir Tom Cowie: Founder of a transport empire". The Independent. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  11. ^ "Bus depot closure hits public transport". The Northern Echo. 9 January 2006. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  12. ^ "Anticipated acquisition by Arriva plc of the Darlington local bus service business of Stagecoach Group plc" (PDF). Office of Fair Trading. Competition and Markets Authority. 24 August 2007. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  13. ^ "Cheaper travel for passengers as Arriva takes over Stagecoach's Darlington services". Arriva UK Bus. 9 May 2007. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  14. ^ "Bus service buy-out approved". The Northern Echo. 23 August 2007. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  15. ^ "OFT grants Arriva clearance to take over Stagecoach's Darlington operations". Arriva UK Bus. 23 August 2007. Archived from the original on 6 November 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  16. ^ "Watchdog clears bus routes sale". BBC News. 23 August 2007. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  17. ^ "Arriva bus depot closes after 80 years". Teesside Gazette. 19 January 2009. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  18. ^ "Sadness as Loftus bus depot closes". Teesside Gazette. 22 January 2009. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  19. ^ "Bus depot closes its doors". The Northern Echo. 19 January 2009. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  20. ^ "Anticipated acquisition by Go North East Limited of the bus operations of Arriva Northumbria Limited in Hexham, Northumberland" (PDF). Office of Fair Trading. Competition and Markets Authority. 26 May 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  21. ^ "Go-ahead for housing plan on old bus depot site". Sunderland Echo. 16 November 2012. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  22. ^ "Arriva places £26.7m orders for 98 new greener buses". Arriva UK Bus. 23 March 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  23. ^ Hugill, Steven (26 March 2013). "Bus company unveils greener gas powered fleet". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  24. ^ Henderson, Vicki (26 March 2013). "Eco-friendly gas buses introduced into Darlington". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  25. ^ Hall, Daniel (12 August 2022). "Arriva bus depot to close in October with staff to move". Evening Chronicle. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  26. ^ "The Arriva brand is changing". Arriva UK Bus. Archived from the original on 11 February 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  27. ^ "MAX – inter-urban express services from Arriva". Arriva UK Bus. Archived from the original on 25 February 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  28. ^ "Sapphire investment brings sparkle to bus services". Arriva UK Bus. 20 June 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  29. ^ Foster, Patrick (30 August 2016). "'Slow TV' bus tour of Yorkshire Dales drives nearly a million viewers to BBC Four". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  30. ^ Ellis, James (3 October 2017). "Is this the most beautiful bus route in Britain?". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  31. ^ "Country Bus: How a two-hour bus trip tour of the Yorkshire Dales caused a social media stir". The Yorkshire Post. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  32. ^ Chapman, Hannah (29 August 2016). "Dales bus route to be televised in new BBC 4 programme". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
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