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Arriva Yorkshire

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Arriva Yorkshire
Wright Gemini 2 bodied VDL DB300 at Leeds City bus station in July 2024
ParentArriva UK Bus
Founded1997; 27 years ago (1997)
HeadquartersWakefield
Service areaWest Yorkshire
South Yorkshire
East Riding of Yorkshire and the southern areas of North Yorkshire
Depots4
Fleet320 (February 2024)
Websitewww.arrivabus.co.uk/Yorkshire

Arriva Yorkshire is a major bus operator providing services primarily within and across West Yorkshire, although it also provides service in some parts of South Yorkshire, East Riding of Yorkshire and southern areas of North Yorkshire. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus.

History

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Preserved Leyland Lynx in West Riding Buses livery in September 2009
Eastern Coach Works bodied Leyland Olympian in Leeds in April 2006
Alexander Dennis Enviro400 in Leeds in July 2009

Arriva Yorkshire was formed as a combination of mergers of previous companies based in West and North Yorkshire.

In 1904 Yorkshire (West Riding) Electric Tramways began operating tram services in Wakefield followed in 1906 by Castleford. In November 1923 the West Riding Automobile Company began operating bus services in West Riding. Yorkshire Woollen District Transport, meanwhile, operated services around Dewsbury.[1]

Both companies were acquired by the National Bus Company, along with Selby & District with the companies maintaining separate identities.[2] In 1987 West Riding Automobile and Yorkshire Woollen District were sold in a management buyout to Caldaire, under whose ownership they traded as West Riding Buses and Yorkshire Buses respectively.[3][4] In 1994 South Yorkshire Road Transport, based in Pontefract, was purchased.[1] The four companies were taken over by British Bus in 1995 which itself was purchased by Cowie Group in August 1996.[1][5][6] All were rebranded under the Arriva brand in 1997.

From May 2008 until July 2021, there was a sister company in Huddersfield. Centrebus Holdings, in which Arriva held a 40% stake, was formed when the Huddersfield operations of Stagecoach Yorkshire was purchased along with the separate K-Line bus company.[7] In September 2013, Arriva took full ownership of Centrebus Holdings and K-Line with the former rebranded Yorkshire Tiger and the latter as Tiger Blue.[8][9][10] When Yorkshire Tiger was sold to Transdev Blazefield, routes 231 and 232 were not included and transferred to Arriva Yorkshire.[11][12]

In September 2024, Arriva Yorkshire took emergency action to permanently close its head office and depot in Wakefield after discovering the building was suffering serious structural problems. A majority of the site is planned to be demolished, with buses moving temporarily to Wakefield bus station and Arriva's Castleford, Dewsbury and Heckmondwike depots, while the subsidiary's staff have also relocated to Wakefield bus station.[13]

Brands

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Sapphire branded Wright StreetDeck in Wakefield, July 2020

Arriva Yorkshire uses the Sapphire brand to differentiate premium services,[14] with buses fitted with E-leather seats, free WiFi access, charging points, and audio-visual next stop announcements.[15][16] Routes 110, from Wakefield to Leeds, 106, from Wakefield to Hall Green, 163 and 166, from Castleford to Leeds, 229, from Huddersfield to Leeds, and route 415, from Selby to York, are branded Sapphire.[citation needed]

Arriva Yorkshire also formerly ran buses in Arriva Max branding, featuring similar premium features to Sapphire-branded buses. Services were also marketed as "Grand Yorkshire Connections", emphasising the larger network of branded routes.[17] This branding is being phased out as a result of the rebranding of the wider Arriva operation in 2017.

The third sub brand used by Arriva was the high-frequency Frequenta, formerly used on routes 148 and 149 between Wakefield, Pontefract and Knottingley, with services timetabled to run every 10 minutes.[18][19]

Controversies

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A widely reported case in 2008 concerned a gothic couple, Dani Graves and his fiancée Tasha Maltby, who wears a dog collar and lead.[20] A driver had refused them travel and made comments to them, allegedly saying: "We don't let freaks and dogs like you on." The company confirmed the couple were refused travel on two occasions due to "fears for passenger safety". In a statement the company addressed the issue, stating that the dog lead was potentially dangerous. Arriva also said they would be writing to Mr Graves "to apologise for any distress caused by the way this matter was handled".[21]

In January 2017, a wheelchair user was denied access to a Arriva Yorkshire bus by the driver, because a pushchair was occupying the wheelchair space. The incident occurred days after the Supreme Court ruled that drivers should prioritise the space for wheelchair users.[22]

2022 strike action

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In May 2022, 650 Unite the Union members working at Arriva Yorkshire depots voted in favour of indefinite strike action, beginning 6 June. Unite members were balloted on strike action following Arriva's offer of a 4.1% pay increase, which was below the 'real inflation rate' of 11.1%.[23] No Arriva bus services operated in the region throughout the duration of the strike. Arriva Yorkshire apologised to customers for inconvenience caused by the strike, claiming their pay increase offer was "fair".[24]

Bus services briefly resumed on 2 July when the strike was suspended to allow union members to be balloted on an increased pay offer from Arriva,[25][26] however the offer was rejected by 53.7% of union members, with the strike resuming on 13 July.[27][28] Bus services would then resume two days later in what Unite called "an act of good faith" as the union began negotiations on a new pay offer from Arriva, promising 14 days notice of resumed strike action.[29][30]

Fleet

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As of December 2017, the Arriva Yorkshire fleet consisted of 334 buses.[needs update] The company operates buses from four depots in Castleford, Dewsbury, Heckmondwike and Selby.

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Arriva Yorkshire History". Arriva. Archived from the original on 6 November 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  2. ^ "National Bus Company". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 3 January 1969. p. 27. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  3. ^ "New bid for NTE". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 17 January 1987. p. 20. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  4. ^ "NBC sells 'Tracky'". Commercial Motor. Temple Press. 7 February 1987. p. 18. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  5. ^ Cowie Group plc and British Bus Group Limited: A report on the merger situation[usurped] Competition Commission 31 October 1996
  6. ^ Principal operating subsidiaries of British Bus[usurped] Competition Commission 1997
  7. ^ Stagecoach operation is sold – but not to Arriva Archived 20 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine Huddersfield Daily Examiner 3 May 2008
  8. ^ Centrebus (Holdings) Limited Arriva 9 September 2013
  9. ^ Arriva takes joint venture control Archived 22 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine Bus & Coach Professional 12 September 2013
  10. ^ Arriva unleases its Yorkshire Tiger Archived 18 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine Bus & Coach Professional 9 October 2013
  11. ^ Transdev to acquire Yorkshire Tiger Coach & Bus Week 20 April 2021
  12. ^ Transdev Blazefield acquires Yorkshire Tiger bus operations Buses issue 795 June 2021 page 7
  13. ^ Gardner, Tony (17 September 2024). "Arriva Yorkshire headquarters and Wakefield bus depot permanently closed due to 'structural problem'". Wakefield Express. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  14. ^ Cole, David (21 April 2015). "Sparkling in Leeds". Bus & Coach Buyer. Archived from the original on 15 May 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  15. ^ "Arriva Yorkshire launches 13 new 'deckers". Coach & Bus Week. Peterborough: Emap. 1 August 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  16. ^ "Dozens of new Arriva Yorkshire buses introduced as part of £8m travel investment". Yorkshire Evening Post. 21 June 2017. Archived from the original on 21 June 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  17. ^ Izatt, Andy (1 September 2014). "Arriva goes MAX". Coach & Bus Week. Peterborough: Emap. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  18. ^ "148/149 goes Frequenta!". Arriva in Yorkshire. 9 November 2016. Archived from the original on 15 May 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  19. ^ "FREQUENTA – Wakefield to Knottingley". Arriva Yorkshire. Archived from the original on 15 May 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  20. ^ "Get off my bus – I'm sick of single mums". Mirfield Reporter. 31 May 2008.
  21. ^ "Dog-lead goths 'hounded off bus'". BBC News. 23 January 2008. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  22. ^ Perraudin, Frances (31 January 2017). "Wheelchair user refused space on bus days after supreme court ruling". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  23. ^ "Bus passengers face major disruption as staff at Arriva depots including Castleford and Wakefield vote for strike action". Wakefield Express. 26 May 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  24. ^ "Arriva: Apology to passengers as bus strike continues". BBC News. 7 June 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  25. ^ "Yorkshire Arriva bus drivers strike suspended after new pay offer". BBC News. 30 June 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  26. ^ "Arriva thanks passengers as bus drivers are back on board after strike action". Dewsbury Reporter. 4 July 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  27. ^ "Bus strike: Yorkshire Arriva drivers to resume action over pay deal". BBC News. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  28. ^ "Arriva bus strike in Yorkshire to resume after Unite union rejects pay offer". ITV News. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  29. ^ "Bus strike: Yorkshire Arriva drivers suspend action for pay deal negotiations". BBC News. 14 July 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  30. ^ Grant, Alex (14 July 2022). "Arriva bus strikes: Drivers suspend fresh action across Leeds and West Yorkshire as pay deal negotiations resume". Yorkshire Evening Post. Leeds. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
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