Arriva Southern Counties

Arriva Southern Counties
	Wright Gemini 2 in Aylesford in 2022
Parent	Arriva UK Bus
Founded	November 1986
Headquarters	Maidstone
Service area	Essex; Harlow; Hemel Hempstead; Kent; Watford; Ware
Service type	Bus services
Hubs	Chatham, Maidstone, Tunbridge Wells
Depot(s)	11
Operator	Arriva Colchester; Arriva Kent & Sussex; Arriva Kent Thameside; Arriva Medway Towns; Arriva Southend
Web site	www.arrivabus.co.uk

Arriva Southern Counties is a bus company. It operates services in East Sussex, Essex, Kent, Surrey and West Sussex. It is a division of Arriva.

Divisions

Volvo Olympian with Northern Counties bodywork in Royal Tunbridge Wells in April 2009

New Enterprise Coaches Scania K113CRB coach in September 2004

Arriva Kent & Sussex^[1] operates in Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells. Buses go to Chequers bus station, Tenterden, Snodland, Tonbridge, High Brooms and Kings Hill.

Arriva Kent Thameside^[2] operates in Dartford. Buses go to Bluewater shopping centre, Dartford, Orpington, Greenhithe, Gravesend.

Arriva Medway Towns^[3] operates in the Medway Towns and parts of Kent. Buses go to the Medway Towns, Bluewater shopping centre and Gravesend.

Arriva Southend^[4] operates in Essex. Buses go to Southend-On-Sea, Rochford and Hadleigh.

Arriva Colchester operates in Colchester. Buses go to Greenstead, Monkwick and run a Park and Ride service.

Services

Local and Interurban Services

Wright Eclipse Gemini bodied Volvo B7TL in Hadlow in February 2022

Arriva Southern Counties operate bus services in Kent and Essex.

In Southend, Arriva Southern Counties operate bus services in Rayleigh, Hadleigh, Rochford and Shoeburyness and in Colchester.^[5]

In Kent, Buses operate from depots in Northfleet, Gillingham, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells, they go to towns such as Dartford, Gravesend, Chatham, Maidstone, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells, Tenterden, Hawkhurst, Sevenoaks, Orpington, Sittingbourne and Sheerness-on-Sea.^[6]

Sapphire routes 480/490/491

Wright Streetlite DF on Sapphire 490 at Bluewater Bus Station in December 2014

Arriva Southern Counties operate Sapphire buses in Kent Thameside on routes 480, 490 and 491, they go to Temple Hill, Dartford, Bluewater, Greenhithe, Swanscombe, Northfleet, Gravesend, or Valley Drive and Riverview Park.^[7] These services are operated by Wright Streetlite buses, they have free WiFi, e-leather seats and USB charging ports.^[8]

Sapphire branded buses were used on routes 101 (Chatham to Maidstone) in 2014 and 700 (Chatham to Bluewater) in 2017, but they were stopped in 2022.

In 2022, Arriva started to remove the Sapphire brand, the buses were painted into the normal Arriva livery or they were replaced with new buses.

Southend route 9

Arriva Southern Counties operate branded buses on route 9 in Southend, it goes from Rayleigh to Shoeburyness.

Park & Ride

Colchester

Arriva Southern Counties operate the Colchester park & ride service for Essex County Council. The service operates in a circle, it goes from the Park & Ride site to Colchester City Centre and Colchester Station.^[9]

Maidstone

Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC in Maidstone Park & Ride livery in September 2020

Arriva Southern Counties used to operate the Maidstone park & ride for Maidstone Borough Council.^[10] The service went from London Road or Willington Street to Maidstone Town Centre.^[11] The service was stopped in February 2022 because there wasn't many passengers using it and because of the COVID-19 pandemic.^[12]

Fastrack

Fastrack liveried Wright Streetlite at Bluewater in August 2015

Arriva Southern Counties used to operate three Fastrack services for Kent County Council, Prologis and Amazon.

The services were:^[13]

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.

In November 2024, Arriva stopped operating the Fastrack services,

In November 2024, Go-Ahead London started operating the Fastrack routes.^[14]

Depots

Alexander ALX400 bodied Volvo B7TL in Tunbridge Wells in December 2009

Northern Counties bodied Volvo Citybus in the schoolbus livery in Cliffe in August 2009

Transport for London liveried Alexander Dennis Enviro200 in Dorking in July 2009

Current Depots

The locations of Arriva Southern Counties' depots and the divisions which operate them are:

Depot	Division
Colchester	Arriva Colchester
Gillingham^[15]	Arriva Medway Towns
Maidstone^[16]	Arriva Kent & Sussex
Northfleet^[17]	Arriva Kent Thameside
Tunbridge Wells^[16]	Arriva Kent & Sussex
Southend^[18]	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^[19]
Dartford	Arriva Kent Thameside^[17]	Transferred to Arriva London in January 2016^[20]^[21]
Gatwick	easyBus (New Enterprise Coaches)	Closed on 5 December 2009
Guildford	Arriva Guildford & West Surrey	Closed on 17 December 2021, leased to Stagecoach South^[22]^[23]
Grays	Arriva Southend	Transferred to Arriva London in January 2016^[20]^[21]
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^[24]
Sittingbourne	Arriva Medway Towns	Closed on 2 July 2006
Sheerness	Arriva Medway Towns	Closed on 11 July 2021^[25]^[26]
Tenterden	Arriva Kent & Sussex	Closed on 9 May 2009, following loss of contracts for operated services

Fleet

As at December 2013 the fleet consisted of 900 buses and coaches.^[source?] As at September 2014, 113 buses were dedicated to the Transport for London services.^[27]

References

↑ 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
↑ "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. Archived from the original on 25 January 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
↑ "Fastrack Network Map". Arriva Southern Counties. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
↑ Deakin, Tim (2023-06-14). "Go-Ahead gains 15-year Kent Fastrack BRT contract". Route One. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
↑ Operator summary for licence PK0003562 Archived 10 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine Vehicles & Operator Services Agency
↑ ^16.0 ^16.1 Operator summary for licence PK0000208 Archived 10 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine Vehicles & Operator Services Agency
↑ ^17.0 ^17.1 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. Archived from the original on 2021-10-09. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
↑ ^20.0 ^20.1 Arriva London adds four more garages Arriva London
↑ ^21.0 ^21.1 Arriva London Buses Issue 731 February 2016 page 66
↑ Surprise tenant for Arriva's Guildford depot Buses issue 806 May 2022 page 14
↑ "Arriva planning to close Guildford bus depot as operation is no longer sustainable". SurreyLive. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
↑ Go-Ahead to acquire Arriva's Horsham Bus Archived 8 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine Bus & Coach Professional 3 September 2009
↑ Roland (2021-05-21). "Chalkwell to Take Over 367 Bus Service". Chalkwell Coach Hire. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
↑ Jackson, Peter (2021-05-05). "Chalkwell saves Sheerness services". Coach & Bus Week. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
↑ Carr, Ken (September 2014). The London Bus Guide (4 ed.). Boreham: Visions International Entertainment. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-9570058-6-0.

Other websites

Arriva website

Media related to Arriva Southern Counties at Wikimedia Commons

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[1] 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

[2] 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

[3] Companies House extract company no 3943257 Archived 10 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine Arriva Medway Towns Limited

[4] Companies House extract company no 1992873 Archived 13 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine Arriva Southend Limited formerly Southend Transport Limited

[5] "Southend Network Map". Arriva Southern Counties. Retrieved 26 December 2022.

[6] "Kent Network Map". Arriva Southern Counties. Retrieved 26 December 2022.

[KentSapphire-7] "Arriva Sapphire services". Arriva Southern Counties. Retrieved 1 November 2021.

[8] "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.

[9] "Colchester Park & Ride". Essex County Council. Retrieved 26 December 2022.

[10] Maidstone Quality Bus Partnership Archived 9 September 2013 at Archive.today Kent County Council

[11] "Maidstone Park & Ride". Arriva Southern Counties. Retrieved 1 November 2021.

[12] "Maidstone to lose Park and Ride service, says council". Downs Mail. Archived from the original on 25 January 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.

[13] "Fastrack Network Map". Arriva Southern Counties. Retrieved 1 November 2021.

[14] Deakin, Tim (2023-06-14). "Go-Ahead gains 15-year Kent Fastrack BRT contract". Route One. Retrieved 2023-09-03.

[PK0003562-15] Operator summary for licence PK0003562 Archived 10 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine Vehicles & Operator Services Agency

[PK0000208-16] 16.0 ^16.1 Operator summary for licence PK0000208 Archived 10 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine Vehicles & Operator Services Agency

[PK0001285-17] 17.0 ^17.1 Operator summary for licence PK0001285 Archived 10 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine Vehicles & Operator Services Agency

[PF0000093-18] Operator summary for licence PF0000093 Archived 10 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine Vehicles & Operator Services Agency

[19] "Go-Ahead Group PLC | Acquisition of Crawley Depot | InvestEgate". www.investegate.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2021-10-09. Retrieved 2021-10-09.

[ArrivaLondon-20] 20.0 ^20.1 Arriva London adds four more garages Arriva London

[BusesFeb16-21] 21.0 ^21.1 Arriva London Buses Issue 731 February 2016 page 66

[BusesMay22-22] Surprise tenant for Arriva's Guildford depot Buses issue 806 May 2022 page 14

[23] "Arriva planning to close Guildford bus depot as operation is no longer sustainable". SurreyLive. Retrieved 18 December 2021.

[busandcoach3Sep09-24] Go-Ahead to acquire Arriva's Horsham Bus Archived 8 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine Bus & Coach Professional 3 September 2009

[25] Roland (2021-05-21). "Chalkwell to Take Over 367 Bus Service". Chalkwell Coach Hire. Retrieved 2021-10-09.

[26] Jackson, Peter (2021-05-05). "Chalkwell saves Sheerness services". Coach & Bus Week. Retrieved 2021-10-09.

[27] Carr, Ken (September 2014). The London Bus Guide (4 ed.). Boreham: Visions International Entertainment. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-9570058-6-0.

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